Over 80 per cent of Madagascar's animals and plants are found nowhere else on Earth. Discover what made Madagascar so different from the rest of the world, and how evolution ran wild here.

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Land of Heat and Dust

3/3 Follows the animals' fortunes through the wet and dry seasons in this island of extremes.

Tue 1 Jan 2013 12:45 BBC HD

See all previous episodes from Madagascar

  • Dancing sifaka

    Dancing sifaka

    Verreaux's sifaka is usually more at home in the trees. It has such long back legs that when it comes to the ground, it can't walk on all fours so it must leap along upright.

  • Wildlife Finder

    Wildlife Finder

    Watch thousands of world-class wildlife video clips from BBC programmes.

    Find out about Madagascar's remarkable wildlife
  • David Attenborough's Madagascar

    David Attenborough's Madagascar

    Fifty years ago, Sir David went to Madagascar to film early wildlife TV series Zoo Quest. With several return visits over the intervening years, the country and its wildlife has continued to capture both his and his audience's imagination.

    Watch the best moments from Sir David's Madagascar films
  • Closer to home

    The Madagascar production team spent eighteen months in Madagascar itself, travelling to the remotest corners of the island to find and film its most intriguing and charismatic wildlife in its extraordinary wild habitats. But there are less challenging ways to see Madagascar's wildlife up close! There's a surprising number of zoos, gardens and wildlife parks all across the UK and Ireland with animals and plants from Madagascar. Here are a few suggestions of some places around the country where you may see larger collections of Madagascar's animals or plants, or that include some species that are particularly unusual. There are plenty more – let us know if you think we've missed any major ones. See the BIAZA website for more information on places near you:
    http://www.biaza.org.uk/

    This list was up-to-date as of February 2011, and based on information from the zoos. It is not exhaustive, and collections may change. Please contact individual zoos and parks for further details.

    Bristol Zoo
    Aye-Aye, Giant jumping rat, Grey mouse lemurs, Madagascan tree boa, Ring-tailed lemurs, Alaotra Gentle (reed) lemurs, Red Ruffed lemur, Mongoose lemur, Golden mantella frogs

    London Zoo
    Madagascan hissing cockroaches, Black and white Ruffed lemur, Ring-tailed lemurs, Spiny tailed lizards, Parson's chameleon, Radiated tortoises, Dumeril's ground boa, Madagascan teal, Golden mantella frogs

    Natural History Museum
    Elephant bird's giant egg

    Cotswold Wildlife Park
    Sifaka, Greater bamboo lemurs, Ring-tailed lemurs, Brown lemurs, Red-Bellied lemurs, Radiated tortoises, Dumeril's boas, Madagascan tree boas, Tenrec, Madagascan teal, Night herons

    Kew Gardens, London
    Various plants from Madagascar including Triangle palms, Traveller’s palms, Dimaka palms, Madagascan orchids

    Africa Alive!, Lowestoft
    Madagascan hissing cockroaches, Crowned lemurs, Black lemurs, Mongoose lemurs, Red-bellied lemurs, Red Ruffed lemurs, Black-and-white Ruffed lemurs, Ring-tailed lemurs, Madagascan giant jumping rats, Fossa, Greater vasa parrots

    Isle of Wight Zoo
    Ring-tailed lemurs, Black-and-white ruffed lemurs, Red-ruffed lemurs, Black lemurs, Mongoose lemurs, Brown lemurs, Madagascan giant jumping rats, Madagascan day gecko,
    Madagascan tree boa

    Chester Zoo
    Ring-tailed lemurs, Radiated tortoise, Red fody

    South Lakes Wild Animal Park, Cumbria
    Ring-tailed lemurs, Black lemur, Alaotra Gentle (reed) lemur, Mongoose lemur, Red ruffed lemur, Black and White ruffed lemur, Belted ruffed lemur, White Fronted brown lemur

    Twycross Zoo
    Ring-tailed lemurs, Red-ruffed lemurs, Black and white ruffed lemurs, Crowned lemurs, Red-bellied lemurs, Greater vasa parrots, Madagascar teal.

    Blackbrook Zoo, Staffordshire
    Tenrecs, Meller’s duck, Madagascan teal, Ring-tailed lemur, Red ruffed lemur, Black and white lemur, Mongoose lemur

    Linton Zoo, Cambridgeshire
    Mongoose lemurs, Bamboo lemurs, Red ruffed lemur, reptiles and insects

    Port Lympne Wild Animal Park
    Greater bamboo lemurs, Lesser bamboo lemurs, Belted black and white ruffed lemurs, Sifakas, Ring-tailed lemurs

    Dudley Zoo
    Black & White Ruffed Lemur, Ring-Tailed Lemur, Brown Lemur, Black Lemur, Red Ruffed Lemur, Mongoose Lemur, Hissing cockroaches, Dumeril's ground boa

    Marwell Zoo
    Black widow spider, Hissing cockroach, Golden mantella frogs, Day gecko, Leaf gecko, Night heron, Hamerkop, Whistling duck, Teal, Guineafowl, Fossa, Alaotran lemur, Ring-tailed lemur, Red-ruffed lemur, Black and white ruffed lemur

    Edinburgh Zoo
    Blue eyed black lemur, Mongoose lemur, Red-fronted lemur, Red-bellied lemur, Madagascar teal, Hammerkop

    Belfast Zoo
    Ring-tailed lemurs, Crowned lemurs, Red-bellied lemurs, White-belted ruffed lemurs, Red-ruffed lemurs, Crowned sifaka, Fossa, Giant day gecko, Lesser hedgehog tenrec

    Folly Farm, Pembrokeshire
    Fossa, Ringtails lemurs, Red ruffed lemurs, Black and White ruffed lemur

    Jersey Zoo
    Golden mantella frog, Giant jumping rat, Radiated tortoise, Aye-aye, Bamboo lemur, Lac Aloatran gentle lemur and many other lemur species

    British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums (BIAZA)
  • The lemur of the lake - at Jersey Zoo

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    Madagascar team research and edit assistant Patrick Ayree didn't get to 'the Red Island' itself, but he did discover some of Madagascar's charismatic wildlife closer to home. Patrick visited Jersey Zoo to see how the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust are helping the Lac Alaotra reed lemur.

  • Attenborough and the Giant Egg

    Attenborough and the Giant Egg

    David Attenborough returns to the island of Madagascar on a very personal quest to search for evidence of a giant 'elephant bird'.

    Follow the story of Attenborough's egg

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