Mireya Mayor facts for kids

Mireya Mayor, born in 1973, is an amazing American scientist who studies people (an anthropologist) and primates like monkeys and lemurs (a primatologist). She also works as a wildlife reporter for National Geographic. She was part of a team that found a brand new species of lemur, which is thought to be the smallest primate in the world! People sometimes call her the "female Indiana Jones" because of her exciting adventures. She has also written many science papers about different kinds of lemurs.

Growing Up and Her Education

Mireya Mayor was born in 1973 and grew up in Miami. She was raised by her mother, grandmother, and aunt, who had moved to the U.S. from Cuba in 1965. Her mother, a nurse, thought joining the Girl Scouts was too risky for her.

Mireya went to the University of Miami. There, she earned her first college degree in studying people (anthropology) and thinking about big ideas (philosophy). For four years, she was also a cheerleader for the NFL team, the Miami Dolphins.

Later, Mireya received special scholarships, like a Fulbright Scholar award and a National Science Foundation fellowship. She earned her PhD in anthropology from Stony Brook University in New York in 2008.

Her Exciting Career

In 1999, Mireya Mayor became the very first female wildlife reporter for the National Geographic show Ultimate Explorer. Two episodes she hosted, "Girl Power" and "Into the Lost World," were even nominated for Emmy Awards! These awards are a big deal in television.

Discovering a New Lemur

In 2001, Mireya was on an adventure in Madagascar. She was part of a research team that found a brand new type of mouse lemur! They named it Microcebus mittermeieri, or Mittermeier's mouse lemur. It was named after Russell Mittermeier, a famous primatologist and leader of a green group called Conservation International. Mireya later shared in an interview that she convinced Madagascar's prime minister to turn the lemur's home into a national park. This helped protect the tiny lemurs and their habitat.

Other Adventures and TV Shows

In 2009, Mireya was in a TV mini-series called Expedition Africa on the History Channel. In this show, she and others followed the path of a famous explorer, H.M. Stanley, as he searched for David Livingstone in Tanzania.

In 2019, she joined the Travel Channel documentary series Expedition Bigfoot. In this show, she and other wildlife experts spent three weeks in the Pacific Northwest. They were looking for proof that Bigfoot might exist! The first season aired in January 2020, and the show was still going strong in 2024.

In October 2019, Mireya also started leading the Exploration and Science Communications Initiative at Florida International University. This program helps share exciting science discoveries with more people.

In September 2022, a children's book was written about her! It's called "Just Wild Enough: Mireya Mayor, Primatologist."

Mireya's Family Life

Mireya Mayor has six children. Five are from her first marriage, and one is with her second husband, Phil Fairclough. Phil is an executive producer, which means he helps create TV shows and movies.

In 2018, Mireya's home was in Great Falls, Virginia.