Tara Clarke

Bio

Tara Clarke is an Assistant Teaching Professor and an Undergraduate Academic Advisor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University. She is an invited member of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group, Section for Human-Primate Interactions and has been conducting research and conservation initiatives in Madagascar for over twenty years. Tara serves as the Director of Special Projects for the Mad Dog Initiative (MDI)- a non-profit organization focused on research and conservation in Madagascar. Her research aims to understand the motivations driving the illegal pet trade of lemurs within Madagascar. This work employs a multi-disciplinary approach, including conservation genetics, formal and informal surveys with local communities, collaborations with local and international NGO’s, as well as conservation outreach and education initiatives.

Area(s) of Expertise

Primate Behavioral Ecology, Conservation Genetics, Illegal Pet Trade, Community-Based Conservation, Lemur Behavioral Ecology, and Lemur Conservation