Protect a brand new mouse lemur in Madagascar!

The past few months have been exciting times for SEED Madagascar’s research team as they continue their work on confirming a new species of mouse lemur in the forests of Sainte Luce!

Working with a new direct capture method, the team caught a total of 12 mouse lemurs who were then taken to the research centre to be measured and genetic samples taken from hair on the stomach and the tips of the ears.

These samples are currently awaiting export to the German Primate Center for analysis – the final step needed to confirm the mouse lemur as a new species after many months of research!

As well as confirming the new species, the team are also keen to understand more about the territory sizes, home ranges and ecological details of the species, such as social structure, activity schedules and feeding ecology. To do this, they fitted tiny radio tracking collars on eight of the captured mouse lemurs, making it easier to find them in the forest and data collection more efficient.

This research is key to confirming a new species and learning more about them, but it’s also important to improve understanding of the species’ wider distribution, and so they have been surveying the more remote forest fragments that together make up the Sainte Luce littoral forests. Although this is much more in the long term, the team have already confirmed the mouse lemur’s presence in 6 forest fragments as well as some of the tiny forest remnants which are now isolated from the main fragments. This will run alongside our ongoing research into population density data from three of the most important forest fragments.

The team have also been looking at establishing corridors to rejoin the fragments where the mouse lemurs are living and have been growing acacia seedlings in our on-site nursery to prepare them for replanting in four corridor sites between isolated fragments. These corridors will reconnect lemur habitats and allow them to move more easily between fragments, therefore reducing their risk of extinction.

We have a holistic approach to conservation and a crucial aspect of this project is community engagement and knowledge sharing. Project Microcebus has conducted a community meeting in Sainte Luce to talk about project progress, research findings and most significantly, the importance of forest conservation. The project has also included an education session to raise awareness of mouse lemurs amongst the younger generation in the local free conservation club. The session aimed at increasing the children’s understanding of the new species of mouse lemur and the importance of its conservation.

SEED Madagascar are celebrating the recent return of the Primary Investigator for Project Microcebus! Sam will be rejoining our team out at our research camp in the Sainte Luce littoral forest at the start of August, where we’ll begin by investigating the smaller and less researched forest fragments for the presence of mouse lemurs.

Due to their small size and fragmented nature it looks unlikely that mouse lemurs will be present in these sections of forest, however researching lesser known areas will help to definitively locate any and all populations of this new species. We will also be radio tagging and tracking mouse lemurs for six months to better understand their locations and movements.

In the meantime, our Conservation Programme team have continued ongoing population abundance and density research for the lemur species present in the Sainte Luce littoral forest, including the mouse lemur. Mouse lemurs enter a state of torpor, or semi-hibernation, to conserve resources and survive the cooler winter months, but the team still occasionally see males out on their night surveys! However, as we enter spring in the southern hemisphere we think that more and more of the mouse lemurs will be visible on night walks.

Our community-centred conservation model also means there is much more to Project Microcebus than simply conducting scientific research. The team has been working hard within the local community to raise awareness of this special new species, including all the fun and celebration of World Environment Day! Every year SEED celebrates this international holiday with the entirety of the Sainte Luce community, discussing and celebrating the unique forest environment the community lives in.

This year's global theme was "Connecting People to Nature", imploring everyone to get outdoors and into nature to appreciate its beauty and importance, and to protect the Earth that we share. On the 5^th June, the team put together some fun events for members of our free conservation club, Club Atasatsaky, with the kids planting fruit tree saplings along the edge of the forest. The fig and guava trees were selected for their suitability to provide food for the endemic Madagascar flying fox bat, which in turn will reduce conflict with fruit farmers who view the bats as pests. Not only will these saplings aid in the conservation of an endemic bat species, but they will also one day provide additional habitat for the lemurs who dwell in the forest!