
Under a leaden sky, six rangers walk silently in single file through Vohibola, one of the last primary forests in eastern Madagascar.
Alert to the slightest movement and sound, Michael Tovolahy's patrol is tracking poachers who are inflicting grievous harm to this jewel of biodiversity.
The poachers are targeting lemurs, primates battling the threat of extinction, and are chopping down trees, some of them rare hardwoods, to burn for charcoal.
In this forest, there are at least 20 indigenous animal species, including six types of lemur, and 150 species of tree, says Tovolahy, whose nickname is Nabe.
Because of these logger-poachers, I fear that this forest will one day be no more it will be just an empty space, where developers will grow walls of concrete.
A terrible irony is that a 2014 documentary, Island of Lemurs, which did so much to draw attention to the cuddly animals' plight, unwittingly encouraged a market to have them as caged pets.
Some kill the harmless creatures for food, others sell them as pets and to get to their prey, they chop down precious tropical trees.
Nocturnal lemurs are very easy to capture because they sleep in the daytime, explains Tovolahy.
The poachers cut down the trees surrounding their nest, which provides the lemurs with a means of flight. All they have to do then is to shake the tree until the animal falls out.
Unique Lemurs are among the many wildlife treasures that are unique to Madagascar.
Out of 111 recorded lemur species, 105 face the threat of extinction, says the Lemur Conservation Network (LCN).
Other damage to Vohibola and its natural population is being inflicted by the simple need for wood for cooking.
The forest patrol frequently encounters the dismayng sight of empty spaces and mounds of bark the traces of illegal logging to take trees, burn them and sell the charcoal to Madagascans.
They take rare woods such as ebony and use it to make charcoal it's so sad, says Tovolahy.
Eric Rabenasolo, director-general for forests at the environment ministry, says that Madagascar's nine million hectares (22.25 million acres) of forests are shrinking each year by between 50,000 and 100,000 ha. (A football pitch is roughly one hectare).
Vohibola itself is a haven for an extraordinary species the mouse lemur.
From its head to the tip of its tail, this nocturnal animal (genus Microcebus) measures under 27 centimetres (11 inches), making it the world's smallest primate and, according to the International Conservation of Nature (IUCN), among the most endangered of all vertebrates.
Powerless The state is trying to boost awareness of the dangers of such trafficking, urging people for instance to check the source of their cooking charcoal and encouraging villages to report illegal logging to the authorities.
The message often goes unheard in a country where three-quarters of the population live in poverty.
Poachers have a well-founded reputation for violence and their connections with locals mean that police can rarely make arrests.
I never get too close to this forest in my boat, confided Parfait Emmanuel, a fisherman in the village of Andranokoditra. I don't feel like getting chopped to pieces by a poacher.
It's the villagers themselves who tip off the poachers that the police are coming, says Cecilien Ranaivo, mayor of the Ambinaninony district, which includes Andranokoditra.
So obviously they don't succeed in making many arrests.
During Tovaly's patrol, the team comes across a poachers' hideout an encampment the size of a small village, with about 20 makeshift huts that have clearly been abandoned in a hurry.
Tovolahy expresses his frustration. His resources are limited: the patrol comprises volunteers armed with sticks or bows and arrows and can only seek to scare off poachers, rather than tackle them head-on.
We will never be able to fight the poacher-loggers by ourselves, he says. What's needed is armed men, empowered by law to use force if necessary.
Corruption charge Exasperated by the authorities' powerlessness, environmentalist Stephane Decampe has decided to launch his own mission to protect the lemurs.
Decampe, a French-Madagascan dual national, co-owns the Jungle Nofy Hotel, a lodge which accommodates tourists who go down the Pangalanes Canal, an interconnected series of rivers, man-made lakes and waterways that runs down Madagascar's east coast..
He patrols the canal three nights a week in his boat to track to the poachers.
They come from the town of Tamatave (70 kilometres (43 miles) north of Ambinaninony), along with their wives and children, Decampe said.
They are dropped off here by boat, and have food but no meat so they eat lemurs, he said.
He and his wife Angelique also recover lemurs that families use as pets.
We set them free, she said. But when we last went on holiday, the poachers poisoned them in an act of revenge.
The battle to save the lemurs has caused tense relationships with the authorities local officials, say activists, are getting kickbacks from some of the traffickers.
That insinuation causes Mayor Ranaivo to sputter angrily, accusing the campaigners of having political motivations.
A dozen environmentalists were arrested in early April.
They accused us of illegally cutting down trees and destroying loggers' businesses, sighed Tovolahy. And while all this was going on, the real poachers were hauling out their booty.
By Tsiresena MANJAKAHERY
Agence France-Presse
Tags: Environment, conservation and sustainable energyjrmzlqzpoaching
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
13/07/2026
The Braves opted to keep production in-house rather than hand it off to MLB...
13/07/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, including new deals, departures, and assignments compiled from press releases and repo...
13/07/2026
Eurovision Sport is making live athletics more accessible to fans than ever befo...
13/07/2026
The Milwaukee Bucks will return to full-season over-the-air television for the 2...
13/07/2026
SMPTE has announced an expanded education pathway for media technology professio...
13/07/2026
Vizrt has announced that its graphics technology was used by broadcast design agency Girraphic for Netflix's debut MVP MMA event, broadcast live from the In...
13/07/2026
ARRI has announced an agreement to sell its global rental activities in Europe, the United Kingdom, and North America to H2 Equity Partners through a management...
13/07/2026
DAZN has announced a partnership with Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) to bring PBC fight nights to DAZN subscribers globally. The partnership begins Saturday, Ju...
13/07/2026
TikTok and WSC Sports have announced a strategic partnership that gives sports r...
13/07/2026
Two new Ross products -Brushback: Full Count and CapGo - are debuting at Citizens Bank Park All-Star festivities...
13/07/2026
MSG Networks' was given exclusive access during the Knicks' unforgettabl...
13/07/2026
LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2026 - Sundance Institute today announced the 10 producers selected to participate in its annual Producers Labs taking place July 13-18 fo...
13/07/2026
Adds new intelligent Mix Assistant feature
With their product range now featuring numerous processors across two distinct line-ups, the M-Series and T-Serie...
13/07/2026
Plug-ins for heavy music
Avalanche Tones is the brainchild of Ava Toton, a 17-year-old musician and developer who says her goal is to make the lives of gui...
13/07/2026
Popular sustain effect overhauled
Latvia-based innovators Gamechanger Audio have just launched a new and improved version of their popular sustainer unit. B...
13/07/2026
Millions tuned in for quarter-finals of the FIFA World Cup 2026 on SBS
13 July, 2026
Media releases
Norway v England attracted a Total TV reach of 3.7 mil...
13/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/07/2026
Composer and Producer Andy Dollerson has built a career by blending his electroacoustic training with hands on production work for independent artists and filmm...
13/07/2026
The next release of the widely used video player VLC 3.0.24 will incorporate full support for RIST, including main profile and some support for advanced profile...
13/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/07/2026
Providing sound reinforcement for a live televised casting show ranks among the most demanding tasks in event technology: the house sound and the broadcast feed...
13/07/2026
Committed to its fans first guiding principle, the genre-defying Savannah Bananas baseball team has placed Calrec at the heart of its growing broadcast story. A...
13/07/2026
At IBC2026, Intinor will demonstrate its latest developments and present a practical path for broadcasters transitioning to IP workflows. The showcase focuses o...
13/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/07/2026
Celebrating Two Decades of ICG and League Football Education This year marks 20 years of working with League Football Education (LFE) the charity responsible ...
13/07/2026
Silver for Arvato Systems at the 2026 Service Provider Award
Award in the AI as a Service Provider category recognizes AI expertise and innovative strength
...
13/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Joe Mag Raollaigh as the new Managing Editor of Nuacht, the Irish Language News and Current Affairs service a...
12/07/2026
Offers six-channels and built-in effects
Korg's latest release introduces a new analogue mixer that's been designed to act as a hub for live electro...
12/07/2026
COW Jobs: Video Production Specialist, Indie Game - Remote
Brie Clayton July 12, 2026
0 Comments
Video Production Specialist (Indie Game)
May 29, 20...
11/07/2026
(L-R) Bruce McKenzie, Mimi Rogers, Cemre Paksoy, Georgia Bernstein, El onore Hendricks, and Colleen Rose Trundy attend the Night Nurse premiere during the 202...
11/07/2026
Promises a vividness and depth rarely found in software
Switzerland-based Handcrafted Audio's latest creation is an interesting hybrid instrument that...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/07/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Awards Grants to Five Alumni, Supporting Work in ...
11/07/2026
Berklee Alumni and Faculty Recognized with 2026 Emmy Nominations The 27 nominees include Trey Parker (South Park) and seven-time Emmy winner Pablo Mungu a of ...
10/07/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
10/07/2026
FUJIFILM North America Corporation has announced the FUJINON GF19-35mmT3.5 PZ OIS WR, a cinema power zoom lens for the GFX System with native G Mount. The lens ...
10/07/2026
Dalet has announced a new Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex, expanding AI capabilities, workflow automation, and integration with Dalia, Dalet'...
10/07/2026
Blackmagic Design has released Fairlight Live, a free software-based broadcast audio mixer for Mac and Windows, available for download now. Simultaneously, the ...
10/07/2026
FloSports and the USA South Athletic Conference have announced an exclusive medi...
10/07/2026
Daktronics has manufactured and installed an LED video display at Field of Dream...
10/07/2026
Registration is now open for NAB Show New York 2026, taking place October 21-22 ...
10/07/2026
Sphere Entertainment Co. and the Formula 1 Heineken Las Vegas Grand Prix have an...
10/07/2026
CBS Sports and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have announced a media rights partnership covering the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 and the AFC U23 Asi...