Auditorium Theatre 2018-19 Issue 2 Hubbard Street Dance

January 19 - March 3, 2019 | AUDITORIUM THEATRE 2018-19 | 9 After several years of testing and research, Mayor and her team were able to confirm that the creature they had observed was indeed a new species, and they then gave the tiny mouse lemur the scientific name Microcebus mittermeieri, named after conservationist Russell Mittermeier. On Running from Gorillas and Swimming with Sharks “There is no guarantee when you are working with a wild animal of the outcome,” Mayor told the Los Angeles Times. “You can’t predict what they are going to do. I just always listen to my gut. We are animals at the end of the day and have instincts that you need to listen to.” In one whirlwind day in the Congo, Mayor was charged at by a silverback gorilla and chased by an elephant (who drove her up a tree). “I felt like the Congo was giving me a message: ‘It’s time to go back to your tent for the day,’” she said. Mayor has also gone diving with great white sharks and Humboldt squid (also known as “red devils”). “When you look into a gorilla’s eyes, you can see that there is thought, insight, and emotion. Looking into the eyes of a shark, I saw nothing but steely black circles attached to an eating machine,” Mayor wrote in her book Pink Boots and a Machete . “Heading back to shore, I couldn’t wait to get out of my wet suit and back into my pink boots … I felt privileged to have spent time with these mystifying sea predators. But I had come to the realization that I am most comfortable on land, on my feet back in the jungles of our cute, closely related cousins. Gorillas I can read. Red devils and sharks … not so much.” On Being Called “the Female Indiana Jones” Mayor’s exploits have earned her the nickname “the female Indiana Jones” and “the female Steve Irwin,” which she says shows that there just aren’t a lot of women in her field. She hopes to inspire young girls and women to get involved in science, research, and exploration: “It makes a huge difference when a girl sees someone who they can personally relate to doing something they thought they could never do,” she said to the Los Angeles Times. And when Mayor finally met the actor who portrays Indiana Jones himself, Harrison Ford, at a conservation event? She snapped a picture with him and captioned it “Indiana Jones with the male Mireya Mayor.” Mireya Mayor speaks at the Auditorium Theatre as part of the National Geographic Live Series on January 24, 2019. Left: Mireya Mayor and a mouse lemur; Above: The Microcebus mittermeieri Mireya Mayor and the "male Mireya Mayor," Harrison Ford MARK THIESSEN MARK THIESSEN