The Sloth Lemur's Song: Madagascar from the Deep Past to the Uncertain PresentMadagascar is a place of change. A biodiversity hotspot and the fourth largest island on the planet, it has been home to a spectacular parade of animals, from giant flightless birds and giant tortoises on the ground, to agile lemurs leaping through the treetops. Some species live on; many have vanished in the distant or recent past. Over vast stretches of time, Madagascars forests have expanded and contracted in response to shifting climates, and the