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According to Dr. Ian Tattersall, LCF scientist and curator in
the Division of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural
History, “The last few hundred years have witnessed an
extraordinary ravaging of Madagascar’s forests, and the
reduction of many lemur populations to critically low
levels.” The Lemur Conservation Foundation was formed to
address this very problem.
Since its inception, LCF has been particularly focused on the
conservation of the brown lemur, Eulemur fulvus sp. While brown
lemurs were once prolific in North American zoos, the population
has decreased dramatically over the last decade. Many
traditional institutions decided not to hold these species due
to lack of space, management problems and, according to some,
lack of visitor appeal. However, Dr. Tattersall and his
colleagues believe that, among all the lemurs, it will be the
brown lemurs that are most likely to survive in 200 years' time
-- if given the chance. They are proven reliable breeders and
are extremely adaptable to diverse habitats. Their chances of
long term survival, however, are greatly reduced if the species
disappears in captivity.
When opening the Myakka City Lemur Reserve and deciding on a
colony collection plan, the LCF Scientific Advisory Council
recognized the need for less traditional institutions - like the
Reserve - to accept responsibility for the conservation of brown
lemurs. In Dr. Tattersall’s words, “…while it is vital to make
every effort to protect what remains [in Madagascar], it also
makes sound conservation sense to maintain stocks of these human
relatives away from Madagascar, in places where their
propagation can be assured.”
As the lemur reserve has developed and the colony has
expanded, the conservation effort of brown lemurs has grown more
complicated. Recent taxonomic changes reflect the results of
new research determining that many populations previously
considered subspecies are in fact species in their own right.
In addition to this, many species within the genus Eulemur
experienced the same population drop in captivity as the Eulemur
fulvus. LCF is working to protect as many of these “orphan
species” as possible while maintaining the highest standards in
animal welfare and research quality.
LCF is not alone in their efforts. The newly created Eulemur
Species Survival Plan (Eulemur SSP) under the management of the
AZA’s Prosimian Taxon Advisory Group addresses many of the
issues related to captive management of Eulemur species. LCF,
the Eulemur SSP, and other institutions invested in the
conservation of lemurs are cooperating to increase the
population sizes of several Eulemur species currently in
captivity. This includes increasing the number of institutions
holding these types of lemurs, increasing the number of breeding
pairs, and potentially importing additional breeding lemurs from
European and Malagasy zoos.
It is hoped that at least one or two of the Eulemur species
populations currently held in captivity will be able to recover
from the demographic decline experienced over the past decade
resulting from breeding moratoriums and space constraints. For
the Reserve, this means acquiring a couple of species that were
not part of the original collection plan, Eulemur collaris and
Eulemur coronatus. Dwindling numbers and aging individuals are
the biggest challenges to breeding collared lemurs and crown
lemurs.
The Myakka City Lemur Reserves is now home to 8 species of
lemur: Eulemur collaris, Eulemur coronatus, Eulemur fulvus,
Eulemur mongoz, Eulemur sanfordi, Hapalemur griseus, Lemur catta,
and Varecia rubra. The current captive populations of Eulemur
fulvus, Eulemur sanfordi, and Hapalemur griseus include few
animals capable of breeding so their role at the reserve is to
help scientists and students learn as much as possible about
these species and about effective field techniques. Maybe the
future will see a time when these populations are once again
thriving in captivity and in their native habitats. We are
hoping to improve the demography and genetic diversity of
Eulemur collaris, Eulemur coronatus, Eulemur fulvus, and Eulemur
mongoz through intense breeding management while conducting
research that will improve our understanding of the needs of
these species and improve current conservation practices.
Without drastic intervention, these species will go extinct in
captivity, further increasing the risk of total extinction – in
captivity and in the wild. The captive populations of Lemur
catta and Varecia rubra are large and widespread; we hope that
our research and breeding efforts of these animals will improve
their husbandry in captivity and provide more information for
better conservation practices in Madagascar.
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Sanford's lemurs (Eulemur sanfordi)
