For Malagasy trapped in poverty, threatened lemurs and fossas are fair game
by Malavika Vyawahare on 4 August 2021
Half of nearly 700 households surveyed in a recent study in Makira National Park in Madagascar reported eating lemur meat and a quarter had consumed fossa meat.
The research conducted by the Wildlife Conservation Society relied on indirect questioning and revealed unusually high levels of consumption of meat from the fossa, Madagascar’s top predator.
Hunting pressure combined with shrinking habitats could lead to the local extinction of the indri, a critically endangered species and the largest living lemur, along with three other lemur species in the park.
A new WCS study looks at the prevalence of human consumption of lemur and fossa (Madagascar s largest predator) in villages within and around Makira Natural Park, northeastern Madagascar, providing up-to-date estimates of the percentage of households who eat meat from these protected species.
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The Bronx Zoo, located on 265 acres of hardwood forest in Bronx, NY, opened on Nov. 8, 1899. It is world-renowned for its leadership in the areas of animal welfare, husbandry, veterinary care, education, science and conservation. The zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is the flagship park of the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) which manages the world’s largest network of urban wildlife parks including the Bronx Zoo, Central Park Zoo, Prospect Park Zoo, Queens Zoo and New York Aquarium. Our curators and animal care staff work to save, propagate, and sustain populations of threatened and endangered species. We have educated and inspired more than 400 million visitors at our zoos and aquarium since our opening and host approximately 4 million guests at our parks each year – including about a half-million students annually. The Bronx Zoo is the largest youth employer in the borough of the Bronx, providing opportunity and helping to
Credit: Charlotte Spria
MAROANTSETRA, Madagascar (May 13, 2021) - A new study by WCS (Wildlife Conservation Society) looks at the prevalence of human consumption of lemur and fossa (Madagascar s largest predator) in villages within and around Makira Natural Park, northeastern Madagascar, providing up-to-date estimates of the percentage of households who eat meat from these protected species.
Authors from the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) describe their findings in the journal
Conservation Science and Practice. In Madagascar, the consumption of endangered and protected species, in particular lemurs, is widespread. Consumer demand for bushmeat can drive species to extinction, largely because species with higher body mass are generally the most heavily hunted, but also tend to have low reproductive rates and are therefore particularly at risk of going extinct because of the demand for their meat.