(insects trilling) (lemurs vocalizing) - Do you hear that?

They're singing to each other.

That's the indri lemur.

(lemurs vocalizing) (both speaking foreign language) (insects trilling) (birds chirping) (both laughing) - [Jane Goodall] The most important thing is to realize that, whoever they are, wherever they live, their lives make a difference.

(tiger growling) - [Narrator] In the wildest corners of our earth, women are still making a difference.

Their courage is saving species and welcoming a new era of coexistence.

But what ignites this passion?

My guess is it's simply in her nature.

(insects trilling) (birds chirping) (branches rustling) - Look at what I found.

Pinocchio chameleon.

Only in Madagascar.

(Maholy speaking foreign language) (Maholy continues speaking foreign language) (Maholy continues speaking foreign language) (lemurs calling) Oh!

There's one just right above me.

Lemurs only exist in Madagascar.

I work with six critically endangered species of lemur.

They are not found anywhere else in the world.

I hear a sound, a cracking sound, so maybe they are around here.

(gentle instrumental music) (Maholy speaking foreign language) They must be around here, because I see bamboo moving.

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

(leaves rustling) The greater bamboo lemur.

(Maholy speaking foreign language) 95% of their diet is bamboo.

This is their main source of food and their habitat.

They are very social individuals.

They move together like a big family.

Oh, there's a young one.

I think it's a baby from last year.

Sometimes they travel more than 2,000 acres to find enough mango to eat.

They are jumping from tree to tree.

They are not afraid of falling.

The tail is used to maintain stability, and especially on the small branches.

(leaves rustling) Sometimes they play with their tails and do like a cuckoo clock.

Like, (imitating clock).

(Maholy speaking foreign language) (group speaking foreign language) We are taking behavior and ecological data on lemurs.

Our project is working with 45 rangers all over Madagascar, and 25 of them are working here in our forest.

(group speaking foreign language) We are helping local communities to protect their own forest and become really part of the project.

(group speaking foreign language) I train my rangers to use the "123 Survey," which is very helpful because it makes the data more accurate.

We record the number of individuals and also what they are doing.

(group speaking foreign language) (Maholy speaking foreign language) They were not extinct after all.

A tiny population was holding on, and there was hope of rescuing the species.

(Maholy speaking foreign language) They are losing their habitat and that is threatening the species.

Madagascar is losing the forest very rapidly, so if that doesn't change, then we will lose all the lemurs within 30 years.

(leaves rustling) It's important for people to have access to bamboo because they use it for their everyday life.

Especially since we are near a river and there is no means of transportation for goods, so people use it as raft to transport banana and to carry goods on their shoulder and to use it as a wall on the yard.

This region is very famous for lychee, so to make the basket for lychee, they use the bamboo, as well.

So, bamboo is for everything.

When peoples are cutting down all the bamboo and then burn the area for agriculture, that is the biggest problem.

We don't say, "people don't cut the bamboo, don't do that."

I want people to live in harmony with greater bamboo lemurs so they both win in this situation.

(birds chirping) (lemur chittering) (Maholy speaking foreign language) (Maholy continues speaking foreign language) (Maholy continues speaking foreign language) Working with kids is always very special because there is a mindset that you don't have anymore, but they do have, and you learn from them, and that helps me a lot for the conservation work.

When I go to the field for the first time, I ask why those kids are not at school.

And parents told me, "oh, because we don't have money to buy them books."

That came in my mind, that I will give them books.

I designed some pictures of lemurs and the other species we are working with in the front, and then in the back, there is always a small story, why they should conserve the forest, so there is always a little message in the back.

(Maholy speaking foreign language) I have the kids becoming my messenger for parents.

I met parents and they said, "oh, our kids told us no, no, we cannot kill lemurs anymore," so that was a great impact that I felt.

Like, wow!

I love that story.

Seeing the community change behavior is very rewarding inside.

You are happy because you feel that people also are happy with you.

(Maholy laughing) (cheerful instrumental music) (lemur chittering) (leaves rustling) (birds chirping) (insects trilling) (both speaking foreign language) When I learned about agroforestry, it hit me.

Like, wow, this could really save our forest.

(Maholy speaking foreign language) For these communities, you know, farming usually means cutting down the trees and planting rice.

(Maholy speaking foreign language) But in agroforestry, you don't cut the trees, you plant in and around them.

They just burn because they believe that will give them high yield, but the yield is never enough for the whole year.

We encourage farmers to plan for the future.

(both speaking foreign language) I started to train them to have a finance plan.

How much food they will need for the whole year for the size of the family.

We have encouraged them to grow more things like vanilla, grow coffee, more vegetables so they don't have to buy vegetables anymore.

(Maholy speaking foreign language) By encouraging farmers to adopt forest farming techniques, we are keeping lemur habitats safe, while helping farmers make more money and giving them access to healthy food for their family.

(both speaking foreign language) (Maholy speaking foreign language) (Maholy continues speaking foreign language) (leaves rustling) (children speaking foreign language) (Maholy speaking foreign language) Reforestation is one of the big events in my community.

(children chattering) There is four species that we are planted here today.

We encourage them to do reforestation with native species and bamboo.

(group speaking foreign language) (Maholy laughing) (all laughing) It's like, you are doing your work, but it doesn't feel like you are working, but having fun, and you feel like you are part of the family and part of the community.

(Maholy laughing) And especially there are those kids that will become the future of the conservation.

It makes me feel that I can achieve more.

I can do more for the community, for conservation, and for the greater bamboo lemur.

(children chattering) My dream is that when you walk in the forest, you see lemurs and other species all around you, and they are living in harmony with the surrounding community.

(children laughing) I used to be a shy girl that doesn't speak to anyone, doesn't want to speak in public.

Yes, me, and it changed.

(Maholy laughing) (lemur chittering) (lemur vocalizing) (birds chirping) (group speaking foreign language) (lemurs vocalizing) (group laughing) (lemurs vocalizing) - We're wrapped for the day!

(all cheering)