Madagascar is one of eight largest biodiversity hotspots in the world, and is considered a priority conservation area due to a disconcerting number of species threatened with extinction. Despite major biodiversity conservation efforts, ecosystems in the country’s eastern forest are so fragmented and degraded that many native large animal species have been lost. Madagascar’s direct drivers of deforestation include small-scale agriculture, energy production, artisanal and illegal mining, forest harvesting, and livestock practices.