Lemur Conservation Foundation

The Lemur Conservation Foundation (LCF) is a

LCF is certified by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums as a related facility.^[10] For the first 14 years of its history, Bodry-Sanders served as LCF's executive director until her retirement from the position in 2010.^[3] She was succeeded by Lee Nesler^[11] and Alison Grand, then by Deborah Robbins Millman, who has been LCF's executive director since 2020.^{[8]: 2 [12]}

Myakka City

The first 11 lemur residents of the reserve in Myakka City arrived in 1999 from the Duke Lemur Center. The Florida-based facility had its opening ceremony in 2000. Two years later, the reserve had its first birth, a mongoose lemur named Alexandro.^[8]: 4

Initially, the reserve primarily focused on behavioral research. By 2005, it had grown into a well-established conservation and research institution housing about 20 lemurs in a section bordered by a chain-link fence. The facility was already being utilized by the University of Miami and New College of Florida for training and research.^[9] In the summer of 2005, the reserve completed construction on a larger second enclosure.^[13]

As of 2016, the foundation owns more than 120 acres (49 ha) where there are two free-range forests of 8 acres (3.2 ha) and 13 acres (5.3 ha) each,^[4][11] with the remaining land serving as native wildlife habitat or buffer zone for the reserve.^[3][9] There were plans to add a third enclosure of about 15 acres (6.1 ha) to include a clinic and a larger quarantine area.^[3]

Programs in Madagascar

LCF operates several community-based conservation initiatives in Madagascar.

In Marojejy National Park in northern Madagascar, LCF brings young students in to teach them about endangered species and threats to their habitat.^[15]

Funding

In the early 2000s, the foundation collected more than $1.7 million in a fundraising drive. In January 2005, LCF began a new fundraising drive with a goal of $3 million to be used to expand the lemur population to 50 and open the facility to select guests by way of an observation deck. The organization also hoped to supplement its endowment fund, expand the reserves it supported in Madagascar, and add an educational center to its reserve in Myakka City. At the outset of the fundraiser, board members pledged more than half of the goal to match individual contributions.^[13]

LCF hosts an annual fund-raising gala in nearby Sarasota, Florida. As of 2018, the foundation's supporters were more than halfway to their most recent goal of raising an additional $2.2 million.^[1]

References

External links

• Official website
• MadagaSCARS flash animation film