On September 7th, Ash Dykes arrived at Cape Sainte Marie on the southern tip of Madagascar. He gazed over the vast Indian Ocean before turning north along the coast. Over the next five months, 24-year-old Dykes from the village of Old Colwyn in Wales, plans to walk the entire length of Madagascar: trekking 2,900 kilometres of desert, rainforest and mountains in one of the world’s most unusual landscapes.

“Madagascar is rarely talked about. Everyone has heard of it, but it’s not your typical destination,” Dykes said. “This is what attracts me to take on these remote locations.”

But Dykes isn’t tackling Madagascar just for the challenge; he’s also partnering with the Lemur Conservation Network to bring attention to what is arguably the most bizarre and wonderful mix of flora and fauna in the world. Scientists believe that 70-90% of Madagascar’s species – including all those lemurs – are found no-where else on the planet.

“As I trek across Madagascar, I will help the Lemur Conservation Network by raising awareness about Madagascar’s unique biodiversity...and to share stories about the people working on the ground in Madagascar to protect lemurs and other wildlife and their habitat,” Dykes said, who be meeting with some of Madagascar’s top conservation scientists as he makes his way north.

A male comet moth (Argema mittrei) recently emerged and drying its wings in Andasibe-Mantadia National Park, Madagascar. The gorgeous moth is only found in the island nation. Photograph: Nick Garbutt/Nick Garbutt/Nature Picture Library/Corbis

This isn’t Dykes’ first great adventure: he recently won the UK’s Adventurer of the Year award for Wales for a 2014 trek across Mongolia. He was the first person to cross the country solo and unsupported, hiking 2,400 kilometres while dragging a self-designed trailer for his equipment behind him.



This time Dykes will rely on a series of guides throughout his trek. But, if he succeeds in Madagascar, he’ll become the first person to traverse the full-length of the country, notching another record-breaking feat on his belt.

Lemurs and Others

During his five-month excursion, Dykes expects to see lots of wildlife, including lemurs, chameleons, scorpions, frogs, butterflies and crocodiles (“not too close though!” he noted). But what he hopes most to see is the incredibly-elusive, almost-mythic northern sportive lemur.

“[It is] the rarest of the lemur species, with only around 50 left – which is a huge shame!” he said. “If I do spot it, then I’ll take note of my coordinates and inform the conservationists of my location and time of sighting. I’m hoping it’s in an area that it hasn’t yet been sighted.”

Madagascar is, of course, most famous for its lemurs. To date, scientists have documented 103 species of lemurs living on an island twice the size of the United Kingdom. And new species of this ancient primate family are still declared every couple years.

A northern sportive lemur (Lepilemur septentrionalis), one of only around 50 left in the wild. These lemurs are found in the Montagne des Francais area of northern Madagascar. Photograph: Edward Louis

“Most people know the ring-tailed lemur, and perhaps the mouse lemurs or the ruffed lemurs, but the diversity of lemurs on Madagascar is so much greater, and a fascinating study on evolution and adaptation,” said Lynne Venart, the Communications Director of the Lemur Conservation Network.



When you go on a hike in Madagascar, every couple of steps you see a weird and wonderful creature. Lynne Venart

The group, launched in February, helps put donors (even small ones) in touch with 50-plus conservation groups doing the tough work on the ground to save lemurs from extinction.



Currently, the IUCN Red List classifies an incredible 91% of the world’s lemurs as threatened with extinction, putting them at the foreground of the world’s biodiversity crisis. In response, scientists produced a nationwide plan to safeguard the most vulnerable lemurs from extinction. The total cost is less than £5 million, but funding is still lacking.

Lemurs are just one part of the story of Madagascar’s wildlife. Madagascar also contains giant geckos that blend-in perfectly with tree bark, giant silk moths ,a weevil with a neck so long it’s named after the giraffe, plump baobab trees, chameleons so small they fit on a human fingernail and hedgehog-like mammals that can give birth to 30-plus babies (tenrecs) among a slew of other biological oddities and wonders.

“When you go on a hike in Madagascar, every couple of steps you see a weird and wonderful creature that is completely endemic to Madagascar,” said Venart. “It truly is amazing!”

Poverty and Hope

But Madagascar’s natural treasures are increasingly imperiled by human pressures.

One of the world’s poorest countries, Madagascar is home to 22 million people and its population is rapidly rising (growing at 2.8% annually). More than half of this population lives on $2 a day and about half the children in the country under five suffer from malnutrition. The country is also experiencing a youth bulge: the median age of the population is just 19.5.

For centuries, locals have followed an agricultural practice known locally as tavy where they cut and burn down forest to plant crops. When the nutrient-poor soil collapses, they move into other forests. Although researchers continue to debate how much forest the country had prior to human arrival, there is no debate that Madagascar has lost about half of its forests since 1950, largely to this style of shifting agriculture.

“You can’t blame the poor, rural Malagasy for wanting to feed their families, whether that is by hunting lemurs, or burning down the forest to grow rice or make charcoal to cook their food,” said Venart. “So, conservation in Madagascar can’t just be about studying the animals, establishing national parks, putting up field stations, or replanting trees. Education, alternative cooking fuels, and alternative ways for the Malagasy to make an income are key.”

Four-year-old Bonne Chance gets a mid upper arm contour measurement to determine his nutrition status at a UNICEF supported community nutrition site in Fort Dauphin, Madagascar, 24 September 2015. The purpose of the centre is to provide counselling services as well as monitor and keep kids healthy and nourished. Currently, a severe food and nutrition crisis is affecting 200,000 people in southern Madagascar, including 40,000 children under 5. Photograph: Shiraaz Mohamed/EPA

Conservationists in Madagascar, therefore, often find themselves enacting a variety of roles from educators to sustainable development designers.

“People all over the world can support the work of these conservation organisations by donating or volunteering,” said Venart, who pointed to the Lemur Conservation Network website for more information. “Another simple way to help is to talk about these issues with your friends, family, and colleagues, and help raise the overall global consciousness of Madagascar and its conservation challenges...If we can solve these issues in Madagascar for these people and this wildlife, I bet we can solve them anywhere.”

A number of devoted conservationists have been working in Madagascar for decades, yet the plight of the country – both its ecological issues and its continued poverty – have largely gone unnoticed by the global public. Even the wildly-popular DreamWorks’ Madagascar film series (and spin-offs), has seemingly done little to raise the nation’s profile.

Still, Venart is hopeful that the relentless dedication of conservationists will keep Madagascar’s wildlife from extinction and that new ways of telling Madagascar’s story – such as through Dykes’ great trek – will bring a larger global audience to the country.

“There is too much to lose, and no hurdle is too high,” said Venart. “There are a lot of really great conservation organisations and scientists on the ground in Madagascar working to protect its wildlife and help the local people. They need the support of the world.”

Goodman’s mouse lemur (Microcebus lehilahytsara) pair in nest in Masoala National Park, Madagascar. This lemur species was only described by scientists in 2005. It is considered Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List. Photograph: Thomas Marent/Thomas Marent/Minden Pictures/Corbis

A deforested landscape that is typical of central Madagascar. Loss of trees has resulted in erosion problems in the country as well as biodiversity declines. Photograph: Lynne Venart