Habitat/Conservation
The area of suitable habitat remaining in Madagascar for crowned lemurs is probably less than 1300 square kilometers in the far northern tip of the island, and this is shrinking rapidly due to the encroachment of slash and burn agriculture. Total population estimates range from 1,000 to 10,000 animals. As populations of this lemur become more and more patchily distributed in forest fragments, genetic interchange between the fragments becomes increasingly difficult or impossible, thus increasing the likelihood for extinction. A number of crowned lemurs have been released on the small, uninhabited island of Nosy Hara, but their status is unknown.
Four reserves in Madagascar protect the crowned lemur; however, even in the reserves, the animals are hunted by the local people for food (they are also popular as pets), as the borders of the preserves are poorly guarded. In one reserve, Montagne d'Ambre National Park, poaching of crowned lemurs and the sympatric Sanford's lemur is widespread and growing. Like most lemur species there is a strong need for biological surveys to be undertaken to determine this lemur's distribution, and for more reserves to be created. In one area, near Dariana, crowned lemurs are sympatric with the golden-crowned sifakas, and the creation of a reserve here would aid in the protection of both species.