For almost a decade, the crowned lemurs of Miavana have been rewriting their story on this island sanctuary. What began in 2017 as an ambitious conservation initiative to establish a safety colony of one of Madagascar’s most endangered primates has grown into something far greater than anyone could have hoped, with four thriving family groups now moving confidently through the island’s forests and welcoming new generations born on Nosy Ankao.

The conservation team on Miavana led by Dr Mouneshwar Soondur has a saying: “success is measured not by how much we do, but by how little we eventually need to do”. Every restoration project begins with careful planning, scientific monitoring and hands-on management, yet the ultimate goal is always the same: to reach the point where nature is able to take the lead once again. For the crowned lemurs of Nosy Ankao, that moment has arrived.

Since the very first translocation in 2017, the Time + Tide Foundation, together with Fanamby and Madagascar Biodiversity Partnership, has relied on radio telemetry to carefully monitor the lemurs as they settled into their new home. The collars allowed the conservation team to understand where the animals established territories, how family groups formed, how they adapted to the island’s forests and, perhaps most importantly, whether the population was growing in a healthy and sustainable way.

Years of almost daily observation have created an extraordinary body of knowledge.

For over nine years, six days a week, the conservation team has headed into the forest to follow the lemurs, recording everything from feeding habits to social interactions. During 2025 alone, the team completed 484 monitoring sessions. Building on almost a decade of similar observations, the data has revealed the home ranges of each family group, the preferred feeding trees they return to throughout the seasons, the routes they follow through the forest and the subtle habits that shape their days. That understanding has become so comprehensive that the radio collars have now fulfilled the purpose for which they were introduced.

As of the 28th of June, every single collar has been removed entirely, allowing the lemurs to continue their lives with even less human intervention while the conservation team transitions to more natural methods of monitoring. Rather than relying on radio technology, the team now depends on years of field experience, patient observation and an intimate knowledge of each group’s movements, an approach that reflects just how far the project has come. Further research is underway into more in-depth, non-invasive forms of observation using cutting-edge technology.

Perhaps the greatest compliment any conservation programme can receive is that it becomes less visible over time.

The goal has never been to manage the lemurs indefinitely, but rather to create the conditions in which they no longer need that level of support. Reaching this stage demonstrates not only the success of the original translocations, but also the health, resilience and stability of the population that has since become established on Nosy Ankao.

For guests visiting Miavana, very little will feel different. Guided walks into the island’s forests will continue to offer the opportunity to encounter crowned lemurs in their natural habitat, with the conservation team drawing on years of accumulated knowledge to locate the different family groups without the aid of radio signals. The stories shared along the way have simply evolved, from explaining how the collars helped establish the population to celebrating the remarkable point at which they were no longer needed. In many ways, the experience becomes even more rewarding as guests witness these animals in their natural habitat without any technological assistance.

While the collars have disappeared, the conservation work certainly has not.

Monitoring will continue throughout the year; births will still be recorded; family groups will be carefully observed; and the long-term health of the population will remain a priority, ensuring that every decision continues to be guided by science while allowing nature to take the lead wherever possible.

For the conservation team, this moment represents years of dedication, collaboration and learning. For our guests, it is another reminder that every stay at Miavana contributes to the protection of Madagascar’s extraordinary wildlife. And for the crowned lemurs of Nosy Ankao, it is simply another peaceful day in the forest, exactly as it should be.

Come let us show you…
Book your island retreat with us