The scene is a balmy beachfront at sunset. The location is the Masoala Peninsula of Madagascar. The village of Ambanizana rests behind a screen of trees. From our vantage point the sounds of village life are barely audible over the surf crashing on the tree - lined shore. Soaring high above on oceanic wind currents are the flying foxes.
Quiet shadows come gliding in.
They land with a rustle of wings and a slap of wet leaves as they begin to scramble through the branches of Terminalia catappa , a beachfront tree that grows thickly in this area. By dawn the ground beneath the trees will be littered with the remnants of the night's feast. The role this large bat plays in the dynamics of the forest is what Michelle Zjhra and I have come here to study. The island of Madagascar has been a source of intense interest to naturalists for several centuries. About 2,000 miles long and 350 miles across at its widest point, the island separated from mainland Africa over 100 million years ago, its relative isolation allowing for the evolution of unique and endemic plant and animal groups.