In March, two people were caught attempting to smuggle 54 ploughshare tortoises (Astrochelys yniphora) into Thailand. Listed as Critically Endangered, the tortoises' wild population is down to approximately 400-500 animals in its native Madagascar, mea...
Tag Archives: islands
May 14, 2013 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Five percent of ploughshare tortoise population perishes after botched smuggling attempt
May 02, 2013 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Hibernating primates: scientists discover three lemur species sleep like bears
Bears do it, bats do it, and now we know lemurs do it too: hibernate, that is. Since 2005, scientists have known that the western fat-tailed dwarf lemur hibernates, but a new study in Scientific Reports finds that hibernation is
May 01, 2013 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
World’s rarest duck on the rebound in Madagascar
After a final sighting in 1991, the Madagascar pochard was thought to have vanished for good. But this diving duck was rediscovered in 2006 when a flock of 22 individuals was found on Lake Matsaborimena in northern Madagascar by conservationists
April 03, 2013 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Featured video: in-depth look at Madagascar’s Ranomafana National Park
A new film Nosy Maitso takes a look at the people, researchers, and wildlife connected to Madagascar's Ranomafauna National Park. Apart of a World Heritage Site, the park was established in 1991 after a new species of lemur, the golden
April 03, 2013 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Featured video: in-depth look at Madagascar’s Ranomafauna National Park
A new film Nosy Maitso takes a look at the people, researchers, and wildlife connected to Madagascar's Ranomafauna National Park. Apart of a World Heritage Site, the park was established in 1991 after a new species of lemur, the golden
April 03, 2013 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Scientists discover new wasp species in a field box from the 1930s (photos)
Searching through materials at the Natural History Museum in Paris, Simon van Noort recently came across a long-neglected field box of wasp specimens. Collected 80 years earlier by André Seyrig in Madagascar, the box contained several specimens of was...
April 03, 2013 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Scientists discover new wasp species in a field box from the 1930s (photos)
Searching through materials at the Natural History Museum in Paris, Simon van Noort recently came across a long-neglected field box of wasp specimens. Collected 80 years earlier by André Seyrig in Madagascar, the box contained several specimens of was...
December 03, 2012 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Despite small brains, gray mouse lemurs use calls to avoid inbreeding
As a small-brained and largely solitary primate, the gray mouse lemur (Microcebus murinus) wasn't supposed to have the capacity to distinguish the calls of its kin calls from other lemurs. However, a new study in BMC Ecology, finds that a
November 29, 2012 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
‘Exporting deforestation’: China is the kingpin of illegal logging
Runaway economic growth comes with costs: in the case of China's economic engine, one of them has been the world's forests. According to a new report by the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), China has become the number one importer of
October 25, 2012 by Jeremy Hance | No comments
Picture of the day: a bizarre baby bird with oral ‘fingerprints’
The crested coua (Coua cristata) is native to island of Madagascar. Unlike much of Madagascar's wildlife, the crested coua is not considered threatened with extinction, but is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN Red List. There are around nine
