Madagascar - A Conservation Expedition to the World's Oldest Island
For as long as I can remember, one place was always on my bucket list - the Island nation of Madagascar! The lemurs, the chameleons, even the titular blockbuster of 2005; everything about it just made me want to visit this place and in 2015, this became a reality! As a biology student at the University of Southampton, we were given a talk by Operature Wallacea - a research-based charity - where an opportunity arose for a one-month conservation expedition in Madagascar. Since its separation from the Indian subcontinent 88 million years ago, Madagascar's wildlife has been isolated from the rest of the world. Such isolation has meant that the wildlife has evolved independently, resulting in 80% of all species being endemic to the country – found nowhere else on Earth. Furthermore, the topography of the landscape means that entire species are often confined to very specific areas. For this reason and increased environmental pressure, a large proportion of Madagascar’s wildlife is endan...