To reevaluate the IUCN Red-List conservation statuses of each lemur species, 60 of Madagascar’s top lemur experts and conservationists gathered last week in Antananarivo (the country’s capital). Seven years had pἀssed since the previous evaluation.
This review was necessary because of recent findings, growing conservation challenges, the ongoing political turmoil, and the 2009 coup d’état. It was determined that fifty-two lemurs are endangered (up from 18), twenty-three are critically endangered (up from 8), and nineteen are vulnerable to extinction.
Dr. Russ Mittermeier, Chairman of the Madagascar Primate Specialist Group and President of Conservation International, stated that this meant that 91% of all lemurs were classified as being in one of the Red List threatened categories, which is by far the highest proportion of any group of animals.
The primary causes include unprecedentedly intensive lemur hunting as well as growing habitat disruption.
I believe that many of us who attended the week-long workshop as members of the Madagascar Primate Specialist Group felt a mixture of urgency, rage, and despair, though there were a few glimmerings of optimism.
Take a look at the tweet below:
We have something very exciting to announce… 📣
The FIRST successful Coquerel’s sifaka birth ever in Europe 🐵
With these incredible lemurs on the brink of extinction, the arrival of Beatrice’s baby is a real landmark moment for conservation 🌍 pic.twitter.com/pDmgYAxWHx
— Chester Zoo (@chesterzoo) February 9, 2023
There was agreement among the participants that the northern sportive lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis), which has just 17 individuals left, is the rarest lemur. In light of new information, Red-List designations were allocated to numerous “data deficient” species.
For instance, recent research had revealed enough information on the exceedingly small home ranges of the Sibree’s dwarf lemur (Cheirogaleus sibreei) and Sahamalaza sportive lemur (Lepilemur sahamalazensis) to classify them as “critically endangered” species.
However, there is some good news: over the past few years, numerous new populations of Greater Bamboo Lemurs (Prolemur simus) have been discovered. A few years ago, less than 100 people were thought to make up its whole population, but today, more than 500 people are recognized as existing in the wild.
We need further surveys of many other species, such the silky sifaka (Propithecus candidus), which I research, to increase our estimates of their worldwide population size and range. Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve may be home to up to 30% of the silky sifaka population, but there hasn’t been a lemur study there since 1994.
Check out other news we have covered relating to animal deἀth:
Due to an epidemic of illicit mining in June of last year—another type of disturbance that has been on the rise lately—the reserve was in fact closed to tourism for many weeks. Lemurs in the wild still have time to recover, but fresh efforts and approaches are required.
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