It had all begun millions of years earlier,when a great slab of land broke apart to from the continents as we know them today.Africa went one way,an India went the other.And an orphan chip of land was cast adrift and ended up hundreds of miles from the nearest land.Its unusual geological history,its isolation,and its resting place in the tropics were to shape Madagascar's fortunes.It's the world's oldest island.And it's had time to develop an astonishing range of landscapes.It's split in two by a spine of mountains that runs its entire length and each side has its own character.On the western side,lie huge forest,populated with strange,bulging trees.Further south,an alien world,a parched and sandy wilderness with an immense lake of salt,and gnarled and twisted spiny woodlands.And on the eastern side,lush jungle drenched in rain.It's this combination of long isolation and varied landscapes that's created the eccentric diversity of wildlife which makes this island so special.These rainforests are unlike any other rainforest on Earth.There are so different types,from nocturnal,mouse-size creatures,These rainforests are unlike any other rainforest on Earth.