Here’s a look at the new crop of young explorers and the things they’re doing to advance the species. Among them is one of my favorites: Kira Salak. NYT called her “a real-life Lara Croft”, which is kind of lame. Anyway, Salak has traveled to almost every continent, visiting some of the world’s most remote places, including Madagascar, Mozambique, Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Borneo. She was the first documented person to kayak solo 600 miles (966 kilometers) down West Africa’s Niger River.
Love in the Time of Lemurs
They are the Marty Feldmans of the animal world. Big-eyed, jumpy, always appearing more paranoid than a speed addict at the Policeman’s Ball. And yet, they are cute little buggers. You can’t help but want to cuddle with them. Lemurs are indigenous to only one place on earth, the island of Madagascar off the coast of Africa. This fine little piece takes you there, and discusses some of the heroic effort to save the lemurs. For example, the creation of a 260-acre bio-reserve called Berenty. This is now the premier place on earth to view the lemur, a species in danger of extinction. Now might be the time to see both the lemur AND Madagascar, since some 85 percent of the island has been deforested.