The reason for the demise of the Archaeoindris isn’t 100% clear. There is evidence that these giant sloth lemurs were hunted by humans who came to Madagascar around 350 BC, but were thought to be rare at the time. The cave painting in Andriamamelo Cave in western Madagascar clearly shows a man using two dogs to hunt a sloth lemur. Cut marks in bones found support this conclusion. As the human population on Madagascar continued to increase, so did the impact of people on this lemur. Charcoal deposits throughout the island show that people used fire to clear sections of forests. This use of fire would have caused destruction to the areas containing sloth lemurs and caused population fragmentation. Because all four sloth lemur species went extinct before the arrival of Europeans, no one knows for sure when these giant lemurs actually went extinct. It seems that the largest sloth lemur and the focus of this post, the Archaeoindris, went extinct first possibly even "Before Christ" (BC), it is unclear. I have chosen to include it with the other "recently extinct" creatures because the related koala lemur made it closer to recent times. Could the sloth lemur live in Madagascar today? Although Jurassic Park is fiction, scientists are working on several de-extinction projects. In fact, in 2003 scientists did bring back the extinct Pyrenean ibex, a type of wild goat, for 7 minutes before it died, showing de-extinction is possible. The sloth lemurs might be good candidates. Scientists would potentially use DNA from the skulls and bones found in caves. Madagascar is home to many unique animals today, most famously the lemurs and fossa. The biggest problem facing these animals is deforestation and forest fragmentation. In 2020, the Madagascar government launched a project to plant one million trees. The goal is to eventually plant 60 million new trees to connect the fragmented forests. Many projects like https://zahana.org/ are recruiting local people to raise and plant these trees. People who agree to plant trees and care for them are taught how to make better cook stoves which require less wood to use. The main use of trees in Madagascar is wood for cook stoves. Although Malagasy (people from Madagascar) value their unique wildlife and have many areas set aside as National Reserves, many animals are still taken from the wild and sold illegally. Madagascar ranks 10th in the world for poverty. In fact, 75 - 80% of the 26 million people there are living in poverty, making only $2 a day. The answers for how to protect endangered wildlife in Madagascar today are not simple. If the sloth lemur ever did make its way back to its native homeland, would it be able to survive?