Patricia Wright Leads Expedition into Madagascar’s Hidden Miracle in Documentary ‘Ivohiboro: The Lost Forest’

A newly discovered tropical rainforest in one of Madagascar's most arid regions is now at the center of global scientific research, thanks to Patricia Wright, distinguished service professor in the Department of Anthropology, Herrnstein Professor of Conservation Biology and founder and executive director of Centre ValBioand the Institute for the Conservation of Tropical Environments.

The 14-square-kilometer rainforest, named Ivohiboro, was discovered by Wright in 2019 and is the subject of the new feature-length documentary, Ivohiboro: The Lost Forest. The 90-minute film premiered October 3 in Paris, France, and was broadcast worldwide on October 7 on France 5.

Situated in the southeast of Madagascar on the Ivohibe massif, the Ivohiboro rainforest is an oasis at 1,500 meters above sea level, hidden within one of the island's most inhospitable terrains. Wright, a world-renowned primatologist, leads an international team of researchers on a 30-day expedition to explore the region's astonishing biodiversity and unlock the secrets of this ancient ecosystem in the documentary.

Ivohiboro is a green sanctuary in an otherwise arid desert, teeming with life, from vividly patterned insects to rare birds and ring-tailed lemurs, a species typically found in dry forests. The preservation of this forest, which has remained untouched by time, presents an incredible opportunity for scientific discovery.

For Wright and her team of over thirty researchers from Madagascar, the U.S., Australia, the U.K., and Poland, the stakes of the expedition are high - to not only study and catalog new species, but also to understand how this forest has survived in such an unforgiving environment and what lessons it holds for global conservation efforts.

"To discover a rainforest in the middle of that arid, burned landscape stretching as far as the eye could see, was shocking, exhilarating, like a mirage in a desert," said Wright. "The realization that a rainforest could thrive in central Madagascar gives me hope that we can conserve this relict forest and restore forests filled with biodiversity across Madagascar."

Wright is joined by leading scientists, including biologist and parasitologist Mai Fahmy and biologist and herpetologist Edmund W. Basham, who bring their expertise to this research project. Together, they hope to better understand the dynamics of this rainforest and how to protect similar ecosystems from the looming threats of climate change and environmental degradation.