Malagasy conservationist meets namesake lemur after travelling to the UK to celebrate 20 years of fighting deforestation

This is the moment a Malagasy conservationist met the little lemur who shares her name.

A team of conservationists from Madagasikara Voakajy (MV) travelled to Chester Zoo to celebrate 20 years of helping to protect wildlife in Madagascar.

Three delegates from the Malagasy conservation organisation, which was set up in 2005, spent three weeks at Chester Zoo to mark the major milestone and to train.

Among them was Sydonie Rabarison, fundraising and partnership officer for MV, who had the chance to meet another Sydonie: a Coquerel’s sifaka born at Chester Zoo this year.

Known as ‘dancing lemurs’, Coquerel’s sifaka are listed as critically endangered according to the IUCN Red List.

Sydonie Rabarison said: "When I first heard the honour that the lemur would be named Sydonie, I cried out of happiness. Then I saw her in person. I was so excited that I jumped - like a sifaka’s mother! Seeing her made me proud to collaborate with Chester Zoo and encouraged me to do more with my MV work."

Sifaka Sydonie’s birth at Chester Zoo is part of an important international conservation breeding programme, which is working to ensure a vital insurance population of sifaka in leading conservation zoos in Europe.

Wild-born sifakas are only found in Madagascar, and their population has dropped by as much as 80% over the last thirty years.

Their island habitats are threatened by deforestation, putting the future of the species in doubt.

Sifaka are described as a ‘delicate’ species in official European Association of Zoos and Aquaria guides, so Sydonie's birth at Chester Zoo is a major success, as is the fact she continues to thrive.

The moment the conservationist met the young sifaka - who was born more than 5,500 miles from where the team works to protect her Malagasy cousins – symbolises the importance of conservation both in and beyond the wild.

Chester Zoo has been a supporter of Madagasikara Voakajy (MV) for 15 years.

Julie Razafimanahaka, biologist and executive director of MV, said: “Our association is dedicated to preventing the extinction of Madagascar’s endemic species, working hand-in-hand with local communities and partners like Chester Zoo to save these species in the wild. We focus on the most threatened species in Madagascar, and also the most overlooked.

“In 20 years, we have been able to celebrate down-listing two species from critically endangered to endangered: the golden mantella frog and the calumma tarzan chameleon. We have challenged deforestation and we have trained 40 community leaders and hundreds of young people to protect Malagasy biodiversity.”

The zoo hosted three representatives from the organisation who took part in workshops and were honoured at a celebration party, which also featured other supporters.

Simon Dowell, Conservation Science & Policy Director, said this was: “The first celebration of its kind at the zoo.”

Harilefitra Ratovo Andrianarisoa, deputy director of MV, said practical and financial support from partners like Chester Zoo was vital. 

He said: “The first value of Madigasikara Voakajy is collaboration, because we can’t achieve our vision without collaboration.”

The visit was a practical one: over three weeks, the delegates, including fundraiser Sydonie Rabarison, have been intensively workshopping fundraising strategies with experts from Chester Zoo. 

She said that finding funds was a “major challenge” for on-the-ground conservationists.

Chester Zoo will continue to offer financial and practical support to MV.

Members of the Chester Zoo team will travel out to Madagascar on a conservation expedition later in the year. 

Meanwhile, Sydonie the young sifaka is growing fast. 

She can still be seen piggybacking on her mother in the Madagascar zone at Chester Zoo but is likely to become independent soon.

To find out more about Chester Zoo's conservation mission, visit www.chesterzoo.org