Los Angeles, July 31 (IANS): Hollywood star and environment activist Leonardo DiCaprio has applauded the efforts in searching for lost species in a natural park in Madagascar in eastern Africa.

DiCaprio took to his Instagram, where he shared a reel video about how in 2023, a team set out to Makira, Madagascar and is tagged as “a first of its kind expedition to find 30 lost species.”

Lauding the efforts on finding 21 species, the 'Titanic' star wrote: “The #SearchforLostSpecies in Madagascar’s Makira Natural Park successfully rediscovered 21 species that were lost to science, including flowering ant-like beetles, three small iridescent fish, five jumping spiders, and a giant millipede that had not been documented since 1897.”

He said that this was in “addition to the surprising discoveries of species entirely new to science.”

“Makira is the largest and most intact forest in Madagascar—and many of the species here can’t be found anywhere else. The expedition team included @rewild Lost Species Officer Christina Biggs, as well as scientists from Madagascar, international scientists and local guides.”

Heaping praise on surveying the long-lost gems in the forest, he added: “Together, they surveyed rivers for lost fish, used light traps to attract and survey insects and searched the forest and rocky river beds for the recently rediscovered Dusky Tetraka.”

“The Search for Lost Species’ expedition to Makira was supported by the @ridgesfoundation," he added.

"Forests across Madagascar are being destroyed for agriculture, logging and charcoal - conservationists fear that under-explored areas such as Makira could experience wildlife declines before scientists are able to describe, study, and protect the species that live in them,” DiCaprio concluded.