One award-winning biologist never considered studying lemurs until she bought her own pet monkey.
A former social worker, Patricia Wright now focuses on wildlife conservation, specifically in Madagascar. She will speak about her methods at 7 p.m in the L.A. Pittenger Student Center.
Wright's research and efforts focus mainly on lemurs. In 1986, she discovered an unknown species of lemur, called the Golden Bamboo Lemur.
She also rediscovered the Greater Bamboo Lemur, previously thought to be extinct, was still in existence. Since then, Wright has worked continuously to protect lemurs by working to preserve the forests of Madagascar where they live and recently won the Indianapolis Prize from the Indianapolis Zoological Society for her work.
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Golden Bamboo Lemur |
Credit to WikiMedia Commons |
Robert Shumaker, chair of the nomination committee for the 2014 award, said Wright’s model of conservation highlights the importance of community initiatives.
Shumaker said that Wright’s career switch is very uncommon, especially for someone with as much success as Wright has had. He believes that her former career helped her work with the people of Madagascar.
“It’s fair to say that a number of skills and abilities she had as a social worker [made] her so successful as a conservationist,” Shumaker said.
The award is given every two years for “extraordinary contributions to conservation efforts involving a single animal species or multiple species,” according to the IZS’s website. It also includes a $250,000 cash award as well as a medal of recognition.
“I’m so excited to hear about her work. I'm actually hoping to hear her point of view on [her conservation philosophy],” said Emily Hernandez, a freshman environmental management major.
In Shumaker’s opinion, students can learn a lot from her.
“[Her success] reinforces the notion that with the right amount of dedication and passion and hard work [and creativity], one person can make a remarkable difference… one person can change the world,” Shumaker said. “That’s what Dr. Wright has done, and I think that the Indianapolis Prize is a wonderful recognition of that.”
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