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The MFG reintroduced black and white lemurs from Indri are not found in any
US zoos into the Betampona Reserve rainforest zoo and are one of the
beginning in the 1990s. critically endangered lemurs
protected by the MFG.

Tim Tetzlaff and ring-tailed lemurs
at Naples Zoo in the 1990s.

Madagascar and Moments that Matter

by Tim L. Tetzlaff, Director of Conservation, Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens

e all have special days we mark at the time as forever the Director of Zoo Zürich and MFG Board Member Dr. Alex
memorable like a birth or wedding. But then some Rübel asked me to become the MFG’s Public Awareness Advisor.
Wmoments are so seemingly insignificant, we don’t Then headquartered at San Francisco Zoo under David Anderson,
notice them until we see the impact years after. One such instant the MFG moved to Saint Louis Zoo in 2004. First under the
was an email response on an unknown day in the 1990s that led leadership of their President and CEO Dr. Jeffrey Bonner, the
to Naples Zoo becoming the international headquarters of a MFG was then led by Senior VP Dr. Eric Miller who also serves
conservation organization in Madagascar. as editor of the textbook for wildlife veterinarians: Fowler’s Zoo
While I recount this story, contemplate similar moments in and Wild Animal Medicine. At a conservation lecture here in 2018,
your life that have shaped who you are that you can share with Dr. Miller tapped me on the shoulder to potentially become the
younger people who can be tempted to minimize their potential next Chair of the MFG and for Naples Zoo to have the honor of
impact because they are not in positions of power or financially becoming the International Headquarters – all of which came to
affluent. I include detail when telling this story to interns and pass by a board vote at the annual meeting later that year.
on campuses to illustrate how single connections combined with Today, the MFG has thirty institutional members on five
investing time and whatever skills you have can lead to exciting continents and nearly 100 staff in Madagascar plus an expert
things. board and advisory group involved in significant projects from
So, it’s the mid-1990s. The now functionally extinct DVD protecting critically endangered lemurs and plants to discovering
was just invented, Disney created a loose adaptation of Hamlet new species and reforesting degraded lands. Under the leadership
with cartoon lions, and I saw a request from another zoo on a of Executive Director Dr. Karen Freeman, the MFG has also taken
listserv for a translation into the language of Madagascar for a a lead role in giving native wildlife a chance against invasive species
themed lemur habitat. Now I didn’t speak Malagasy, but through while Program Manager Jean Jacques Jaozandry oversees diverse
a friendship with biologist and wildlife photographer Larry conservation efforts on the ground.
Richardson at Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge, I had Moments in life can have such power. What if I had not
met Connie Bransilver who had photographed on the island taken the time to help a colleague I didn’t even know with that
nation. Talking to her, I first heard of the Madagascar Fauna translation? I may have never set foot in Madagascar or played a
and Flora Group (MFG), an international consortium of zoos, role in helping its endangered species. What act of kindness or
botanical gardens, and universities created in 1988. I reached extra effort may shape your future or that of someone else? Even
out to Dr. Eva Sargent at the MFG and received and shared the if it’s just sharing your story with someone who needs to see the
translation – and now I had a real connection to a place I had difference they are capable of making.
only been reading about for a decade. Naples Zoo at Caribbean Gardens is an award-winning, private
Not being a primatologist, I offered my graphic skills to 501(c)(3) nonprofit serving wildlife and families here and around the
revise the MFG website. That led to further opportunities and world. If you’d like to support our conservation efforts, contact me at
engaging with fascinating people like MFG’s in-country program tim@napleszoo.org. More information at www.napleszoo.org/conserve.
leaders Andrea Katz and Charlie Welch. In September 2002,

Life in Naples | May/June/July 2023 27