Why haven’t Madagascar’s baobabs gone extinct?

Bush pigs introduced from mainland Africa may hold the answer T HE MALAGASY baobab tree, whose thick trunks and tiny branches dot Madagascar’s landscape, should not, by rights, have survived to the present day. Scientists believe that its large seeds were once dispersed by the giant tortoises and gorilla-size giant lemurs that roamed the island. When these species went extinct over one thousand years ago due to human activity, the baobab tree should have vanished too.

It did not. Seheno Andriantsaralaza at the University of Antananarivo in Madagascar and Onja Razafindratsima at the University of California, Berkeley, now think they may know the reason why. More from Science & technology Earth may once have had a planetary ring It would have collapsed 450m years ago Geothermal energy could outperform nuclear power Tricks from the oil industry have produced a hot-rocks breakthrough The world’s first nuclear clock is on the horizon It would be 1,000 times more accurate than today’s atomic timekeepers Baby formulas now share some ingredients with breast milk They may one day replicate its benefits Breast milk’s benefits are not limited to babies Some of its myriad components are being tested as treatments for cancer and other diseases Particles that damage satellites can be flushed out of orbit All it takes is very long radio waves.