Ranomafana National Park

In 1986, American primatologist Patricia Wright arrived in Madagascar searching for the greater bamboo lemur—a species presumed extinct. What she found would transform conservation science. In the misty forests that would become Ranomafana National Park, Wright not only rediscovered her quarry but stumbled upon an entirely new species: the golden bamboo lemur, a creature so extraordinary it consumes bamboo containing twelve times the lethal dose of cyanide for an animal its size. How it survives remains one of biology’s enduring mysteries.

Wright’s discovery sparked urgent action. When loggers arrived to harvest the forest’s precious hardwoods, she walked village to village, negotiating boundaries with local communities. In 1991, Ranomafana became Madagascar’s fourth national park. In 2007, it earned UNESCO World Heritage status as part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana. Today, the 41,600-hectare park protects one of the world’s most biologically significant rainforests—a living laboratory where researchers have published over 900 scientific papers and trained generations of Malagasy conservationists.