{"id":38153,"date":"2024-04-30T12:47:15","date_gmt":"2024-04-30T10:47:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/8fee0d24-3141-4fcc-a5ab-f7ed00fc7482"},"modified":"2024-04-30T13:35:48","modified_gmt":"2024-04-30T11:35:48","slug":"a-cougar-like-predator-is-attacking-lemurs-in-madagascar-both-are-in-jeopardy-and-scientists-dont-know-what-to-do","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/a-cougar-like-predator-is-attacking-lemurs-in-madagascar-both-are-in-jeopardy-and-scientists-dont-know-what-to-do\/","title":{"rendered":"A cougar-like predator is attacking lemurs in Madagascar. Both are in jeopardy and scientists don’t know what to do"},"content":{"rendered":"

New evidence of the critically endangered diademed sifaka lemur being targeted by the vulnerable fossa is presenting conservationists with a tricky problem. <\/p>

By <\/p>

Published: Tuesday, 30 April 2024 at 10:47 AM<\/p>

\n\n

For a small mammal, the cocker spaniel-sized fossa, which is endemic to Madagascar, has a mightily big reputation as a cunning and ferocious predator. And, like all successful carnivores, the fossa is a master at evading detection \u2013 so much so that relatively little is known about the predator.<\/p>

But now researchers working in the\u00a0Betampona\u00a0Natural Reserve<\/a> in the north-east of the country have discovered something new about the species: it has been making predation attempts on\u00a0diademed sifaka lemurs.<\/p>

What makes this discovery so significant and a conundrum for conservationists, is that both animals are either vulnerable (fossa) or critically endangered (diademed sifaka lemur) and in urgent need of protection.<\/p>

So, what do conservationists do when one threatened species attacks another?<\/p>

Diademed sifaka lemurs are active during the day and found mostly living within the trees of eastern Madagascar. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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Madagascar’s predator-prey dilemma <\/h2>
\u201cWe were conducting our daily behavioural observations (of diademed sifaka lemurs) when we came across a very unusual sight, a predation attempt by a fossa,\u201d says researcher Giovanna Bonadonna from Washington University in St. Louis<\/a> in the US.<\/p>
\u201cWhat we saw was very rare,\u201d continues Bondadonna.<\/p>
\u201cThere are other small carnivores in Madagascar, but they are not big enough to be able to prey upon an adult diademed sifaka because they are among the biggest lemurs. There are not so many predators that could actually get them.\u201d<\/p>
The\u00a0fossa\u00a0is a slender mammal with a long tail \u2013 it is endemic to Madagascar. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
With slender bodies and long tails, fossae have many cat-like features and, being great climbers, they are sometimes compared to small cougars<\/a>, though they’re actually part of the weasel family.<\/p>
Around 90% of Madagascar’s forests have been destroyed and, as a result, virtually all of the country’s 111 species of lemur are now endangered. Whilst less is known about the population of the fossa, it’s recognised that its numbers are under increasing pressure too.<\/p>
Betampona was the first protected park in Madagascar and is made up of 22\u2009km2 of\u00a0rainforest that’s surrounded by farmland and is totally isolated from larger forest corridors \u2013 the nearest forest is over 20km away.<\/p>
The result is that both the diademed sifaka and fossa are in effect trapped in the reserve and the concern is that there’s a high risk of them disappearing from the forest altogether.<\/p>
$\"Diademed$
The diademed sifaka is the largest sifaka lemur species. Credit: Onja Ramilijaona<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Consequently, Betampona is now acting as one vast open-air laboratory for understanding the predator\u2013prey dynamics between these two species, the outcome of which could have a bearing on Madagascar’s beleaguered wildlife.<\/p>
\u201cAlthough Betampona is one of the best protected reserves in Madagascar, its isolation from other viable forests with lemur populations has created a predicament in which the critically endangered lemurs cannot engage in typical dispersal patterns, leading to genetic and demographic isolation,\u201d says Lisa Kelley, executive director of the Saint Louis Zoo Wildcare Institute<\/a>.<\/p>
\u201cIt is an incredible scenario in which you have a vulnerable species potentially over-predating on several critically endangered species,\u201d observes Kelley.<\/p>
The fossa is an intelligent, agile carnivore. It is classified as a\u00a0vulnerable species. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
The population of diademed sifakas was already in bad shape at Betampona, says Bonadonna, adding that \u201cthere is a huge predation pressure that was underestimated until we did this behavioural study. We were able to highlight inbreeding and other factors that may be behind the fact that this population cannot thrive at Betampona.\u201d<\/p>
$\"Foassa\"$
The fossa population stands at about 2,500. Credit: Getty<\/figcaption><\/figure>
Bonadonna is also quick to defend the fossa:<\/p>
\u201cIt\u2019s not that the fossa is the bad guy, it\u2019s also in need of conservation.\u201d says Bonadonna.<\/p>
Researchers say that the study highlights how complicated the situation is with human activities leading to changes in dynamics within ecosystems, which in turn has cascading effects beyond the current understanding of conservationists.<\/p>
\u201cDespite the effort to conserve one species, it\u2019s really the ecosystem and the balance of that ecosystem that is at stake once the habitat is compromised,\u201d says Bonadonna.<\/p>
Researchers are now hoping to undertake a census of the fossa population within the park and see if the density is very high.<\/p>
\u201cThis may lead park authorities to take actions such as translocation into consideration\u201d adds Bonadonna.<\/p>
$\"Diademed$
The diademed sifaka is listed as\u00a0critically endangered \u2013 and the number of individuals is decreasing. Credit: Onja Ramilijaona<\/figcaption><\/figure>
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