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
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
28/11/2025
Nadia Fall attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival premiere of Brides at the Egyptian Theatre on January 24, 2025, in Park City, Utah. (Photo by Donyale West/...
28/11/2025
It's easy to ignore those little red update available badges. But when it ...
28/11/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission has released a tentative agenda for the December Open Commission Meeting scheduled for Thursday, December 18, 2025 ...
28/11/2025
The Professional Fighters League is looking to super-serve fans of mixed martial...
28/11/2025
Fubo has released in beta on select Roku devices a new feature that lets users display up to four simultaneous streams at once....
28/11/2025
The WNBA playoffs and Week 4 of the NFL regular season highlight the list of live sports events airing on television this weekend....
28/11/2025
The 32nd class of honorees to the B+C Hall of Fame took to the stage at New York's Ziegfeld Ballroom on September 26 for a gala induction event. Click below...
28/11/2025
We hold in our hands the very last Next Text for Next TV, the weekly back-and-fo...
28/11/2025
DirecTV said it made a deal with EchoStar to buy EchoStar's video businesses, including satellite-TV provider Dish TV and virtual MVPD Sling TV, for $1 plus...
28/11/2025
The Broadcasting+Cable Hall of Fame, the premier industry event paying tribute to the influencers, innovators and shining lights of broadcast, cable and streami...
28/11/2025
Friday 28 November 2025
Sky Sports x Slawn drop limited-edition football jersey...
28/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz shows resilience in a challenging environment, revenue exceeds t...
28/11/2025
Unwrapped: The Toy Show Appeal - airing this Sunday on RT One and RT Player- s...
27/11/2025
LONDON Vizrt has added several AI-driven advanced features offering improved speed, intelligence and accuracy in the newest version of its media asset managemen...
27/11/2025
Prime Video has launched AI-powered video season recaps in a beta version for select English-language Prime Original series in the U.S., a move Amazon is callin...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Netflix's Raat Akeli Hai: The Bansal Murders Marks a Grand...
27/11/2025
27 Nov 2025
GSMA brings M360 Eurasia 2026 to Samarkand in partnership with VEON...
27/11/2025
Tahar Rahim and Izuka Hoyle star in the gripping six-part Sky Original from Acad...
27/11/2025
Thursday 27 November 2025
Sky Arts Reveals the Nation's Greatest Basslines - and Queen Reign Supreme
The UK's most iconic basslines have been revealed...
27/11/2025
Back to All News
Stranger Things 5': Prepare for One Last Adventure With O...
27/11/2025
The media industry has a paradox at its core. It's an industry built on light, color and imagination, yet behind the scenes, it's powered by one of the ...
27/11/2025
Rating reflects rating progress across areas including policies, diversity & inclusion, health & safety and Net Zero leadership
Winchester, UK, 27 November 202...
27/11/2025
What are the industry standards for Retail Media? Kathryn explains that certification is based on the IAB Europe Retail Media Measurement Standards and the IAB ...
27/11/2025
World champion boxer and Irish sporting icon Katie Taylor will be in studio this...
27/11/2025
Roblox, one of the world's most popular online gaming platforms for primary ...
27/11/2025
Black Friday is leveling up. Get ready to score one of the biggest deals of the season - 50% off the first three months of a new GeForce NOW Ultimate membership...
26/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Prime Video EP Mike Muriano Previews Massive Black Friday Slate Fe...
26/11/2025
A cinematic snow sculpture at the 1995 Sundance Film Festival. Photo by Randall Michelson...
26/11/2025
Book podcasts are booming. On Spotify, you'll find everything from celebrity book clubs to deep dives with bestselling authors. And in markets where audiobo...
26/11/2025
Mumbai, November 24, 2025: In a first-of-its-kind initiative, JioStar, in collab...
26/11/2025
LONDON Factual content producer ITN Productions has launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins....
26/11/2025
MIAMI TelevisaUnivision said it struck a new multiyear distribution agreement with YouTube TV that includes distribution of TelevisaUnivision's U.S. network...
26/11/2025
OpenDrives, Inc., a leader in software-defined data storage and data services, today announced the launch of the Atlas Corporate Creative Solution. This new Atl...
26/11/2025
Disguise, the industry-leading company powering the world's biggest live performances, is partnering with pioneering LED wall manufacturer DVS to give atten...
26/11/2025
HighField AI, the pioneer in agentic and multimodal automation for broadcast and media production, today announced the expansion of its global channel partner n...
26/11/2025
As high-stakes Premier League fixtures approach and additional premium content launches, with MONO positioning themselves to dominate Thailand's sports stre...
26/11/2025
Hosting a wide variety of events from high-intensity NHL games to complex live music concerts and major entertainment productions, Montreal's 21,000 capacit...
26/11/2025
Vizrt, the leader in live production technology revolutionizing viewer engagement and experience, releases AI-driven advances focusing on speed, intelligence, a...
26/11/2025
ITN Productions, an award-winning factual content producer, today launched a new low-latency IP gallery for news bulletins. Responsible for delivering a leading...
26/11/2025
Ikegami reports ongoing advances throughout 2025 in developing and delivering coordinated television production solutions that maximize quality, versatility and...
26/11/2025
Following the Nov. 21 blackout of NBCUniversal channels on Fubo, the two sides have traded barbs about their inability to reach a new carriage deal....
26/11/2025
LONDON As TV sports rights become increasingly important for both broadcasters and streamers, Ampere Analysis predicts global investment in the genre will surpa...
26/11/2025
LOS ANGELES Vubiquity said it has achieved the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Media & Entertainment Competency as part of the AWS Partner Network (APN). This designa...
26/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau said it has entered into a consent decree with Comcast calling for the cable company t...
26/11/2025
Berklee Named to the Hollywood Reporters Top Music Schools List The publication highlights the college's screen scoring program, industry partnerships, and ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
Animated Series Love Through a Prism' Casts New Light on ...
26/11/2025
Back to All News
NALIP Unveils Fifth Cohort of Director Incubator
Social Impact
26 November 2025
United States
Link copied to clipboard
The National Assoc...
26/11/2025
YouView Achieves Greenly Gold Certification for SustainabilityNov 26, 2025
YouView is proud to announce a Gold Certification award from Greenly for our perform...
Under a leaden sky, six rangers walk silently in single file through Vohibola, one of the last primary forests in eastern Madagascar.
