Wildlife Madagascar is committed to safeguarding biodiversity through habitat protection via management, patrolling and monitoring; developing local sustainable livelihood opportunities and improving food security; and developing ecotourism capacity. Only by bringing local knowledge, practicality, and priorities together with a focused scientific and educational effort will we be successful in protecting Madagascar’s breath-taking biodiversity.
How We Protect Lemurs and Other Wildlife
Indri. Photo: Lytah Razafimahefa.
Forest habitats and wildlife can only be effectively protected if the pressures of human encroachment can be alleviated. We use an integrated conservation and human-development approach to reduce pressure on Madagascar’s globally important forests and wildlife populations. We protect the habitat and provide surrounding communities with sustainable livelihoods and services.
Patrolling and Monitoring the Forest
We provide protection of forest habitats through patrolling and monitoring, training, and border demarcation and enforcement.
Strengthening Communities
While habitat protection is key, working with local communities is integral to success. We aim to increase food security and income generation for local farmers through participatory, sustainable agricultural development and researching the most effective crops and livestock. We aim to strengthen the capacity of local community-based organizations and farmer leaders to facilitate community-based learning for agriculture and livelihood development. We seek to develop alternative livelihoods for community members through ecotourism and other initiatives. We provide support and supplementary education to ensure that children attend and complete primary school and become participants in appreciating and protecting their native wildlife.
What Lemur Species We Protect
Northern Bamboo Lemur. Photo: Lytah Razafimahefa.
The programs implemented by Wildlife Madagascar help protect the following species:
Indri (Indri indri)
Silky sifaka (Propithecus candidus)
White-fronted brown lemur (Eulemur albifrons)
Red-bellied lemur (Eulemur rubriventer)
Northern bamboo lemur (Hapalemur occidentalis)
Eastern woolly lemur (Avahi laniger)
Seal’s sportive lemur (Lepilemur seali)
Goodman’s mouse lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara)
Greater dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus major)
Hairy-eared dwarf lemur (Allocebus trichotis)
Masoala fork-marked lemur (Phaner furcifer)
Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)
More Animals that Benefit from Our Work
Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox)
Malagasy civet (Fossa fossana)
Broad-striped mongoose (Galidictis fasciata)
Helmet vanga (Euryceros prevostii)
Mossy leaf-tailed gecko (Uroplatus sikorae)
How We Support Local Communities
Wildlife Madagascar’s programs target areas adjacent to forest where local communities currently rely on income from logging, poaching, farming, and other extractive practices. Improving farming methods to achieve greater food security will reduce reliance upon forest exploitation and encourage use of alternative food sources. Through experimental learning and action methods, the initial aim of Wildlife Madagascar is to increase yields by exploring sustainable agriculture techniques.
We sustainably develop ecotourism in the Antongil Bay, Masoala, Makira, Nosy Mangabe. We launched our Ecolodge concept on the western part of the Masoala Peninsula in 2001. So far we have had more than 4000 visitors who have been able to discover the exceptional local terrestrial and marine biodiversity.
How We Protect Lemurs And Other Wildlife
We protect Northern bamboo lemurs by planting bamboo, their food plant, in the Arol Ecolodge surroundings on the edge of Masoala forest. Around 100 bamboos have been planted and this has encouraged bamboo lemurs to visit near the lodge.
Northern bamboo lemur December 2019 Olivier Fournajoux
What Lemur Species We Protect
In the vicinity of the Arol Ecolodge there are Northern bamboo lemurs (Hapalemur occidentalis) which are a focus of our conservation efforts. These lemurs were classified Vulnerable in 2016 (Lemurs of Madagascar Strategy for Their Conservation) and are threatened by hunting and trapping.
How We Support Local Communities
By increasing rice production for the local community with the aid of an agricultural technician
Since 2007, we have been helping run the village school
The village is supplied with hydroelectricity and running water via standpipes with our contribution
Village associations gain direct benefits from ecotourism with our visitors
The Lemur Conservation Foundation helps conserve lemurs through managed breeding programs, outreach, and on-the-ground conservation in northeast Madagascar.
Saving lemurs through managed breeding programs, educational outreach, and on-the-ground conservation efforts.
Critically endangered mongoose lemur born at LCF in 2014.
The Lemur Conservation Foundation (LCF) is a non-profit corporation dedicated to the preservation and conservation of the primates of Madagascar through managed breeding, scientific research, and education. The foundation and accompanying lemur reserve focus on fostering natural lemur behavior to encourage a dynamic population.
LCF supports educational programs started by the late Dr. Alison Jolly in Madagascar and is developing content to bring those programs to classrooms in the United States. In addition, LCF provides financial support to assist in the establishment of a tourist and research camp in Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve in northeast Madagascar, home to the elusive silky sifaka and a unique population of indri with black pelage.
What lemurs does the Lemur Conservation Foundation protect in Florida?
At their reserve in Florida, the Lemur Conservation Foundation is home to over 45 lemurs of six different species, most of which are critically endangered or endangered. LCF is a Certified Related Facility with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums and participates in their Species Survival Plans which work to maintain a genetic safety net for a variety of lemur species. The species currently housed at the reserve are:
Collared lemurs (Eulemur collaris)
Mongoose lemur (Eulemur mongoz)
Sanford’s lemur (Eulemur sanfordi)
Common brown lemurs (Eulemur fulvus)
Red ruffed lemurs (Varecia rubra)
Ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta)
How is the Lemur Conservation Foundation protecting habitat for lemur conservation in Madagascar?
Demarcation signs funded by LCF to outline the boundary of the Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve.
Lemur Conservation Foundation is supporting projects in Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve (ASSR), a large mountainous rainforest in northeastern Madagascar, which has long been recognized as a lemur priority site that has received little attention. LCF has partnered with the Madagascar National Parks to provide boundary demarcations for this protected area and a site called Camp Indri which provides base camp for tourists and researchers. At least 11 lemur species are found here including:
LCF also collaborates with École Normale Supérieure (ENS), the teachers’ training arm of the University of Antananarivo. This partnership supports the students of ENS in their field research and field work theses at the Berenty Reserve, a private wildlife reserve in southern Madagascar. Research done at Berenty includes lemur census surveys and plant phenology.
Helping lemurs in captivity
A family of Lemur catta in one of LCF’s semi free-ranging forests, where field students can observe lemurs in a natural environment.
The Lemur Conservation Foundation operates a 100 acre reserve in Myakka City, Florida. The reserve is set up with two semi free-ranging forests, each approximately ten acres, and two traditional enclosure buildings. As a Certified Related Facility with the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, LCF participates in the Eulemur Species Survival Plan (SSP), Ruffed Lemur SSP, and Ring-tailed Lemur SSP, which include a global network of institutions working towards the propagation of selected lemur species in order to ensure the healthy existence of those species whose survival is in peril.
LCF also hosts field training programs, in which professors and their students utilize the facility and the lemur colony for behavioral observations and research on social dynamics and cognitive skills, as well as habitat use and food selection. These training programs produce future primatologists and conservation biologists which will carry the conservation imperative forward for lemurs and other endangered species and fostering and inspiring conservation based careers is an invaluable part of LCF’s mission.
Partnering with local communities
Educational Outreach
The first book in the Ako Project series, Ako the Aye-Aye.
LCF has the pleasure of continuing on Dr. Alison Jolly’s legacy with the Ako Project, in collaboration with Dr. Hanta Rasamimanana, Dr. Jolly’s former colleague, professor at ENS, and Madagascar’s “Lemur Lady”. The Ako Project, sponsored by EnviroKidz, is an educational children’s book series, translated in both English and Malagasy, which is intended to teach Malagasy children about different species of lemur in a fun, tangible way. The books come with matching curriculum to help teachers convey the conservation themes and concepts envisioned for the stories.
Founded in 1966, the Duke Lemur Center (DLC) at Duke University (Durham, North Carolina, USA) is an internationally acclaimed non-invasive research center housing over 200 lemurs across 14 species: the most diverse population of lemurs on Earth, outside their native Madagascar.
Because all of our research is non-invasive, the DLC is open to the public and educates more than 35,000 visitors annually. DLC’s highly successful conservation breeding program seeks to preserve vanishing species such as the aye-aye, Coquerel’s sifaka, and blue-eyed black lemur. Our Madagascar Conservation Programs study and protect lemurs (the most endangered mammals on Earth) in their native habitat. The Division of Fossil Primates examines primate extinction and evolution over time and houses over 35,000 fossils, including extinct giant lemurs and one of the world’s largest and most important collections of early anthropoid primates.
How We Protect Lemurs And Other Wildlife
DLC’s SAVA Conservation project is dedicated to preserving the natural biodiversity of Madagascar, especially its charismatic lemurs, by empowering local communities to be conservation leaders.
Collaboration with National Parks
Clear delineation of the park boundaries is essential to maintaining and monitoring the forest.
We’ve helped increase protection and monitoring of parks in Madagascar. For example at Marojejy, we have continued to sponsor clearing the park limits, painting trees, and hanging new signs for boundary demarcation, and a road-block barrier to prevent trucks from transporting precious wood out of the forest. We also help support monitoring work undertaken by village guards and park staff.
Manantenina near the Marojejy National Park lacks reliable sources of clean water because local sources are often contaminated with disease-causing microbes. We created a partnership agreement with the community to install a deep-water well that will maintain safe water even during the dry season.
Research
CURSA researchers and local forest managers in the COMATSA protected area of the SAVA region.
In collaboration with the local university (CURSA), we study lemur viability in protected areas in SAVA.
We have partnered with Malagasy PhD and Masters students on their thesis projects on the ecology and conservation of lemurs in the COMATSA, a corridor between Marojejy, Anjanaharibe-Sud, and Tsaratanana.
In addition to research in the forest on lemurs, the team conducts socio-ecological research with the communities. Through focus groups, key-informant interviews, and lemur awareness campaigns, the team is learning about how people use forest resources, especially the level of hunting.In collaboration with CURSA, we are studying the links between socioeconomics, agriculture, nutrition, and health.
Conservation Breeding Program
We maintain the world’s largest “genetic safety net” for endangered lemurs. At the Duke Lemur Center in Durham, North Carolina, USA we’re proud to have celebrated more than 3,405 births through our conservation breeding program since our founding in 1966.
What Lemur Species We Protect
At Duke Lemur Center we house the following lemur species for breeding and non-invasive research:
Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis)
Black and White Ruffed Lemur (Varecia variegata variegata)
Blue-eyed Black lemur (Eulemur flavifrons)
Collared Lemur (Eulemur collaris)
Coquerel’s Sifaka (Propithecus coquereli)
Crowned Lemur (Eulemur coronatus)
Eastern Lesser Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur griseus)
Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus medius)
Grey Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus)
Mongoose Lemur (Eulemur mongoz)
Red-bellied Lemur (Eulemur rubriventer)
Red-fronted Lemur (Eulemur rufifrons)
Red Ruffed Lemur (Varecia rubra)
Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta)
We also support research focusing on the Silky Sifaka (Propithecus candidus) a highly endangered lemur found in the north east of Madagascar.
How We Support Local Communities
Our goals are preserving natural environments as well as increasing sustainability and resilience. We achieve these goals through activities centered on education, reforestation, sustainable agriculture, fuel-efficient stoves, women’s health, and much more.
Environmental education (EE)
Fostering a generation of environmental stewards begins in the school classroom with Madagascar’s youth, and incorporating the environment into daily classroom instruction can lead to a generation of Malagasy people interested in and equipped to protect their natural heritage.
We introduced an environmental education training manual originally developed by the Madagascar Flora and Fauna Group and the Ministry of Education. In partnership with skilled Malagasy educators, the DLC has introduced and trained school officials on the implementation of the educational curriculum into daily lesson plans. This approach ensures that the environmental education program is widely adopted from all levels of the education system. We want to ensure that the information is presented in a standardized and culturally sensitive manner, and therefore more readily adopted by the teachers on a daily basis. In collaboration with the school districts of Sambava and Andapa, we’ve conducted workshops with over 2,000 teachers to train them to incorporate environmental education into daily lessons.
Children proudly display their Lemur Appreciation certificates after a school visit in Manantenina
School children from the village of Ambatofitotra, near Sambava, during a visit to the New Generation School Garden. All visitors plant trees at the garden to commemorate their visit.
Landscape Restoration
DLC sponsored tree nursery with the local school at Belaoka-Marovato, Andapa district.
We maintain tree nurseries with communities to supply high quality seedlings of diverse trees including over a dozen native species, cash crops like coffee, cloves, and cacao, and over a dozen fruit species. As of the writing of this article, we partner with five communities to maintain tree nurseries and support their reforestation efforts. Each nursery produces approximately 25,000 seedlings per year, which are distributed to the community members to plant on their lands and during group planting events. Our staff provide consultation on proper planting techniques and follow up evaluations to determine seedling survival.
We are partnered with local collaborators to maintain and monitor 4 reforestation plantations throughout the SAVA region, with over 59,000 trees planted on 20 hectares in 2021.
CURSA Director, Dr. MANJARIBE Christophe (left) demonstrates proper tree planting techniques with staff and students at their demonstration agroforestry field station.
Information campaign and distribution of fuel-efficient ‘rocket’ stoves
More than 80% of people in Madagascar use firewood or charcoal to cook. We partner with the Swiss organization ADES, which produces fuel-efficient stoves in Madagascar that burn 1/3 the biomass of firewood or charcoal compared to traditional stoves. Between 2020 and 2021 alone, over 500 households received training and subsidized stoves. Stoves are sold during demonstrations, and through local entrepreneurs serving as distributors. We are evaluating participants, and found 100% of users are satisfied and save 25-50kg of charcoal on average per month.
Women’s reproductive health
We maintain collaboration with British NGO Marie Stopes International, to support nurses visiting remote villages and providing consultation and services on women’s health and reproduction.
