Expedition Mahimborondro
The island of Madagascar is widely regarded as a “living laboratory” in which evolution has sculpted an extremely diverse and specialised biota over millions of years. The birds of the island are no exception to this trend, and it currently hosts 282 species, of which a staggering 115 are endemic to the island. Of these, 35 are considered globally threatened to some degree. The high levels of endemic species is a strong motivation for increased conservation efforts on the island, as species lost here, will be lost forever. Madagascar is a country of spectacular biodiversity and unrivaled endemism, yet it is now facing environmental degradation on a massive scale. Unfortunately, to date nearly 90% of Madagascar’s original habitats have been destroyed, illustrating the need for increased conservation efforts in, and support for, this region.
In contrast to this sad picture facing Madagascar’s biodiversity, the story of the Madagascar Pochard (Aythya innotata) provides a refreshing positive outcome for conservation. Against seemingly impossible odds, this species was rediscovered after being declared extinct and now, thanks to a targeted conservation effort, has increased its population nearly tenfold over the last decade. In 2006, Réné de Roland Lily-Arison (principal partner on this project), a Malagasy ornithologist and current director of The Peregrine Fund’s Madagascar program, happened upon a small patch of forest hidden in the remote mountains of north-eastern Madagascar. There, on a tiny crater lake in the forest, Lily rediscovered a small flock of nine Madagascar Pochards. Today, the population of ducks on this single lake, Lac Matsaborimena, has climbed to nearly 40 individuals, and a successful captive breeding program has been started in the nearby provincial capital. With a total world population of less than 150 birds, however, the Madagascar Pochard remains one of the rarest waterfowl on earth.
Furthermore, the remote patch of forest where the pochard survives has proved to be a ‘lost world’ that is home to several of Madagascar’s most enigmatic and poorly-known species. Among others, this includes one of the rarest species of eagle on earth (Madagascar Serpent-eagle Eutriorchis astur), a large owl that went missing to science for much of the twentieth century (Madagascar Red Owl Tyto soumagnei), alongside other rare and threatened biodiversity.
Our expedition is going back to these remote forest patches to both document the rare birds and other wildlife which calls them home, whilst also searching for species which may be new to science. Early expeditions have already revealed a new species of chameleon and thus much remains to be discovered! We'll introduce you to our team of intrepid explorers in our next blog post.