**NEWS RELEASE**

 CONTACT:

JOHN DELANEY: (1-718-220-3275; jdelaney@wcs.org)

STEPHEN SAUTNER: (1-718-220-3682; ssautner@wcs.org)

Vote for Critically Endangered Lemurs of Madagascar in Online Contest

Two lemur species in contest for $33,000 of funding from European Outdoor Conservation Association

Online voting runs from March 1-15, 2016

 

Link to Vote For “Conservation of the Silky Sifaka and the Red-ruffed Lemur, Madagascar” (the second selection in the “Nature” category):  http://www.outdoorconservation.eu/project-info.cfm?pageid=19

NEW YORK (March 1, 2016)—Want to help save two critically endangered lemur species in Madagascar with your smartphone or mouse? Here’s your chance to make a difference.

The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is encouraging everyone to vote online for the silky sifaka and the red-ruffed lemur—both denizens of Madagascar’s Makira Natural Park, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth. The competition is being hosted by the European Outdoor Conservation Association, a charitable group that offers funding to help implement and support conservation groups.

If successful, these two threatened primates will receive $33,000 in funding for conservation activities such as monitoring and enforcement. “Conservation of the Silky Sifaka and the Red-ruffed Lemur, Madagascar” is the second selection in the “Nature” category. 

To vote for lemurs, just click here: http://www.outdoorconservation.eu/project-info.cfm?pageid=19

Voting begins today (March 1st) and ends on March 15 at 12:00 GMT.

The WCS-supported project works to protect both species of lemur within the Antsahabe Forest inside Makira Natural Park. This forest is the only place in the world where both species live together in the same location. Both the silky sifaka – of which only a few hundred individuals remain in the wild - and the red-ruffed lemur are threatened with direct hunting and habitat destruction through slash-and-burn agriculture and the overharvesting of food and medicine. The project works with local tour operators to create local livelihood opportunities for local communities through ecotourism in order to provide sustainable alternatives to the destructive practices that threaten to drive these species to extinction. 

 Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature. To achieve our mission, WCS, based at the Bronx Zoo, harnesses the power of its Global Conservation Program in nearly 60 nations and in all the world’s oceans and its five wildlife parks in New York City, visited by 4 million people annually. WCS combines its expertise in the field, zoos, and aquarium to achieve its conservation mission. Visit: newsroom.wcs.org Follow: @WCSNewsroom. For more information: 347-840-1242.