MYAKKA CITY, FL — Not far from some of Florida’s popular beach destinations, a group of conservationists and scientists have been quietly working in a private forest to promote the survival of the most endangered mammal on the planet.
“Lemurs are the most delightful little creatures you’ve ever met in your life,” shared Katie Virun, education manager and part-time keeper with the Lemur Conservation Foundation, which is about 22 miles from Sarasota and 27 miles from Bradenton in Manatee County.
“They all have such unique personalities,” she said. “They’re all completely different. You have anyone from that lazy Sunday strolling lemur and then we have the very fidgety excited-to-work lemurs. You’ve got a broad range of personalities.”
The foundation was started 23 years ago by Penelope Bodry-Sanders, a former Adrian Dominican nun in Chicago who pursued a career as an actress and singer in New York before becoming an education coordinator with New York’s American Museum of Natural History.
“She had learned about the challenges that lemurs face in the wild during trips to Madagascar,” said Tora Buttaro, director of development with the foundation. “They really spoke to her. She was able to found the organization and purchase the land that we’re on now — a piece of it. It has grown since then.”
The property now consists of 130 acres and is home to 48 cuddly lemurs, who come inside twice a day for meals and at night to sleep, though they sometimes sleep outdoors.
“They have protected forests where they can free range and that is one of the things that makes this a real special place for researchers and field schools because they can study lemurs’ natural behavior which is something they couldn’t otherwise do unless they took a trip to Madagascar,” Buttaro said.
Next Friday is World Lemur Day, a day designated by conservationists to promote awareness of the plight of the 107 known species of lemurs.
The foundation’s lemurs represent six different species, including two critically endangered species, Buttaro said.
“Our reserve in Florida serves as a conservation breeding facility and site for visiting scientists studying lemur behavior,” she said.
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Lemurs are native to Madagascar and not found in the United States except in zoos and other private settings like the foundation’s preserve. The Duke Lemur Center operates a similar preserve on the campus of Duke University in North Carolina.
“We are also working to protect lemurs and habitats in Madagascar, primarily in and around Marojejy National Park and Anjanaharibe-Sud Special Reserve,” Buttaro said.
Those areas of Madagascar are home to 11 species of lemur, including the rare and beautiful silky sifaka lemur.
Lemurs are prosimians, a type of primate. Unlike monkeys, lemurs have a moist nose and rely more heavily on their sense of smell, according to the foundation.
Many have pointed snouts and all but the largest lemur, the indri, have long tails.
Animal Facts Encyclopedia said Lemurs can easily jump six times their body length with powerful, frog-like legs that unfold like springs.
Virun said one study conducted by the foundation confirmed the extent to which lemurs use tools to solve problems.
“They’re the most distantly related (primates) to humans, and so a lot of people thought that meant they were not as intelligent,” Virun said. “Here was this researcher who came out here and did this study about tool use in lemurs, and found they do use tools and quite effectively too.”
The researcher showed lemurs could use a cane-like object to pull food through a gap.
Virun said one of her duties is to speak to elementary school children about lemurs. “We’re a whole world away from Madagascar but there are still things you can do to help the Earth as a whole,” she said. “We don’t want to focus on the doom and gloom even though 95 percent of all lemur species are at risk for extinction.”
The foundation is not equipped to take in former pets or injured animals but it does serve as an important breeding resource.
“We have a very successful breeding program here on site and we are accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums,” she said. “We work with zoos all throughout the country and throughout the world where we monitor the genetics of our lemurs and they get matched based upon a species survival plan. Somebody’s job is to basically be a lemur matchmaker.”
If lemurs go extinct in the wild, the foundation will be one of the organizations that can help them make a comeback.
“The overarching goal of this program is if these animals go extinct in the wild we have that last-ditch genetically viable population that we can potentially reintroduce,” she said. “Really, we’re the safety net to extinction.”