Research Summary
Ankarafantsika National Park, Madagascar — Madagascar’s lemurs are famous the world over, but their rare predator the fossa remains a mystery. One of the most ferocious predators on Earth, the cat-like fossa is actually a large relative of the civets. Seven of the eight civet-like carnivores that stalk Madagascar's forests are found nowhere else in the world. The habits and population status of many civets are virtually unknown. Dr Luke Dollar and RAHAJANIRINA Léon Peirrot, working with veterinarian Dr Julie Pomerantz, are monitoring carnivore populations in these remarkable forests. Their research – and your help – comes in the nick of time, as deforestation and hunting threatens many of these unique mammals and their habitats.
Meet the Scientists
Dr Luke Dollar
Duke University
"For the past eleven years, Earthwatch volunteers helped us study the enigmatic carnivore of the Red Island, the fossa. The fossa is the top predator of the Malagasy food chain, but we know so little about it that scientists still argue about how few of these extraordinary predators remain. With its cat-like weaponry and the tenacity of a mongoose, it is certain that the fossa is one of the most capable mammalian predators on Earth. Join us in this adventure to learn as much as possible about the fossa, to protect it and its ecosystem."
Dr Dollar completed his Ph.D. in Ecology at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment in 2006. He is a research associate with the Duke University Primate Center and Founder of the Carnivore Conservation and Research Trust. He currently advises undergraduate and graduate students as Assistant Professor of Biology at Pfeiffer University and as an Adjunct Professor of Ecology at Duke University, both in North Carolina. His research specialties include carnivore ecology, specifically the fossa in Malagasy rainforests. Dr Dollar has worked on the fossa and its conservation for more than a decade. As director of this project, he has managed teams from five continents in more than a dozen field sites. In addition to being an avid outdoorsman, he is a compassionate conservationist, focusing equally on the human and biodiversity components of environmental management.
Dr Julie Pomerantz
Duke University
Dr Julie Pomerantz is a field veterinarian and epidemiological researcher specifically focuses on the diseases of the Madagascar fauna during this project. Her research specialties include veterinary medicine, epidemiology, field laboratory techniques, anesthetization and surgery.
Dr Pomerantz, a 1999 Carnivores of Madagascar Earthwatch volunteer herself, has been the project’s fossa veterinarian every year since 2000. A small animal veterinarian in Manhattan, she takes three months a year away from her busy practice to pursue the science and preservation of carnivores in Madagascar.
RAHAJANIRINA Léon Peirrot
Adjunct Professor of Biology, Pfeiffer University
RAHAJANIRINA Léon Peirrot received his D.E.A. for his work on fossa in Ankarafantsika. He teaches a class on conservation biology at Pfeiffer University in conjunction with Dr Dollar. He has worked with the Fossa Research Team since 1998 and has been Field Director and Chief of Staff for the project since 2003.