An interview with ringtailed lemur expert Alison Jolly
An interview with ringtailed lemur expert Alison Jolly
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
October 6, 2008
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Madagascar has more than 100 types of lemurs, but the most famous species is the ringtailed lemur, a primate found widely in the southern part of the Indian Ocean island.
The world’s leading expert on ringtailed lemurs is Alison Jolly, presently a Visiting Scientist at the University of Sussex in the UK. Since arriving on the Indian Ocean island in 1963, Jolly has documented the behavior and population dynamics of ringtailed lemurs in Berenty, a small private reserve of gallery forest amid a sea of desert-like spiny forest in southern Madagascar.
 Alsion Jolly. Image courtesy of the BBC |
Jolly has authored several books on her experiences and research, including Lords & Lemurs, a popular account of Berenty’s history; Lucy’s Legacy, which offers a unique take on the sociobiology of humans; Ringtailed Lemur Biology, which presents the ecology and behavior of ringtails; and two children’s books, Ako the Aye-Aye and Bitika the Mouselemur.
Jolly has received many awards for her research and conservation work, but one of her dearest distinctions came in 2006 when a new species of mouse lemur (Microcebus jollyae) was named in her honor.
In an interview with mongabay.com in the fall of 2008, Jolly discussed lemurs and conservation in Madagascar.
AN INTERVIEW WITH ALISON JOLLY
Mongabay: What led you to study lemurs in Madagascar?
 Ringtailed lemurs in Berenty |
Alison Jolly:
Luck, like many people’s careers. A professor at Yale, John Buettner-Janusch, brought the first big US collection of many species of prosimian to Yale–it later became the nucleus of the Duke Lemur Center. I was a grad student, and I was hooked–not just because lemurs are cute, but mainly because there is such a variety of kinds of animals–fast or slow moving, insect- or fruit-eating, diurnal, nocturnal…you name it. Of course they are also all cute!
Mongabay: Your focal species, the ringtailed lemur, has unusual social behavior relative to most primates, in that groups are dominated by females. How has your work on the demography of ringtails influenced your broader thoughts on the evolution of social behavior?
Alison Jolly:
Actually, female dominance in lemurs has never been fully explained. Many of the 80-some lemur species are female-dominant, others more equal. No lemurs are male-dominant which is the common case for other primates and other mammals. Ringtails in particular have the kind of multi-male, multi-female society that we teach in the textbooks should lead to male dominance. They didn’t read the textbooks.
Mongabay: What are some of the changes you’ve seen in terms of conservation since you started working in Madagascar since the mid-1960s? Is protected area management more accommodating of the needs of local communities?
 Ringtailed lemurs in Berenty |
Alison Jolly:
Huge changes, from thinking that conservation is a foreign plot to steal people’s land to thinking that it is essential for the people’s future. President Marc Ravelomanana announced in 2003 that the amount of preserved area should be tripled, but with the new zones managed with and by villagers, not just the forest service.
Mongabay: Berenty provides a sort of special case for conservation in that it is a private reserve. Do you see Berenty as an exception in terms of its success or do you think private reserves can offer some advantages over national parks in Madagascar?
Alison Jolly:
Berenty is not just private, but exceptional in all ways–owned by a family who have supported conservation through three generations. Good management doesn’t come from whether a place is public or private, it comes from vision, adequate funding, and courage.
Mongabay: What are some of the biggest challenges to conservation in Madagascar?
Alison Jolly:
Climate change and poverty. I put climate change first. Any Malagasy peasant can tell George Bush or Sarah Palin about the effects of drought and cyclones–though they don’t want to hear.
Mongabay: What is your outlook for the ringtailed lemur? Does it adapt well to human-modified habitat? Will climate change pose a threat to the species?
Alison Jolly:
Ringtails are tough as old boots. As long as there is any forest they can survive. But climate change hammers people who then hammer the forest.
Mongabay: Can ringtailed lemur habitat such as the spiny forest be restored or will it regenerate on its own?
 Ringtailed lemur in Berenty |
Alison Jolly:
It regenerates, but slowly. It can also be replanted. However, people have to decide they want it.
Mongabay: What can people in the United States and Europe do to support conservation in Southwestern Madagascar?
Alison Jolly:
Directly? Send money. Indirectly? Teach about Madagascar in schools and videos, and why turning off a light-bulb (or a coal mine) in the US can help a Malagasy farmer to help the forests.
Mongabay: Do you have any advice for aspiring researchers who would like to work in Madagascar?
Alison Jolly:
Come! But remember that if you do, you are a guest, and your main aim is to help Malagasy scientists do the work you’d like to do too.
- Lords & Lemurs
- Lucy’s Legacy
- Ringtailed Lemur Biology, which presents the ecology and behavior of ringtails; and two children’s books, Ako the Aye-Aye and Bitika the Mouselemur.
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Ringtailed lemur photos
