Alaotralemur

African animals

Monkeys and lemurs

The alaotral ant is a small creature that lives in small family groups and spends most of its waking hours eating. It belongs to the genus of bamboo lemurs and as the name reveals, they can eat some bamboo, but 95% of their diet in the wild consists of reeds and papyrus. There are more than 20 species of what we call lemurs, but the lemur family includes more than 100 different species. The number of known species in the family has doubled in the last 25 years. Today, about 90% of the species in the lemur family are threatened with extinction and the biggest threat is deforestation and illegal hunting. The alaotral lemur is one of the most endangered lemurs in the world and their numbers continue to decline. They live in swampy areas that are constantly shrinking and fragmenting due to intensive rice cultivation in the area. Alaotral lemurs are the only primate species that live exclusively in wetlands. The park zoo participates in the European breeding programme, EEP, to conserve the species.

CITES A

In situ - conservation in place

The park zoo has contributed to a time-limited project on the ground in Madagascar, run by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Alaotra wallaby is only found around Lake Alaotra in northern Madagascar. It is the only primate that has adapted to live exclusively in wetland areas. Lac Alaotra is the largest lake in Madagascar and is a wetland of global importance. The area is changing drastically due to rice cultivation, fishing and invasive species. The Alaotra wall is therefore at risk of losing its habitat.

This time-limited project aimed to enable the creation of a new vision for the lake ecosystem, to ensure that the habitat of the alaotral lemur is protected. This was done by supporting local communities to sustainably manage the natural resources within the new protected area. The project was based on years of community focussed work, which has also contributed to the creation of the new Lac Alaotra protected area.

The project also aimed to improve threat monitoring and law enforcement by developing a community monitoring programme. An important part of the project involved working to restore fragile lemur habitats through planting and reducing major threats, such as fires and alien species. For information on the project visit https://iucnsos.org/projects/improving-the-conservation-status-of-hapalemur-alaotrensis-through-habitat-protection-and-community-led-sustainable-management-of-the-alaotra-new-protected-area/

If you also want to contribute to IUCN's work, or find out more, visit https://iucnsos.org/