Paper short abstract:

A local worldview attributing shared origins to people and lemurs does not prevent hunting of lemurs. Eulemur collaris is valued as a favoured food; Hapalemur meridionalis is viewed unfavourably. People’s practices towards each species varied according to land productivity and conservation regime.

Paper long abstract:

With 96% of lemur species classified as threatened in the IUCN Red List, they are a high priority for global conservation efforts. But how does this fit with local people’s views about lemurs in rural Madagascar? We conducted qualitative research in two communes in Tsitongambarika Protected Area to investigate how forest-dependent villagers interacted with and valued two lemur species. Local people have an origin story that tells how humans descended from halo – southern bamboo lemur (Hapalemur meridionalis) and variky – red-collared brown lemur (Eulemur collaris). Despite this common ancestry, they are among the most harvested animals in the area. We found that the two species of lemur are not considered related as in western taxonomy, and whereas E. collaris is highly valued as a favoured food source, H. meridionalis is regarded unfavourably because it forages on rice shoots. People’s practices towards bamboo lemurs varied between our two study sites. Where agricultural land was relatively productive and enforcement of conservation rules minimal, most farmers used projectiles or scarecrows to deter them. By contrast, where agricultural land was less fertile and conservation initiatives had disrupted traditional livelihoods, farmers trapped bamboo lemurs, despite their meat being considered poor quality. Statutory protection of both species had little effect on people’s views about them, and only the fear of repercussions influenced their hunting practices. Our research illustrates the need for conservationists to appreciate local residents’ complex viewpoints in their socio-cultural context instead of simply assuming the importance of species from a western perspective.