Why is Madagascar amazing?

The Republic of Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world. This island nation lies in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Africa. It is a truly amazing place, for over 70 per cent of the 250,000 wildlife species found in Madagascar are found nowhere else in the world, and 90 per cent of the estimated 14,000 plants native to Madagascar cannot be seen anywhere else on the planet either.

For example, the lemur is only found in the wild in Madagascar. As of 2012, there were 103 living species of lemur in Madagascar, including sub-species. One of the reasons for Madagascar’s unique wildlife is the island’s distance from anywhere else.

 

 

Animals would have had to swim or surf on a driftwood ‘raft’ an awfully long way to reach the mainland. Scientists studying the rocks underground say that Madagascar became separated from the rest of the African continent millions of years ago. Madagascar also has the 3rd largest coral reef system in the world, the Toliara coral reef, off the south-western coast.

 In fact, the unique ecology of Madagascar has led some scientists to refer to the country as the ‘eighth continent’ of the world!