Event
The Fragmented World of the Mongoose Lemur
Tuesday 25 April 2023
A free talk in the Zoology Museum by Michael Stephen Clark
A free talk in the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum
The Fragmented World of the Mongoose Lemur is the story of a critically endangered species, fractured ecosystems and the global war on nature. The mongoose lemur is endemic to NW Madagascar where it is found in scattered fragments of habitable forest. As an introduced, naturalised species on Anjouan in the Comoros Islands, it has survived by becoming something else: an adaptable, urbanised mammal. The captive population numbers less than 100 and, disappointingly, it has performed inconsistently over several decades.
In this presentation, local writer Michael Stephen Clark shows how fragmentation is a fact of life for the mongoose lemur; just one of the many species around the world suffering similarly from disturbance, displacement, and/or destruction. In common with the majority of lemurs on Madagascar, it will only survive the anthropogenically driven “sixth great extinction” through positive action and a creative approach to nature conservation.
About Michael Stephen Clark
Michael is an independent writer, author, illustrator, communicator, and publisher. His CV encompasses scientific reports, press and PR communications, web content and journalism. He worked for many years in zoological gardens in Britain and Europe, and undertook field trips to Madagascar and the Comoros Islands. He has also lectured at Oxford-Brooks University on the subject of primates in captivity.
As a writer, his most recent book, The Fragmented World of the Mongoose Lemur, is a modern natural history of a critically endangered species. Other non-fiction includes a detailed account of the Scottish Herring Fishery in the 19th Century entitled Mr Buckland, Mr Walpole, and Mr Young: Around Scotland with the Fisheries Men.
Please enter the Carnelley Building via the main front entrance (the big wooden door) where someone will meet you and direct you to the museum. For security reasons we have to keep the door locked so anyone arriving after 6.05pm will not be able to gain admittance.