The Sources

Thalmann, Urs and Thomas Geissmann. . . "Conservation Assessment of the Recently Described John Cleese's Woolly Lemur, Avahi cleesei (Lemuriformes, Indridae)". Primate Conservation. Conservation International. August 2006. pg. 45-49. http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1896/0898-6207.21.1.45 -Bio One Journal

http://houstonzooblogs.org/zoo/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Fossa2.jpg -Picture of the lemur-eating fossa

http://pftp9.persianhub.org/orkide/pics/world/Madagascar/stone-forest18.jpg -Picture of Decken's sifaka

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Tsingy_de_Bemaraha.jpg -Picture of the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park and Reserve

Shea, Neil. "Living on a Razor's Edge . . . Madagascar's labyrinth of stone." National Geographic. November 2009. pg. 86-109.

Veress, M., Loczy, D. . . "The origin of the Bemaraha tsingy (Madagascar)". International Journal of Speleology. Vol. 37. Issue 2. pgs. 131-142. 2008.

The Solution

There are many solutions to the this problem of not being able to go in and explore the tsingy.  One of which is to carefully go in as far as you can, but in the crevices that you can't fit through, use a camera on the end of a pole to thrust in and capture images and videos.  Another idea is to capture a fossa, or other creature, and attach a miniscule camera that can capture images up close that way.  Above the tsingy, we can have helicopters capturing images as well as have miniature, toy helicopters with cameras fly in the tsingy and explore it that way.  There are caves underneath  that have undiscovered plants and animals that would be beneficial to see if we went in wearing wetsuits and headlamps.  There are many options of exploring the tsingy, but even though they are difficult and complicated, these options are better than just sledge hammmering the tsingy down.  

The Problem

The problem with the tsingy is that it is too dangerous to investigate. Few scientists are able to produce studies and discover new species because of how the limestone has been shaped. From these few scientists, we have learned about Decken's sifaka, a white-furred lemur, shown in the picture on the left. The tsingy is known to be a bestiary of giant snails, fist-sized crickets, emerald green snakes, and red rats. They have also found the lemur-eating fossa, a wiry, thin-coated mammal with retractable claws like a large cat. These species have been living in a safe zone according to biologists. A safe zone is where plants and animals evolve differently than their relatives because of the isolation.
This place would be so fascinating to biologists if it wasn't so dangerous to visit. There are underground canyons and caves, but the passages between the grikes are sometimes smaller than a human can fit through. The day when scientists can go in every little crevice and discover the new plants and animals living there in the tsingy without harm from the limestone spikes will be a happy one indeed.

How Can We Learn More About the Tsingy de Bemaraha?

The Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park and Reserve in Madagascar is "where one cannot walk barefoot". Neil Shea, the author of "Living on a Razor's Edge . . . Madagascar's labyrinth of stone", said in this article, published in November 2009, "the tsingy is the perfect foil to human ambition". And he is absolutely right. This tsingy in Madagascar has developed over time into these grikes of limestone from the rainfall affecting it and shaping it like so. Likewise, this provides a refuge for the hundreds of never-discovered species, and who knows if we ever will discover them.

In Shea's article, he gives an account of his adventures in the tsingy. He tells of when he scraped his knees on one of the grikes and how it took two days to get out and to the hospital. The funny thing is what the nurse said. She asked him why he was doing this and when he didn't reply she said, "I think you are a little dumb."