Madagascar – marooned in time

When Madagascar broke free from the continental landmass of Africa 90 million years ago, all of its wildlife was marooned on board, passengers on a boat floating out in the Indian Ocean. As a result about 90% of its wildlife evolved nowhere else on earth. It’s most famous inhabitants – the lemurs – proliferated and filled pretty much every available niche. These days they are the island’s main wildlife draw and have been a magnet for photographers and naturalists for decades.

In May of 2026, I travelled to Madagascar for the first time. It’s always exciting to visit somewhere new, and for me in particular any time there is new wildlife to learn about and to photograph, I’m in my happy place. Boy, did Madagascar deliver. Of course, there’s more to the island than its wildlife, which I’ll get to in upcoming posts. But after a first run through my photos, I wanted to share some images of the island’s more weird and wonderful citizens. Enjoy!