Madagascar is home to dozens of species of charismatic lemurs who come in a range of sizes, colors and appearances, from the tiny mouse lemur to the largest indri, but a recent assessment found that one thing they all have in common is that nearly every species of lemur is now in danger of extinction. […]
Tag: Lemurs
Born and Raised in Madagascar
Madagascar is considered to be one of the, if not the most, precious reservoir of life on our planet. Some 90% of its fauna and flora is endemic to the island, meaning these species are only found in Madagascar. Its lilies have cancer-curing properties, and its deep tropical forest (and the savannah-like mainland, and mountainous regions) […]
Top 5 Reasons Why Biodiversity is as Important as Carbon Dioxide
We have noticed a marked rise in the attitude that consists in declaring “it’s too late anyway, let’s get some popcorn and watch the world end”. We’re not exactly sure whether that came from electing a reality TV president, or from Hollywood creating too many catastrophic movies, but it’s an approach that has been doing […]
The Curious Case of Lemur Conservation
As primates, lemurs are some of our closest living relatives and yet, for many people, they are something of a mystery, with their eyes a bit too large to be normal, and a cartoon character letting everybody know they like to move it in a kid’s movie. Plan A and Net Positive Impact are raising the funds […]
Madagascar: Conservation official arrested for killing 11 endangered lemurs
ANTANANARIVO, Madagascar — Two weeks ago, the bodies of 11 critically endangered lemurs were discovered in Iaroka forest inside the Zahamena Ankeniheny Corridor protected area in eastern Madagascar. The lemurs were allegedly killed by one of the local officials charged with protecting them, to the dismay of conservation leaders. The protected forest is managed jointly […]
Panda lemur making a comeback
One of the world’s biggest populations of greater bamboo lemurs (Prolemur simus) – sometimes known as the panda lemur – has doubled in just three years, giving conservationists new hope that the species can be kept from extinction. With the recent arrival of twenty babies, a community conservation project run by the Aspinall Foundation has […]
Scientists propose ambitious plan to save the imperiled lemur
Due to the wonderful idiosyncrasies of evolution, there is one country on Earth that houses 20 percent of the world’s primates. More astounding still, every single one of these primates—an entire distinct family in fact—are found no-where else. The country is, of course, Madagascar and the primates in question are, of course, lemurs. But the […]
Biggest new animal discoveries of 2013 (photos)
Thousands of species were scientifically described for the first time in 2013. Many of these were ‘cryptic species’ that were identified after genetic analysis distinguished them from closely-related species, while others were totally novel. Below are some of the most interesting “new species” discoveries that took place or were formally announced in 2013. The last […]
