Mireya Mayor

Mireya Mayor (born 1973) is an American, anthropologist, and wildlife correspondent for the National Geographic. On one of her expeditions in Madagascar, she discovered a new species of lemur, considered the world’s smallest primate.[1][2] She has co-written several scientific papers on lemurs species.[3] She has been referred to as the "female Indiana Jones."[4][5][6]

Background

Mayor was born to a Cuban mother and a Spanish father. She was raised by her mother, grandmother, and aunt after her father left the family.[7]

Education

Mayor studied at the University of Miami where she obtained her bachelor's degree in anthropology and philosophy.[8] During this time she was a cheerleader for the NFL Miami Dolphins.[4]

She was a Fulbright Scholar[9] before earning a PhD in anthropology from Stony Brook University in New York.[5]

Research career

Fieldwork

Mayor was one of the explorers on the show Expedition Africa, and is currently is a wildlife correspondent for the National Geographic Channel.[9] Her work has provided her with extensive field experience studying primates, tarantulas, and other wild animals.[4]

She has been Emmy-nominated for her work with National Geographic.[8] She dedicates her life to studying rare primates throughout the world, current specializing on the highly endangered lemurs.[6]

She has traveled the world, trekking through dangerous terrain to study primates in Africa, South America, and Madagascar.[10]

Co-discovery of a new species of lemur in Madagascar

Dr. Mayor co-discovered a new species of mouse lemur, considered the world's smallest primate, while on one of her expeditions in Madagascar, nominated Microcebus mittermeieri, or Mittermeier's mouse lemur, after Russell Mittermeier, the president of green group Conservation International and a renowned field primatologist.[11][12] She works very closely with the prime minister of Madagascar to establish a national park to protect this endangered species.[6]

Television

Expedition Africa

Mireya Mayor's first major television appearance was in 2009 when the show Expedition Africa was released on History Channel. Other cast mates included Benedict Allen, Kevin Sites, and Pasquale Scatturo. Mayor along with her other cast mates had one month to trek 970 miles into the heart of Tanzania. The cast faced tough conditions as they went through deserts, monsoons, and other harsh elements. The 8 episode season started airing on May 31, 2009, and finished airing on July 12, 2009.

Expedition Bigfoot

In May 2019, Mayor started being filmed for a new show named "Expedition Bigfoot". The premise of the show was five researchers going out into a remote location in Oregon, trying to prove that Bigfoot exists. The location was carefully selected as that is where Bryce Johnson, a co-star, thought they would have the best chance at having a Bigfoot encounter. Mayor was one of the five people on the three week long expedition, where they got some compelling evidence that bigfoot may have been in their target area. In December 2019, the 8 episode season started airing on Travel Channel. Mayor starred in the show along with Bryce Johnson, Russell Accord, and Ronny Le Blanc (who replaced other cast member Ryan Golembeske after he left in the first episode). The final episode aired on January 26, 2020. The show has been renewed for a second season, beginning on Jan 3rd, 2021 on The Travel Channel.

Publications

She is the author of Pink Boots and a Machete: My Journey From NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer.[4]

References
  1. "Dr. Mireya Mayor". USASEF. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  2. "Three new lemur species found in Africa". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  3. Mayor, Mireya. "List of Scientific Papers". Research Gate.
  4. Adventures of the 'female Indiana Jones' - CNN.com
  5. Animals - Animal Pictures - Wild Animal Facts - Nat Geo Wild - National Geographic
  6. Mireya Mayor, Primatologist/Conservationist Information, Facts, News, Photos - National Geographic
  7. Harnett, Cindy E. (2018-11-08). "African wildlife discovery helped launch career of Mireya Mayor". Times Colonist. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  8. Brazil, Ben (2018-09-20). "'Female Indiana Jones' to launch 2019 National Geographic Live speaker series at Barclay". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  9. National Geographic Events - Mireya Mayor
  10. "From Miami to Madagascar". news.miami.edu. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  11. "Three new lemur species found in Africa". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  12. "Dr. Mireya Mayor". USASEF. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
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