Science is Fun Fridays!

 

Madagascar has been isolated from Africa and Asia for more than 80 million years - more than 90% of its species are endemic to the island.  But the wildlife is threatened, and the Malagasy people live below the poverty line.  It is currently being examined for conservation status and actions required to protect biodiversity, so I figured we'd get look at some inhabitants.

Giraffe weevil

Harlequin Mantella

Malagasy civet

Madagascar Owl

Euphorbia iharanae

Nepenthes madagascariensis

We've seen relatives of these before: Baobabs

The Malagasy people have long been distinguished between Highlander and Coastal groups, but there are multiple tribes within the subgroups.

The Highlander populations are more Austronesian/Malay-Indonesian ancestry while the Coastal dwellers are more ethnically Bantu.

The largest group is the Merina, there in the central plateau.

It was their king Radama who fought against French colonization, but the monarchy was ultimately abolished in 1897.

Science