Authorities with the U.S. government recently discovered that an exotic animal dealer in the state of Michigan was violating the Endangered Species Act – trying to sell approximately 150 vulnerable, threatened, and endangered animals off to the public for thousands of dollars. Sign the petition to demand justice! In one case, the man attempted to […]
Tag: Ring-tailed lemur
Madagascar’s unique wildlife faces imminent wave of extinction, say scientists
From the ring-tailed lemur to the aye-aye, a nocturnal primate, more than 20m years of unique evolutionary history could be wiped from the planet if nothing is done to stop Madagascar’s threatened mammals going extinct, according to a new study. It would already take 3m years to recover the diversity of mammal species driven to […]
Waccatee Zoo Looking at Messy Lawsuit
PETA recently sent an official notice to Waccatee Zoo, the “Worst Roadside Zoo in America,” that they are planning to sue the zoo for mistreating animals that are protected under the Endangered Species Act. PETA alleges the Waccatee Zoo is violating the federal Endangered Species Act by mistreating its lions, ring-tailed lemurs, as well as […]
Lemurs might never recover from COVID-19 (commentary)
The DreamWorks version of Madagascar is exactly that, a fantasy. The island nation is no unpeopled paradise teeming with dancing lemurs, as depicted in the animated Madagascar film. On the contrary, almost all of its lemur species are being driven to extinction by humans. This World Lemur’s Day, it is worth pointing out that the […]
Sifaka lemurs listed as “critically endangered” amid mysterious die-off
Lemurs in Madagascar have been under pressure from deforestation, poaching, drought and other challenges for years. Now, in the much-visited Berenty Reserve near the island’s southern tip, one species faces a mysterious new threat. In the last month and a half, at least 31 Verreaux’s sifakas (Propithecus verreauxi) have died in the reserve. Most were […]
Will Madagascar lose its most iconic primate?
One of the most iconic primate species on the planet is quickly disappearing. Once widely distributed across Madagascar, only 2,000-2,400 ring-tailed lemurs (Lemur catta) now remain in the wild, according to a new study published in Primate Conservation. Conducted by Dr. Lisa Gould, professor of anthropology at the University of Victoria, and Dr. Michelle Sauther, […]
POLL: Does the world still need zoos?
I have written before about the importance of zoos and the role they have to play in the world for conservation and education. They are in particularly important for endangered species – many animals are critically endangered in the wild and may go extinct there soon but are going strong in zoos. Many others are […]
Madagascar’s most famous lemur facing big threats
The ring-tailed lemur (Lemur catta), perhaps the most well-known of Madagascar’s endemic animals, is facing a “very high” risk of extinction in the wild. The Madagascar Section of the IUCN Primate Specialist Group reassessed the Red List status of ring-tailed lemurs and upgraded the species from Near-Threatened (2008) to Endangered (2012). Ring-tailed lemurs are facing […]