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Mamy and Planet Madagascar work closely with local communities living near Ankarafantsika National Park. Photo: Whitley Awards.

Whitley Award Success for Mamy Razafitsalama and Planet Madagascar!

Conservation in Madagascar got a big boost this week, as Mamy Razafitsalama of Planet Madagascar won a Whitley Fund for Nature award! The Lemur Conservation Network congratulates Mamy for this great honor. This award is a testament to his hard work and his dedication to lemur conservation in Madagascar. In this blog post, learn more about the award, about Mamy’s work with Planet Madagascar, and how he plans to use the prize money to support conservation. About the Whitley Fund […]

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The critically endangered Madame Fleurette’s sportive lemur at Tsitongambarika Protected Area near Fort Dauphin. Photo: Marius Andriamorasata.

Saving the Lemurs of Tsitongambarika: Madagascar’s Southernmost Rainforest

About Tsitongambarika Protected Area Deforestation and hunting by humans have devastated the lemur community in the Tsitongambarika humid forest in the south-east corner of Madagascar. The area is one of the largest expanses of lowland humid forest remaining in the country, and home of seven lemur species – all little known and now highly threatened. In 2009 the Malagasy government declared Tsitongambarika a Protected Area, banning tree cutting and hunting. Forest clearance for traditional tavy agriculture and a high dependency […]

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Desiré Rabary shows us his tree nursery in Antanetiambo Reserve. Photo: Lynne Venart.

Local Reserves in SAVA: Visiting Desiré Rabary’s Antanetiambo Reserve

After hiking in Marojejy National Park to see silky sifakas in the beautiful mountain rainforest, we spent a couple of days relaxing near the beach in Sambava. Then, we head out of the city for the second multi-day hike of the trip: four days in Anjanaharibe Sud Special Reserve (ASSR) with Jackson as my guide. But first, I wanted to see the locally managed Antanetiambo Reserve on the way. We stayed in the town of Andapa that night in order to […]

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View of Ranomafana National Park from Centre Val Bio. Photo: Lynne Venart.

Leading Conservation with Pascal Rabeson of Centre ValBio

Dr. Pascal Rabeson is Centre Val Bio’s National Director, and originally from Toamasina, Madagascar. He has worked with Dr. Patricia Wright in Ranomafana on and off since 1995, most recently rejoining Centre ValBio in 2003. A key part of CVB’s Senior Management Team, Pascal now serves as the National Director at CVB headquarters in Ranomafana National Park. Can you tell me about your background? I grew up in Madagascar and earned my primary, secondary and high school education here. After I passed […]

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Dr. Schwitzer in the field

Interview with Christoph Schwitzer: Part 2

Tell me a bit about the threats to biodiversity in Sahamalaza and the programs that respond to those threats? As everywhere, the main threat is habitat loss. In Sahamalaza, it’s slash-and-burn agriculture for rice cultivation. There’s the ever increasing threat of poaching as well. It was first primarily a threat for the blue-eyed black lemur because they are bigger and cathemeral so you could hunt them during the day. However, since we’ve been out there it’s become more and more […]

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Christoph and Nora

Interview with Christoph Schwitzer: Part 1

How did you get started working with lemurs in Madagascar? I was in the right room at the right time. I had just finished my PhD on lemurs in zoos. My PhD supervisor happened to be the vice president of an association that was conducting lemur research and conservation for lemurs in Madagascar. Cologne Zoo, where I did my PhD, was one of the founding members of the zoo consortium. Because its director was my PhD supervisor, I was taking […]

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Conservation fusion

Leading Conservation with Susie Louis from Conservation Fusion

How did you get started working with lemurs and conservation in Madagascar? Since I was a little girl, I have always had a passion for animals, the environment, and wanting to make a difference. I worked at the Omaha Zoo for 13 years and it was during that time that I had the opportunity to work with lemurs in captivity as a zookeeper. Then, I transferred to the Conservation and Research center where I worked with lemur DNA and mentored […]

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