View source for Wildlife of Madagascar

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[[File:Maki.jpg|thumb|300px|A [[ring-tailed lemur]] (''Lemur catta''), the most familiar of Madagascar's numerous species of lemur.]]
The composition of [[Madagascar]]'s [[wildlife]] reflects the fact that the island has been isolated for about 88 million years. The prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent [[Gondwana]] separated the Madagascar-Antarctica-India landmass from the Africa-South America landmass around 135&nbsp;million years ago. Madagascar later split from India about 88&nbsp;million years ago, allowing plants and animals on the island to evolve in relative isolation.<ref>{{cite web | last = University of Berkeley: Understanding Evolution | title = Where did all of Madagascar's species come from? | url=http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/091001_madagascar |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110516080443/http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/091001_madagascar|archive-date = 16 May 2011| url-status = live |date = October 2009 | access-date =19 March 2011}}</ref>
As a result of the island's long isolation from neighboring continents, Madagascar is home to an abundance of plants and animals found nowhere else on Earth.<ref name=CIHotSpot/><ref name=tattersall>{{cite book|last=Tattersall|first=Ian|title=Origin of the Malagasy Strepshirhine Primates|year=2006|publisher=Springer|isbn=0-387-34585-X|pages=1–6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nsBtrhsMU5EC&pg=PA3}}</ref> Approximately 90&nbsp;percent of all plant and animal species found in Madagascar are [[endemism|endemic]],<ref>Hobbes & Dolan (2008), p. 517</ref> including the [[lemur]]s (a type of [[Strepsirrhini|strepsirrhine]] primate), the carnivorous [[fossa (animal)|fossa]] and many birds. This distinctive ecology has led some ecologists to refer to Madagascar as the "eighth continent",<ref>Hillstrom & Collier Hillstrom (2003), p. 50</ref> and the island has been classified by [[Conservation International]] as a biodiversity hotspot.<ref name=CIHotSpot>{{cite web | last = Conservation International | title = Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands | work = Biodiversity Hotspots | publisher = Conservation International | year = 2007 | url = http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/hotspots/madagascar/pages/biodiversity.aspx |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110824110451/http://www.biodiversityhotspots.org/xp/Hotspots/madagascar/Pages/biodiversity.aspx |archive-date = 24 August 2011 | url-status = live | access-date =24 August 2011}}</ref> As recent as 2021, the "smallest reptile on earth" was also found in Madagascar, [[Brookesia nana|''Brookesia nana'', also known as the nano-chameleon]].<ref>{{Cite news|date=2021-02-05|title='Smallest reptile on earth' discovered in Madagascar|language=en-GB|work=BBC News|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-55945948|access-date=2021-02-06}}</ref>
==Fauna==
{{Main|Fauna of Madagascar|List of amphibians of Madagascar|List of reptiles in Madagascar|List of birds of Madagascar|List of mammals of Madagascar}}
[[File:Propithecus candidus 001.jpg|thumb|alt=A silky sifaka on the trunk of a tree|The [[silky sifaka]] is one of over 100 known species and subspecies of lemur found only in Madagascar.<ref name="2009Mittermeier">{{cite journal | editor1-last = Mittermeier | editor1-first = R.A. | editor2-last = Wallis | editor2-first = J. | editor3-last = Rylands | editor3-first = A.B. | editor4-last = Ganzhorn | editor4-first = J.U. | editor5-last = Oates | editor5-first = J.F. | editor6-last = Williamson | editor6-first = E.A. | editor7-last = Palacios | editor7-first = E. | editor8-last = Heymann | editor8-first = E.W. | editor9-last = Kierulff | editor9-first = M.C.M. | editor10-last = Yongchen | editor10-first=L. | editor11-last = Supriatna | editor11-first = J. | editor12-last = Roos | editor12-first = C. | editor13-last = Walker | editor13-first = S. | editor14-last = Cortés-Ortiz | editor14-first = L. | editor15-last = Schwitzer | editor15-first = C. | others = Illustrated by S.D. Nash | editor-link = Russell Mittermeier | year = 2009 | title = Primates in Peril: The World's 25 Most Endangered Primates 2008–2010 | publisher = [[IUCN Species Survival Commission#Primate Specialist Group|IUCN/SSC Primate Specialist Group]], [[International Primatological Society]], and [[Conservation International]] | pages = 1–92 | url = http://www.primate-sg.org/storage/PDF/Primates.in.Peril.2008-2010.pdf}}</ref>]]
Madagascar's isolation from other land masses throughout the [[Cenozoic]] Era has led to the evolution of a large proportion of endemic animal species and the absence of many taxa found on neighboring continents. Some of Madagascar's animals appear to represent [[Lineage (evolution)|lineages]] that have been present since the breakup of Gondwana, while many others, including all of the nonflying native mammals, are descendants of ancestors that survived rare [[oceanic dispersal|rafting]] or swimming voyages from Africa (likely aided by currents).<ref name = "BBC_rafting">{{Cite web   | last = Kinver | first = M.   | title = Mammals 'floated to Madagascar'   | work =BBC News   | publisher = [[BBC]] | date = 20 January 2010   | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/sci_tech/green_room/8468163.stm   | access-date = 20 January 2010}}</ref><ref name = "Ali&Huber">{{Cite journal   | last = Ali | first = J. R. |author2=Huber, M.    | title = Mammalian biodiversity on Madagascar controlled by ocean currents   | journal = [[Nature (journal)|Nature]]   | volume = 463 | issue = 4 February 2010 | pages = 653–656   | publisher = [[Nature Publishing Group]]   | date = 20 January 2010   | doi = 10.1038/nature08706 | pmid = 20090678 | bibcode=2010Natur.463..653A| s2cid = 4333977 }}</ref> As of 2012 it has over [[List of mammals of Madagascar|200 extant mammal species]], including [[List of lemur species|over 100 species of lemurs]], about [[List of birds of Madagascar|300 species of birds]], more than [[List of reptiles in Madagascar|260 species of reptiles]], and at least [[List of amphibians of Madagascar|266 species of amphibians]]. The island also has a rich invertebrate fauna including earthworms, insects, [[List of spiders of Madagascar|spiders]] and [[List of non-marine molluscs of Madagascar|nonmarine molluscs]].
Lemurs have been characterized as "Madagascar's flagship mammal species" by Conservation International.<ref name=CIHotSpot/> In the absence of [[monkey]]s and other competitors, these [[primate]]s have adapted to a wide range of habitats and diversified into numerous species. As of 2012, there were officially [[List of lemur species|103 species and subspecies of lemur]],<ref name=lemurextinction/> 39 of which were discovered by zoologists between 2000 and 2008.<ref name=Mittermeier2008>{{cite journal|title=Lemur diversity in Madagascar|author=Mittermeier, R. |author2=Ganzhorn, J. |author3=Konstant, W. |author4=Glander, K. |author5=Tattersall, I. |author6-link=Colin Groves |author6=Groves, C. |author7=Rylands, A. |author8=Hapke, A. |author9=Ratsimbazafy, J. |author10=Mayor, M. |author11=Louis, E. |author12=Rumpler, Y. |author13=Schwitzer, C. |author14=Rasoloarison, R. |display-authors=3|journal=International Journal of Primatology| doi=10.1007/s10764-008-9317-y| pages=1607–1656| volume=29| issue=6| date=December 2008|author-link=Russell Mittermeier |hdl=10161/6237 |s2cid=17614597 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> They are almost all classified as rare, vulnerable, or endangered. Since the arrival of humans on Madagascar, at least 17 species of lemur have become extinct; all of them were larger than the surviving lemur species.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Jungers, W.L. |author2=Godfrey, L.R. |author3=Simons, E.L. |author4=Chatrath, P.S. |title=Phalangeal curvature and positional behavior in extinct sloth lemurs (Primates, Palaeopropithecidae) |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA |volume=94 |issue=22 |pages=11998–2001 |date=October 1997 |pmid=11038588 |pmc=23681 |doi=10.1073/pnas.94.22.11998 |bibcode=1997PNAS...9411998J|doi-access=free }}</ref>
A number of other mammals, including the cat-like [[Fossa (animal)|fossa]], are endemic to Madagascar. Over 300 have been recorded on the island, of which over 60&nbsp;percent (including four families and 42 genera) are endemic.<ref name=CIHotSpot/> The few families and genera of [[reptile]] that have reached Madagascar have diversified into more than 260 species, with over 90&nbsp;percent of these being endemic<ref name="Okajima" /> (including one endemic family).<ref name=CIHotSpot/> The island is home to two-thirds of the world's [[chameleon]] species,<ref name="Okajima">{{cite journal  | last1 = Okajima | first1 = Yasuhisa | last2 = Kumazawa |first2 = Yoshinori  | title = Mitogenomic perspectives into iguanid phylogeny and biogeography: Gondwanan vicariance for the origin of Madagascan oplurines  | journal = [[Gene (journal)|Gene]] | volume = 441 | issue = 1–2 | pages = 28–35 | publisher = [[Elsevier]] | date = 15 July 2009 | pmid = 18598742| doi = 10.1016/j.gene.2008.06.011}}</ref> including the [[Brookesia micra|smallest known]],<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Glaw | first1 = F. | last2 = Köhler | first2 = J. R. | last3 = Townsend | first3 = T. M. | last4 = Vences | first4 = M. | editor1-last = Salamin | editor1-first = Nicolas | title = Rivaling the World's Smallest Reptiles: Discovery of Miniaturized and Microendemic New Species of Leaf Chameleons (Brookesia) from Northern Madagascar | doi = 10.1371/journal.pone.0031314 | journal = PLOS ONE | volume = 7 | issue = 2 | pages = e31314 | year = 2012 | pmid =  22348069| pmc =3279364 | bibcode = 2012PLoSO...731314G | doi-access = free }}</ref> and researchers have proposed that Madagascar may be the origin of all chameleons.
Endemic fish of Madagascar include two families, 15 genera and over 100 species, primarily inhabiting the island's freshwater lakes and rivers. Although invertebrates remain poorly studied on Madagascar, researchers have found high rates of endemism among the known species. All 651 species of terrestrial snail are endemic, as are a majority of the island's butterflies, [[Scarabaeidae|scarab beetles]], [[lacewing]]s, spiders and dragonflies.<ref name=CIHotSpot/>
==Flora==
{{main|Flora of Madagascar}}
[[Image:Angraecum sesquipedale Orchi 4.jpg|thumb|Comet orchid (''[[Angraecum sesquipedale]]''), the flowers of this orchid have a very long spur and are pollinated by a species of [[Sphingidae|hawkmoth]] with a proboscis of matching length.]]
More than 80&nbsp;percent of Madagascar's 14,883 plant species are found nowhere else in the world, including five plant families.<ref name=endemism>{{cite journal | last1 = Callmander | first1 = Martin |display-authors=etal |  title = The endemic and non-endemic vascular flora of Madagascar updated | journal = Plant Ecology and Evolution | volume = 144 | issue = 2 | pages = 121–125| year = 2011 | doi = 10.5091/plecevo.2011.513 |url = http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/curators/pdf/PLECEVO_2011.pdf |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date = 31 August 2013 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130831072620/http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/Research/curators/pdf/PLECEVO_2011.pdf}}</ref> There are several endemic families including the [[Asteropeiaceae]], [[Sarcolaenaceae]] and [[Sphaerosepalaceae]]. The humid eastern part of the island was formerly covered in [[rainforest]] with many [[Arecaceae|palms]], [[fern]]s and [[bamboo]], although much of this forest has been reduced by human activity. The west has areas of [[Madagascar dry deciduous forests|dry deciduous forest]] with many [[liana]]s and with [[tamarind]] and [[Adansonia|baobab]]s among the dominant trees. [[Madagascar subhumid forests|Subhumid forest]] once covered much of the central plateau but [[grassland]] is now the dominant vegetation type there. The family [[Didiereaceae]], composed of four genera and 11 species, is limited to the [[Madagascar spiny thickets|spiny forests]] of southwestern Madagascar.<ref name=endemicstats>{{cite journal | last1 = Vences | first1 = Miguel| last2 = Wollenberg| first2 = Katharina | last3 = Vieites | first3 =  David | last4 = Lees | first4 = David| title = Madagascar as a model region of species diversification | journal = Trends in Ecology and Evolution | volume = 24 | issue = 8 | pages = 456–465 | date = June 2009 | doi = 10.1016/j.tree.2009.03.011 |url = http://www.mvences.de/p/p1/Vences_A163.pdf |access-date=11 February 2012 |archive-date = 9 May 2013 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130509070414/http://www.mvences.de/p/p1/Vences_A163.pdf | pmid = 19500874}}</ref>
Four-fifths of the world's ''[[Pachypodium]]'' species are endemic to the island.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Lavranos | first1 = John | year = 2004 | title = ''Pachypodium makayense'': A New Species From Madagascar | journal = Cactus and Succulent Journal | volume = 76 | issue = 2| pages = 85–88}}</ref> Three-fourths<ref name=B2011plant/> of Madagascar's 860<ref name=endemism/> [[orchid]] species are found here alone, as are six of the world's eight [[Adansonia|baobab]] species.<ref>{{cite journal | doi = 10.1080/106351598260879 | last1 = Baum | first1 = D. A. | last2 = Small | first2 = R. L. | last3 = Wendel | first3 = J. F. | year = 1998 | title = Biogeography and floral evolution of dandolines (Adansonia, Bombacaceae) as inferred from multiple data sets | journal = Systematic Biology | volume = 47 | issue = 2| pages = 181–207 | pmid = 12064226 | doi-access = free }}</ref> The island is home to around 170 palm species, three times as many as on all of mainland Africa; 165 of them are endemic.<ref name=B2011plant>Bradt (2011), p. 38</ref>
Many native plant species are used as herbal remedies for a variety of afflictions. The drugs [[vinblastine]] and [[vincristine]], used to treat [[Hodgkin's disease]], [[leukemia]] and other cancers, were derived from the [[Catharanthus|Madagascar periwinkle]].<ref name=periw>{{cite journal | last = Foster | first = Steven | title = From Herbs to Medicines: The Madagascar Periwinkle's Impact on Childhood Leukemia: A Serendipitous Discovery for Treatment | journal = Alternative and Complementary Therapies | volume = 16 | issue = 6 | pages = 347–350 | date = December 2010 | doi = 10.1089/act.2010.16609 | pmid = 20423206 }}</ref> The [[Ravenala madagascariensis|traveler's palm]], known locally as ''ravinala''<ref>Ellis (1859), p. 302</ref> and endemic to the eastern rain forests,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.floridata.com/ref/R/rave_mad.cfm|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110307131656/http://www.floridata.com/ref/r/rave_mad.cfm | archive-date = 7 March 2011|url-status=live| title= Ravenala madagascariensis |publisher=Floridata.com |access-date=14 September 2009 |date=16 May 2000| last = McLendon |first = Chuck}}</ref> is highly iconic of Madagascar and is featured in the national emblem as well as the [[Air Madagascar]] logo.<ref>{{cite web | last = Lambahoany Ecotourism Centre | title = Nature of Madagascar | publisher = Lambahoany Ecotourism Centre | date = 24 August 2011 | url = http://www.lambahoany.org/madagascar/nature-of-madagascar/ |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111213210103/http://www.lambahoany.org/madagascar/nature-of-madagascar/ |archive-date = 13 December 2011 | url-status = dead | access-date =24 August 2011}}</ref>
==Environmental issues==
{{Main|Deforestation in Madagascar|Illegal logging in Madagascar}}
{{multiple image
|footer = Tavy ([[slash-and-burn]]) destruction of native forest habitat is widespread (left), causing massive erosion (center) and silting of rivers (right).
|align = right
|image1 = Manantenina bushfire.jpg
|width1 = 250
|alt1 = Burning Malagasy rainforest
|image2 = Madagascar erosion.jpg
|width2 = 250
|alt2 = A vast, red soil gully caused by erosion
|image3 = Bombetoka Bay, April 2005.jpg
|width3 = 250
|alt3 = Aerial photograph of a forked river that has turned red due to red soil runoff.
}}
Madagascar's varied fauna and flora are endangered by human activity.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11291024|title=Everglades, Madagascar Rain Forest on UNESCO List|publisher=ABC News|date= 30 July 2010|access-date=11 February 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110511063211/http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=11291024 |url-status=dead|archive-date = 11 May 2011}}</ref> Since the arrival of humans around 2,350&nbsp;years ago, Madagascar has lost more than 90&nbsp;percent of its original forest.<ref>{{NatGeo ecoregion|name = Madagascar subhumid forests|id=at0118|access-date =30 April 2006}}</ref>
This [[forest loss]] is largely fueled by ''tavy'' ("fat"), a traditional [[slash-and-burn]] agricultural practice imported to Madagascar by the earliest settlers.<ref name="Gade 1996">{{cite journal| doi = 10.2307/3674005| last = Gade| first = Daniel W.| title = Deforestation and its effects in Highland Madagascar| journal = Mountain Research and Development| volume = 16| issue = 2| year = 1996| pages = 101–116| jstor = 3674005}}</ref> Malagasy farmers embrace and perpetuate the practice not only for its practical benefits as an agricultural technique, but for its cultural associations with prosperity, health and venerated ancestral custom (''fomba malagasy'').<ref>Kull (2004), p. 153</ref>
As human population density rose on the island, deforestation accelerated beginning around 1400 years ago.<ref name=autogenerated4>{{cite journal |last=Campbell |first=Gwyn |title=The Structure of Trade in Madagascar, 1750–1810 |journal=The International Journal of African Historical Studies |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=111–148 |year=1993 |doi=10.2307/219188|jstor=219188 }}</ref> By the 16th century, the central highlands had been largely cleared of their original forests.<ref name="Gade 1996" /> More recent contributors to the loss of forest cover include the growth in cattle herd size since their introduction around 1000 years ago, a continued reliance on charcoal as a fuel for cooking, and the increased prominence of coffee as a cash crop over the past century.<ref name="spittingwind">Emoff (2004), pp. 51–62</ref> According to a conservative estimate, about 40&nbsp;percent of the island's original forest cover was lost from the 1950s to 2000, with a thinning of remaining forest areas by 80&nbsp;percent.<ref>{{cite journal  | last1 = Harper | first1 = Grady J. | last2 = Steininger |first2 = Marc | last3 = Tucker | first3 = Compton| last4 = Juhn| first4 = Daniel | last5 = Hawkins | first5 = Frank | title = Fifty years of deforestation and forest fragmentation in Madagascar | journal = Environmental Conservation | volume = 34 | issue = 4 | pages = 325–333 | publisher = Cambridge Journals | date = December 2007 | doi = 10.1017/S0376892907004262| s2cid = 86120326 }}</ref>
In addition to traditional agricultural practice, wildlife conservation is challenged by the illicit harvesting of protected forests, as well as the state-sanctioned harvesting of precious woods within national parks. Although banned by then-President [[Marc Ravalomanana]] from 2000 to 2009, the collection of small quantities of precious timber from national parks was re-authorized in January 2009 and has dramatically intensified under the administration of current head of state [[Andry Rajoelina]] as a key source of state revenues to offset cuts in donor support following Ravalomanana's ouster.<ref name=CrossroadsMarcus>{{cite web | last1 = Bachelard | first1 = Jerome |last2 = Marcus |first2 = Richard | title = Countries at the Crossroads 2011: Madagascar | publisher = Freedom House | year = 2011  | url =http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/MADAGASCARfinal.pdf | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120608195355/http://www.freedomhouse.org/sites/default/files/inline_images/MADAGASCARfinal.pdf | archive-date = 8 June 2012 | url-status = live | access-date = 25 August 2012}}</ref> It is anticipated that all the island's rainforests, excluding those in protected areas and the steepest eastern mountain slopes, will have been deforested by 2025.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Green | first1 = Glen | last2 = Sussmand |first2 = Robert | title = Deforestation history of the eastern rainforests of Madagascar from satellite images | journal = Science | volume = 248 |issue = 4952 | pages = 212–215| date = April 1990 | doi = 10.1126/science.248.4952.212 |bibcode = 1990Sci...248..212G | pmid = 17740137 | s2cid = 8288722 }}</ref>
[[Habitat destruction]] and hunting have threatened many of Madagascar's endemic species or driven them to extinction.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Morelli |first1=Toni Lyn |last2=Smith |first2=Adam B. |last3=Mancini |first3=Amanda N. |last4=Balko |first4=Elizabeth A. |last5=Borgerson |first5=Cortni |last6=Dolch |first6=Rainer |last7=Farris |first7=Zachary |last8=Federman |first8=Sarah |last9=Golden |first9=Christopher D. |last10=Holmes |first10=Sheila M. |last11=Irwin |first11=Mitchell |date=January 2020 |title=The fate of Madagascar's rainforest habitat |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-019-0647-x |journal=Nature Climate Change |language=en |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=89–96 |doi=10.1038/s41558-019-0647-x |s2cid=209448969 |issn=1758-6798}}</ref> The island's [[elephant bird]]s, a family of endemic giant [[ratite]]s, became extinct in 17th century or earlier, most probably due to human hunting of adult birds and poaching of their large eggs for food.<ref name="Davies">Davies (2003), pp. 99–101</ref> Numerous [[Subfossil lemur|giant lemur]] species vanished with the arrival of human settlers to the island, while others became extinct over the course of the centuries as a growing human population put greater pressures on lemur habitats and, among some populations, increased the rate of lemur hunting for food.<ref>{{cite web | last = Handwerk | first = Brian | title = Lemurs Hunted, Eaten Amid Civil Unrest, Group Says | publisher = National Geographic News |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090821-lemurs-killing-madagascar.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110510012833/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/08/090821-lemurs-killing-madagascar.html | date = 21 August 2009 |archive-date =10 May 2011 | url-status = dead | access-date =15 March 2011}}</ref>
A July 2012 assessment found that the [[exploitation of natural resources]] since the 2009 coup has had dire consequences for the island's wildlife: 90&nbsp;percent of lemur species were found to be threatened with extinction, the highest proportion of any mammalian group. Of these, 23 species were classified as critically endangered. By contrast, a previous study in 2008 had found only 38&nbsp;percent of lemur species were at risk of extinction.<ref name=lemurextinction>{{cite news | last = Black | first = Richard | title = Lemurs sliding toward extinction | newspaper = BBC News | date = 13 July 2012 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18825901 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20130114030940/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18825901 | archive-date = 14 January 2013 | url-status = live | access-date = 26 August 2012}}</ref>
Domestic and [[feral cat]]s, as well as dogs, have a negative impact on native wildlife.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.mongabay.com/2023/11/madagascar-group-aims-to-protect-wildlife-from-stray-cats-dogs/ |title=Madagascar group aims to protect wildlife from stray cats & dogs |author=Valisoa Rasolofomboahangy |work=Mongabay |date=21 November 2023 |access-date=23 November 2023}}</ref>
=== Conservation ===
[[Image:Isalo canyons.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Isalo National Park]].]]
In 2003 Ravalomanana announced the Durban Vision, an initiative to more than triple the island's [[National parks of Madagascar|protected natural areas]] to over {{convert|60000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} or 10&nbsp;percent of Madagascar's land surface. As of 2011, areas protected by the state included five Strict Nature Reserves (''Réserves Naturelles Intégrales''), 21 Wildlife Reserves (''Réserves Spéciales'') and 21 National Parks (''Parcs Nationaux'').<ref>{{cite web | last = Madagascar National Parks | title = The Conservation | publisher = parcs-madagascar.com | year = 2011 | url = http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/madagascar-national-parks_en.php?Navigation=26 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110731040310/http://www.parcs-madagascar.com/madagascar-national-parks_en.php?Navigation=26 | archive-date = 31 July 2011 | url-status = dead | access-date =25 August 2011}}</ref> In 2007 six of the national parks were declared a joint [[List of World Heritage Sites in Madagascar|World Heritage Site]] under the name [[Rainforests of the Atsinanana]]. These parks are [[Marojejy National Park|Marojejy]], [[Masoala National Park|Masoala]], [[Ranomafana National Park|Ranomafana]], [[Zahamena National Park|Zahamena]], [[Andohahela National Park|Andohahela]] and [[Andringitra National Park|Andringitra]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1257 |title=Rainforests of the Atsinanana |publisher=[[UNESCO]] |access-date=30 April 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110903171219/http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1257 |url-status=live |archive-date = 3 September 2011}}</ref>
Local timber merchants are harvesting scarce species of rosewood trees from protected rainforests within Marojejy National Park and exporting the wood to China for the production of luxury furniture and musical instruments.<ref>{{cite news | last = Bearak | first = Barry | title = Shaky Rule in Madagascar Threatens Trees | newspaper = The New York Times | date = 24 May 2010 |access-date =20 March 2011 | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/world/africa/25madagascar.html |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120906105104/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/25/world/africa/25madagascar.html?_r=1 | url-status = live | archive-date = 6 September 2012}}</ref> To raise public awareness of Madagascar's environmental challenges, the [[Wildlife Conservation Society]] opened an exhibit entitled "''Madagascar!''" in June 2008 at the [[Bronx Zoo]] in New York.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/madagascar-opens-at-bronx-zoo.php |title=Madagascar! to Open at Bronx Zoo in Green, Refurbished Lion House |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110911201852/http://www.treehugger.com/files/2008/06/madagascar-opens-at-bronx-zoo.php |archive-date = 11 September 2011 | url-status=dead |publisher=Treehugger |last = Luna|first = Kenny |access-date=11 June 2011}}</ref>
There are many conservation networks dedicated to conserving wildlife in Madagascar. The Lemur Conservation Network works with over 100 organizations to mobilize funds and disperse them in order to promote conservation and research on lemurs. They also have a funding guide available to guide conservation donations, and promote a blog to engage the public and spread awareness.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=About the Lemur Conservation Network|url=https://www.lemurconservationnetwork.org/about/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Lemur Conservation Network|language=en-US}}</ref> They are headed by Lucía Rodríguez Valverde and Seheno Corduant-Andriantsaralaza.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Our Team|url=https://www.lemurconservationnetwork.org/about/team/|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Lemur Conservation Network|language=en-US}}</ref>
Across the island, Madagaskara Voakajy aims to conserve many endangered species that aitants of Madagascar. This organization, directed by [[Julie Hanta Razafimanahaka]], focuses on community education in order to allow local people to understand the threats of bushmeat consumption, not only from a conservation standpoint but from a human health perspective as well. They also train young Malagasy people to become future biologists and conversationalists.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Julie Hanta Razafimanahaka {{!}} Staff|url=https://www.madagasikara-voakajy.org/about/julie-hanta-razafimanahaka|access-date=2020-06-06|website=Madagasikara Voakajy|language=en-gb}}</ref>
=== Research ===
Current research in and on Madagascar and the Western Indian Ocean islands is published in the [[Open Access in Madagascar|Madagascan open access journal]] ''Madagascar Conservation & Development'', an initiative by the [[Missouri Botanical Garden]], Global Vision International, the [[Madagascar Research and Conservation Program]] and the Institute and Museum of Anthropology at the [[University of Zurich]].<ref name=":1">{{cite web |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/en/communication-and-information/portals-and-platforms/goap/access-by-region/africa/madagascar/ |title= Madagascar – Global Open Access Portal |publisher= UNESCO |access-date= 6 May 2017}}</ref> The Lemur Conservation Network also provides funding for many lemur research programs.<ref name=":0" /> Madagasikara Voakajy participates in research and publication in order to bring conservation into the research world.<ref name=":1" />
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==Bibliography==
* {{cite book |last = Bradt |first= Hilary |title=Madagascar, 10th Ed.: The Bradt Travel Guide |publisher=Bradt Travel Guides |location=London |year=2011 |isbn=978-1-84162-341-2 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=uTRPnMlOcwgC}}
* {{cite encyclopedia |last = Davies | first = S.J.J.F. |contribution = Birds I: Tinamous and Ratites to Hoatzins | title = Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia | editor-first = Michael | editor-last = Hutchins | volume = 8 |edition = 2 | publisher = Gale Group |location = Farmington Hills, MI |isbn = 0-7876-5784-0 | year = 2003}}
* {{cite book  | last = Ellis | first = William | title = Three visits to Madagascar during ... 1853-1854-1856
| publisher = Oxford University | location = London | year = 1859 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=nPoGAAAAQAAJ}}
* {{cite book |last1=Emoff |first1=Ron |year=2004 |title =Island Musics |chapter = Spitting into the wind: Multi-edged environmentalism in Malagasy song  | editor-last = Dawe | editor-first = Kevin |publisher=Berg |location = New York |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=owU3-pCIvyYC |isbn = 978-1-85973-703-3}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Hillstrom | first1 = Kevin | last2 = Collier Hillstrom | first2 =Laurie | title = Africa and the Middle East: a continental overview of environmental issues | publisher = ABC-CLIO | location = Santa Barbara, CA | year = 2003 | isbn = 978-1-57607-688-0 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=XxIk9zTm_e8C}}
* {{cite book| last1 = Hobbes | first1 = Joseph |last2 = Dolan| first2 =  Andrew | title = World Regional Geography | publisher = Cengage Learning | location = Belmont, CA | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=yAgGHnENHjoC | year = 2008 | isbn = 978-0-495-38950-7}}
* {{cite book | last1 = Kull | first1 = Christian | title = Isle of Fire: The Political Ecology of Landscape Burning in Madagascar, Issue 246 | location = Chicago | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year= 2004 |isbn = 9780226461410 | doi = 10.1086/431115 }}
==External links==
*[http://dominicweb.eu/en/malagasy/database-of-malagasy-animal-names/ Large database of local names of fauna of Madagascar with English and scientific names]
*[http://www.mwc-info.net/en/ Madagascar Wildlife Conservation]
*[http://www.wildmadagascar.org/ WildMadagascar.org]
{{WildlifeofAfrica}}
[[Category:Biota of Madagascar]]
[[Category:Wildlife by country|Madagascar]]