Nature pictures from Madagascar

Madagascar highway pushes on through controversy (March 31, 2025)
- More than a hundred Malagasy civil society organizations have called on the government to halt construction of a major highway after thousands of farmers were affected by unusual flooding linked to the project.
- They are calling for compensation for affected communities and inclusive consultations before the project continues.
- The highway, intended to link the capital Antananrivo to the port of Toamasina, has also been criticized for threatening ecologically important forests and a significant heritage site.

Devastating flood forces relocation of 10,000 tortoises at Madagascar sanctuary (March 26, 2025)
- In January, a rehabilitation center for critically endangered tortoises in southern Madagascar was severely impacted by heavy flooding caused by two cyclones.
- The rescue center hosts thousands of tortoises rescued from traffckers; the flooding killed more than 800 of them.
- Temporary solutions have been put in place to care for the now twice-rescued animals, as reconstruction will not be possible until later this year.
- This is the first time the conservation center has faced disruption on this scale since it was launched in 2017.

17 dead as Cyclone Jude wreaks havoc in East Africa (March 19, 2025)

Banner image of Cyclone Jude by NASA (Public Domain).

Sixteen people died in Mozambique and one in Madagascar after Cyclone Jude pivoted through the region last week, according to the latest European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) report. More than 130 people were injured while four were recorded missing as of March 18. ECHO estimates more than 10,500 people were displaced in […]

Re:wild and Age of Union announce conservation partnership (March 13, 2025)
- The nonprofits Re:wild and Age of Union announced a new partnership to scale up their conservation efforts to focus on protecting critical ecosystems and developing creative projects like documentaries and art installations.
- Their first collaboration will be a million-dollar restoration project in Madagascar, where 90% of original forest cover has been destroyed by slash-and-burn agriculture and the overexploitation of natural resources.
- Leaders of both organizations said partnerships like this will be the key to scaling up conservation efforts and have a lasting impact on local communities.

Rich nations fuel global biodiversity loss at ‘disproportionate’ scale, study finds (March 7, 2025)

Deforested Chiquitano forest on the edge of the Bolivian Amazon for soy production. Image by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

High-income nations are wiping out wildlife far beyond their own borders by outsourcing their production of food and timber, according to a new study that shows their demand for these commodities fuels 15 times more habitat destruction overseas than at home. Researchers found that wealthy nations account for 13% of global forest habitat loss outside […]

From Kenya to Madagascar, massive effort aims to put seagrasses on the map (March 4, 2025)

Blue and gold fusilier fish above a seagrass meadow, Desroches Atoll, Seychelles. Image courtesy of Seychelles Seagrass Mapping and Carbon Assessment project.

In 2019, scientists set out to map the extent of seagrass in Seychelles, an island nation off the eastern coast of Africa. There, they hit upon a startling number: More than 90% of the country’s “blue carbon,” or the carbon stored in marine ecosystems, is contained within seagrass meadows. Under the Large-scale Seagrass Mapping and […]

Chanel wanted ‘responsible’ gold. It turned to a protected area in Madagascar (February 21, 2025)
- In 2019, French fashion house Chanel sought to obtain responsibly sourced gold from artisanal miners in Madagascar — who happened to operate inside a protected area that’s home to critically endangered lemurs and other wildlife.
- Under the initiative, which eventually fell through, Chanel partnered with Fanamby, the local NGO managing Loky Manambato Protected Area in northern Madagascar, to formalize the operations of some 1,000 miners.
- Fanamby has acknowledged that its tolerance for mining in the reserve’s buffer zone “is contrary to conservation,” but added “there is an arrangement” allowing this as long as the core area is left protected.
- Conservation experts say Chanel’s approach — exploiting the fact that many supposedly protected areas aren’t very strictly protected at all — highlights weaknesses in the current conservation paradigm that will only grow more apparent as governments seek to designate more protected areas.

Wave of arrests as Madagascar shuts down tortoise trafficking network (February 17, 2025)
- A crackdown on the illegal trade in Malagasy tortoises has led to a series of recent arrests.
- Following the arrest of a Tanzanian national with 800 tortoises in December 2024, officials said a major investigation had uncovered a major international trafficking network that led to the arrests of more than 20 people in Madagascar and Tanzania.
- Wildlife trade monitoring watchdog TRAFFIC says more than 30,000 trafficked radiated tortoises were seized between 2000 and 2021; the critically endangered Malagasy tortoises are in demand internationally.

Singing lemurs found to be dropping beats just like King Julien (February 11, 2025)

Banner image of an indri by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

The indri, a critically endangered lemur only found in Madagascar’s rainforest, might hold clues about the human knack for musicality, a Mongabay video explains. Indris (Indri indri) are one of the largest living lemurs, and among the few primates that sing. Researchers studied 15 years’ worth of recorded indri songs, and found that these songs […]

EU legislators urge IMF to protect Madagascar forests against road projects (February 6, 2025)

Banner image of crowned sifaka by Rhett A. Butler/Mongabay.

Thirty-five members of the European Parliament are calling on the International Monetary Fund to renegotiate its funding to Madagascar that could support two highway projects expected to cut across the nation’s vital forests. The IMF in June 2024 announced $321 million to Madagascar through its Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF). It aims to aid the […]

10 nature attractions in Madagascar:

Masoala National Park: Masoala National Park is a large national park located on the Masoala Peninsula in northeastern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, mangroves, and coral reefs. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs, chameleons, and birds.
Isalo National Park: Isalo National Park is a protected area in southwestern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of landscapes, including sandstone formations, gorges, and waterfalls. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and chameleons.
Berenty Private Reserve: The Berenty Private Reserve is a protected area in southern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and birds.
Andasibe-Mantadia National Park: Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is a protected area in eastern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, grasslands, and wetlands. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and birds.
Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park: Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park is a protected area in western Madagascar. It is known for its unique karst formations, called tsingy, which are formed from ancient coral reefs. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and chameleons.
Ankarana National Park: Ankarana National Park is a protected area in northern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, caves, and savannas. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and chameleons.
Analamazaotra Special Reserve: The Analamazaotra Special Reserve is a protected area in eastern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and chameleons.
Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park: Zombitse-Vohibasia National Park is a protected area in western Madagascar. It is home to a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, grasslands, and wetlands. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and chameleons.
Marojejy National Park: Marojejy National Park is a protected area in northeastern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, wetlands, and grasslands. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and chameleons.
Montagne d'Ambre National Park: Montagne d'Ambre National Park is a protected area in northern Madagascar. It is home to a variety of ecosystems, including rainforests, wetlands, and grasslands. It is also home to a variety of wildlife, including lemurs and chameleons.

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