Berenty Wildlife Preserve, Madagascar Photograph by © WWF-Canon/Luc DESLARZES   Afrotropics Deserts and Xeric Shrublands   30,800 square miles (79,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of Maine Critical/Endangered

· Life on the "Seventh Continent"
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Life on the "Seventh Continent"

Some people call the island of Madagascar "the seventh continent" because it is so different from any other place on Earth. Isolated from the African mainland for at least 150 million years, this island shows extremely high rates of endemism and diversity. Scientists estimate that 85 percent of the 12,000 species of flowering plants here are endemic. The Madagascar Succulent Woodland ecoregion in southwest Madagascar is a unique mosaic of succulent (cactus-like) plants and deciduous forests. In this ecoregion, you can find plants and animals unlike any others in the world, such as the thorny, columnar, cactus-like Didierea madagascariensis, giant jumping rat, flat-tailed tortoise, and seven kinds of lemurs.

Special Features

This ecoregion has a tropical dry climate with a distinct dry season between May and October. The plants that grow here are highly adapted to the dry environment, such as having thick flesh that stores water and the ability to survive long periods without leaves. (Leaves enable plants to make food, but they also give off valuable water.) The forests of this ecoregion provide critical habitat for seven species of lemur, three of which, the pale fork-marked lemur, coquerel’s dwarf lemur, and the red-tailed sportive lemur, are found nowhere else on earth.

	Pale fork-marked lemurs are monogamous. Males and females spend the day together, sleeping in the holes of baobab trees and then setting out at night to forage. While the pair may separate while they hunt for food, they are in constant vocal contact throughout the night, often in the form of a duet.

Wild Side

Baobabs dot the landscape with their squat, thick trunks. Lemurs leap about and climb from tree to tree. Madagascar fish eagles soar above the dry environment, while flat-tailed tortoises bask in the sun. Some narrow-striped mongooses busily forage for insects, small mammals, and reptiles while others act as sentinels--with their eyes to the sky in search of hawks and other predators. At night, bats fill the skies as they search for succulent fruits, while cat-like fossas creep quietly across tree branches, ready to catch unsuspecting birds or lemurs by surprise. While only twice the size of a housecat, these sleek animals are the largest predators on Madagascar.

Cause for Concern

Since man’s arrival in Madagascar, more than 90 percent of the original forest has disappeared. Today, forest destruction is continuing at alarming rates. Much of this ecoregion is being logged, and very few areas are protected. In fact, some of the most important habitats have no protection at all. What’s left of the original habitat is highly susceptible to destruction from fires--both intentional burning for agricultural expansion and unintentional wildfires. Because of this extensive habitat loss, Madagascar has more endangered primates than anywhere else in the world. And several species of endemic trees are at risk of going extinct because of a high demand for construction wood. Other threats to this ecoregion include cattle and goat grazing, firewood collection, honey collection, and unsustainable hunting of animals such as tenrecs, fruit bats, brown lemurs, and giant jumping rats.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.