Mittermeier's Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur mittermeieri)

Mohamed bin Zayed Species project number 192522461

Conservation of Lepilemur mittermeieri (EN) and its habitat in the Ampasindava Peninsula-Ambanja District, north-west of Madagascar.

Lepilemur mittermeieri or mittermeier's sportive lemur is a species of lemur endemic to the Ampasindava Peninsula and is currently listed as Endangered in the IUCN Red List since 2014 and listed in Appendix I of CITES. Its habitats are subject to anthropogenic threats and pressures through unsustainable agricultural practices, charcoal production and extraction of forest species. Its home range within the dense rainforests and old-growth secondary forests in the area is subject to fragmentation and skimming.

All these parameters require a good conservation strategy for this lemur, especially its habitat, in order to ensure that the resources used by this species are always available and sufficient in the wild. This project implements complementary knowledge-building activities, in-depth ecological studies on habitats of the target lemur species, the strengthening of ecological conservation/restoration activities and sustainable environmental education activities for the benefit of local stakeholders in local communities. The objectives of this project are (1) to reduce pressures and threats on the population of Lepilemur mittermeieri, (2) to improve the species' living space in the Ampasindava peninsula, (3) to study the ecology of habitats, (4) to restore Lemur habitat, (5) to inform and sensitize local communities about the threats to the species and the degradation of its habitat.

This project extends over twelve months from the first quarter of 2020 until the end of the first quarter of 2021, with the collaboration between the local communities of Ampasindava, the Biology and Plant Ecology Department, Faculty of Sciences at the University of Antananarivo and the delegated manager of the Ampasindava Protected Area, which is the Famelona Association.