Madagascar

The Republic of Madagascar is an island nation of 18 million people located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar, the fourth-largest island in the world, as well as numerous smaller peripheral islands, the largest of which include Nosy Be and Nosy Boraha. About 165 million years ago the island splintered off of Africa (80 million years ago occurred the break from India). Because this vast island nation has been isolated so long, Madagascar is a biodiversity hot spot. Over 80% of Madagascar flora and fauna are endemic meaning they are found nowhere else on earth. Madagascar's climate is very diverse allowing a great variety of eco-regions. Lush rain forests are found in the humid eastern region. Tropical deciduous woods are seen on the western plains, and in the semi-arid south is the spiny desert, perhaps the island's most amazing region. There are also tropical beaches and warm Indian Ocean waters. Some highlights of the amazing diversity include 1,000 different species of orchids, six species of baobab trees and the famous lemurs including dwarf lemurs no bigger than a mouse, rig tailed lemurs from the Barebty Reserve, the sifake known to leap more than 30 feet from branch to branch and the very unique aye aye to name a few.