There are more than 1, 650 plant species, of which 44 are endemic, and over 2, 000 animal species.

UNESCO: EDUCATION

About 90% of its plant species exist nowhere else on the planet, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, and many of its bird, reptile and animal species -- including all the world's lemurs in the wild -- are endemic.

CNN: Plague of locusts infests impoverished Madagascar