ENDEMIC WILDLIFE

Home to an incredible array of plants and animals, many of which are endemic, and teeming with life, Madagascar is one of the most biodiverse regions on the planet and a 'must-visit' for wildlife lovers and adventurers alike. Since its split from the African continent 160 million years ago, the isolated island has developed a fascinating ecosystem, where more than 75 percent of its extraordinary wildlife exists nowhere else on Earth.

While the island has a myriad of unbelievable fauna and flora, it is synonymous with and most famous for the vast diversity of lemur species that reside here. A member of the primate family and endemic to the island, there are over 90 species of lemur, from the strange-looking, nocturnal aye-aye with its oversized ears and a dexterous ‘magic digit’, to the giant indri whose whale-like songs can be heard floating across the forest canopy. The silky sifaka lemur, one of the rarest mammals on earth, is known to ‘dance’ across the forest floor, while troops of ring-tailed lemurs command the treetops in numbers.

The extreme isolation of this wildlife haven has led to the island becoming the home of several critically threatened species, many of which risk being lost forever. The tiny hedgehog-like tenrecs that scout the forest floor, the extremely rare ploughshare tortoise, which is found only in a small area of northwestern Madagascar, and most of the lemur species run the risk of being lost forever due to loss of habitat and deforestation.