Its isolation has led to a unique geography and animal population, including the lemur, which took a star role in the 2005 animated Hollywood movie named after the island.
The question was also raised of whether different lemur species adapted to a variety of habitats across Madagascar could all find joy in a relatively small piece of Caribbean dry forest.
In a broad sweep, she ranges from the sometimes vicious territorial disputes between rival lemur troops (described with excitement and, at times, sentimental anthropomorphism), to the history of the mica mines and sisal plantations that drove the island's economy after the second world war.