Protecting lemurs in Madagascar
- By Richard Branson -
- May 31, 2012
Some people call Madagascar ‘the seventh continent’. The island country located in the Indian Ocean has more diversity than almost any other continent on earth and yet is much, much smaller.
Sadly, in the last few years it has been going the wrong way. There used to be 150 species of lemur and now there are only 101 left. Quite a lot of other species on Madagascar are now in peril. This is down to the massive logging that is going on in Madagascar. Lots of their habitat is being destroyed, and people are shooting and eating lemurs and other species too.
I am going to spend over a week in Madagascar with the world’s leading lemur expert, Russell Mittermeier, going around the island seeing the positives and negatives for myself. Then we will campaign hard to help protect what is left of Madagascar and its unique wildlife.
My son Sam and my nephew are here on the trip too, so it will be a wonderful treat. We will take lots of great photos and do some filming, then share all of the beautiful species we come across.
By Richard Branson. Founder of Virgin Group
