Madagascar

Today Madagascar has become a poverty-stricken country that went through a bloody coup in 2009. It is the fourth largest island in the world. Some 165 million years ago this piece of land broke away from the African continent. The plants and animals that make their home here are not native to Africa but native to Madagascar alone.

<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adansonia_grandidieri" target="_blank">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adansonia_grandidieri</a>

Before political upheaval, Madagascar was often visited by ecotourists. One of the curiosities of this island is the baobab which is a carrot-shaped tree.

<a rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-snax-placeholder="Source" class="snax-figure-source" href="https://www.goeco.org/area/volunteer-in-africa/madagascar/lemur-conservation" target="_blank">https://www.goeco.org/area/volunteer-in-africa/madagascar/lemur-conservation</a>

In the countryside, you can find populations of lemurs. It is unfortunate that due to political unrest and poverty there is a high level of poaching of wildlife and trees are being illicitly harvested.

The international black market favors the lemurs, colorful chameleons, and rosewood. The only hope for Madagascar is that once a stable government gets established that the national parks will once again be protected from poachers and from loggers.