Untitled Document
 If
you have seen the movie, Madagascar, you’re probably familiar with
lemurs. These monkey-like animals are only found in the wild of Madagascar,
an island country off the southeastern coast of Africa. Sadly, however,
lemurs are the world’s most endangered mammals. It has been estimated
that 90 percent of all lemur species will be extinct in 20 to 25 years.
This is why Patricia Wright, a scientist and professor from the United
States, built a park for lemurs. They weren’t safe, because people
were cutting down the forest for wood. So she asked the government
to create a park for the lemurs, where they would be safe from people.
The government agreed, and Mrs. Wright established the Ranomafana
National Park in 1991. “It’s all beautiful rainforest,” she said at
that time. Today, at least 14 types of lemurs live inside the park,
along with millions of other plants and animals.
 Now, however,
Mrs. Wright wants to make the park-a UNESCO World Heritage Site-bigger
to protect even more of Madagascar’s wild forests. This is because
deforestation is a huge problem in Madagascar. More than 90 percent
of the country’s original forests are gone, mainly due to farming
and logging. Mrs. Wright plans to talk to major donors and the government
so that more areas of the forest can be protected. |
Staff
reporter Jessica Kim
(jessicakim@timescore.co.kr)
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