For the Love of Lemurs: My Life in the Wilds of Madagascar

by Patricia Chapple Wright

In 1986, primatologist Patricia Chapple Wright was given a seemingly impossible task: to travel to the rainforests of Madagascar and find the greater bamboo lemur, a species that hadn't been seen in the wild for thirty years. Not only did Wright discover that the primate still existed but that it lived alongside a completely new species. What followed was a love affair with an animal and a country that continues to this day. In this frank and enchanting sequel to High Moon Over the Amazon, Wright recounts the many challenges she faced, including separation from her daughter, a tempestuous romance with a fellow scientist, and political upheaval that threatens her dream of establishing a national park to ensure the safety of her precious lemurs. But in the end, her tenacity, daring, and passion for this endangered primate lead to extraordinary scientific breakthroughs and help bring the animal back from the brink of extinction.

Genres: Nonfiction, Animals, Memoir, Nature, Madagascar, Conservation

252 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2014

About the author

Dr. Wright has made major contributions in the biology, ecology, conservation and behavior of living primates. She discovered a new species of lemur, Hapalemur aureus in 1987 and helped establish Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park in 1991 to protect it. Her research concerns focus on behavior, senescence, parasitology, predation, rainforest ecology, climate change and conservation studies of Malagasy lemurs. Patricia Wright earned a BA from Hood College in 1966 and a PhD in Anthropology from City University of New York in 1985. Dr. Wright has led over 40 field expeditions to Peru, Paraguay, East Malaysia, the Philippines and Madagascar. She has held professional appointments at Duke (1983-91) and Stony Brook Universities (1991-2014) and is the Executive Director of the Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments at Stony Brook University (1992-2014) and the Founder and International Director of the Centre ValBio Research Campus at Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar. She has authored over 150 scientific publications and has received many high honors. She is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2004) as well as other professional associations. She was awarded a John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship (1989-1994), a "Knight of the National Order" in 1995, the “Officier Medal” in 2003 and the “Commandeur Medal” in 2012 by the government of Madagascar. Other awards include the Hauptman Woodward Pioneer in Science Medal (2008), Distinguished Primatologist Award from American Society of Primatology (2008), honorary degrees from Hood College and the University of Antananarivo and a Distinguished Alumnae Award from Hood College (2008). In 2012, and again in 2014 she has been selected as one of six finalists for the internationally recognized Indianapolis Prize for Conservation. Her books include “Madagascar: Forests of our Ancestors”, “Tarsiers: Past, Present and Future”, and “High Moon over the Amazon: My Quest to Understand the Monkeys of the Night.” Dr. Wright was a member of the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration, and NGS Conservation Trust. She continues to be on the Scientific Advisory Board of the Duke Lemur Center, a member of the Madagascar Fauna Group and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission (IUCN SSC) Primate Specialist Group. Her work has been featured in the film “Me and Isaac Newton” directed by Michael Apted (1999) and IMAX’s “Island of Lemurs: Madagascar 3D” directed by David Douglas (2014). Dr. Wright was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2013.

Reviews

[Jessa McCauley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a phenomenal book. It detailed the difficulties, realities, and joys of field research. It gave fascinating tidbits of behavior on numerous species, including the falanouc, which was an animal unknown to me. The book explains the creation of Madagascar’s third national park, a tremendous feat with huge benefits for the people and the flora/fauna.

I enjoyed Patricia Wright’s previous book about studying owl monkeys in the Amazon. “For the Love of Lemurs” really made me feel like she had come into her own and how one person with a vision capable of bringing others together can make a tremendous positive difference in the world.

[Stephanie Froebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I carry a significant bias in writing this review as reading Wright's account has taken me back to Madagascar, the country I traveled through last August.

Patricia Chappel Wright is a conservation biologist, focusing on all things lemurs. In the 1980s she discovered a new species of lemur, the golden lemur. I remember walking through Ranomafana national park and seeing the displays of her discovery. I remember feeling inspired to see a woman scientists discover a new species and work to secure the forests with the national park protective label.

When I started this book, I had forgotten her name. To unexpectantly come upon someone I had briefly admired in a land far from my home and read her story back in my home was a wonderful full circle moment.

Wright is able to connect the reader to Madagascar. Having been there myself, I read this book with great sentiment, relating to the way she depicts her interactions with Malagasy, the towns she traveled, and the lemurs she met. I returned to this land through her words. Her narrative also taught me about the procedures in active conservation: the effort she had in her research, securing grants, and working with locals. I do wish she gave more commentary on the ethics of her conservation work. What are the justifications for capturing members of a severely endangered population to be studied in labs in the West? My first instinct is that this takes away essential breeding mammals from their natural habitat (especially when the species numbers are less than 100). I'm not saying I'm against these practices, but I cannot fully understand her work until she explains to an unknowing audience why she believes these steps are necessary and okay.

Wright also gives a different take on conservation and observational science as compared to other famous primatologists (Goodall, Fossey, Biruté) which is useful to understand the different avenues within the field. Unlike these women, Wright fulfills significantly fewer long-term studies, bouncing from region to region on the island to provide a breadth of lemur research (from fossils to behavior, to phylogenies, etc.). Her narrative is less about these 'profound' primate-to primate connections and definitely more about the research and conservation efforts. It's pretty groovy, in my opinion.

I simply could not put this book down. I craved every second and every sentence. I surely recommend.

[Wendelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is not just a tale of riveting exploration, but of how a lone life can be conducted to create impact of wide magnitude. Prof. Patricia Chapple Wright is now a primatologist based in Stony Brook University, but at the time of this tale she was a lowly (and lowly paid) early-career researcher at Duke, who was tasked by the department head to head to Madagascar and succeed in the elusive task of spotting an extant greater bamboo lemur. The challenge that awaited her was more exacting; arriving in the forest and hearing the felling of ancient trees from the logging of timber, she learned that Malagasy workers were exploited to do difficult logging for international corporations at the rate of a dollar a day. She set up a meeting with the Madagascar President to plea for the habitats of the lemurs that could be found nowhere else in the world. To her surprise, the President agreed, and set her on a challenge: compile the funds needed, and he will declare the area a national park for preservation. In one moment of time Dr. Wright's life was pivoted into a devoted pursuit of conservation. Herself on a shoestring budget, she learned to navigate red tape to request funds from USAID and other agencies. Conducting a survey of the 57 villages that line the park's proposed perimeter, she garnered the support of the village elders for this park proposal if they will receive the essential supports and infrastructure: cement dams to protect rice paddies, schools, teachers, healthcare, and soccer balls. Through sheer tenacity, creativity and community support, Dr. Wright was able to collect these essentials, by hiring graduate students who could conduct mobile clinics, for example. She also funneled funds from grants to build and operate schools and clinics. These are all things the people of Madagascar unequivocally deserve.
This book contains many interesting memories, such as the inauguration of Ramonafana National Park, meeting the kings and queen of Madagascar who were deeply devoted to their people and their land, explorations of ancient forests without trails through orchids and ferns and latticework branches hanging over, meals and rituals with village elders, looking for fossils with Dr. Elwyn Simons, and a time when their tent with metal poles was struck by lightning during a storm, and many more. This is a very interesting and recommended book to read for people who appreciate lemurs, as well as the need for the community dimension of conservation.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing

What an amazing story! Pat Wright and her work to save the lemurs and wildlife of Madagascar is extraordinary. She is my hero and I look forward to visiting the Ranamafana National Park she founded!

[Rachael Davis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am planning a trip to Madagascar and this book has opened my eyes to what I can expect - amazing wildlife and natural history. Patricia is an amazing Eco Hero. What she achieved is awe-inspiring.

[Walt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is another great addition to the primate books available, as there aren't too many about smaller primates like lemurs and new world monkeys. While I wouldn't say it was written quite as well as High Moon Over the Amazon: My Quest to Understand the Monkeys of the Night (seeming sort of rushed due to the many years described), it had a lot of great lemur information and would probably serve as a fairly good introduction to lemurs, primatology, and Wright's work in the field.
One thing that I think could have been improved upon is the book's tendency to cover entire expeditions and such over just one chapter. I think this book could have been written as two separate books to allow for longer and more descriptive sections on particular lemurs and places. For instance, before I read the book I was expecting at least a third of it to be related to Wright's initial trip in Ranomafana and her discovery of the golden bamboo lemur, yet it ended up only being given a chapter.
Despite theses shortcomings, this is still one of the best primatology books I've read, and I would recommend it to anyone interested in nature and science.

[Pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

to much time in the rain forest although Chapple did bring schools and medical care to people who needed and wanted them