The climate of the Cape Botanical Reserve in South Africa is similar to that of the Mediterranean, 69% of the 9,000 plant species in the reserve are endemic, with 1,736 classified as endangered, and 3,087 others, such as butterfly cacti, that are strictly monitored. These plants make up the magnificent, rich colors and shapes of "Van Persian plants" (the Afrikaans used to describe fine-leaved plants, referring to bushes and wilderness). Pictured here is a splendid succulent flower growing in the spring next to the vast beach of False Bay. Table Mountain in the background overlooks Cape Town.
A brilliant flower in the Cape Botanical Reserve of South Africa: this is the definition given by the Postburg Nature (Flower) Reserve. As crevices in the rocks of the reserve are important nesting areas for many birds, the reserve is only open to the public in August and September.
The South African double-collared nectar bird feeds on the nectar of maple groves and the flowers of other Persian or fine-leaved plants, a species endemic to the Western Cape.
The Azianaana Rainforest in eastern Madagascar was inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List in 2007. The thick fog hangs over the spectacular Chute d'Andriamamovoka waterfall, the most famous of the many waterfalls in La Numafana National Park, established in 1991.
On a rosewood tree in Maroje National Park in the Akinanaana Rainforest, a female velvet lemur and her cubs sit squat. This extremely rare daytime lemur is able to jump from one tree to another nearly 10 meters away.
Masoala National Park is located in the northwest of Madagascar and has a very dense rainforest. In 2003, Zurich Zoo perfectly copied part of the rainforest, covering an area of 11,000 square kilometers, to study the species in the rainforest and thus develop strategies for their protection.
The beginning of 2012 marked the beginning of illegal sapphire mining in the Ankeniheny-Zahamena Nature Reserve, an activity that has had devastating consequences for the extremely rare lemur species habitat.
Damaged rainforests are irreparable for damage to the reserve.
The image is excerpted from "The Wonders of the World That Are About to Disappear", China Photography Publishing House, December 2018, 1st edition