Lemurs Soon to be Extinct Due to Political Crisis

Conservationists and researchers from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said that lemurs are in the brink of extinction due to the political crisis.

Lemur is a primate usually found around the island of Madagascar. Its size ranges from 30 grams to 9000grams. There are about 100 species of lemurs. However, according to IUCN's Species Survival Commission (SSC) Red List, they are the most threatened mammal group here on Earth.

Lemur's peaceful habitation has been razed and interrupted by humans for many years now, but the political crisis made it worst. It prompted international donors to stop funding environmental programs for Madagascar, and conservation laws have been disregarded, said Mitchell Irwin, one of the authors of the report.

In 1990, the forest habitat had an area of 41,000 square mi. (106,600, sq. Km.). After over a couple of decades, it was trimmed down to approximately 36,000 square mi. (92,200 sq. Km.). Furthermore, most of lemur's habitat is not well-protected or not protected at all.

"Since the 2009 political crisis, the situation on the ground has been grim for the Malagasy people, but also for the lemurs, especially in terms of habitat loss. If things don't turn around, lemur extinctions will start happening," said Irwin, an anthropologist at Northern Illinois University, in a statement to LiveScience.com.

This puppy-eyed animal that gained our attention in the animated movie "Madagascar" as King Julien XIII sustains the island' forests and balance the environment. Since it plays a great role in our ecology, "their loss would likely trigger extinction cascades," 19 lemur researchers and conservationists wrote in a report titled, "Averting Lemur Extinctions amid Madagascar's Political Crisis."

To prevent lemur from getting extinct, they appealed to the public and authorities to safeguard lemur species from the threats of disappearance due to political adversities. They also raised the proposal regarding the adoption of an emergency conservation action plan that promotes the establishment of promotion of ecotourism community-based, protected-habitat management, and a fixed presence of a researcher in Madagascar.

This study was published on the Feb. 21 issue of Science.