The Portuguese island of Madeira is known for its wine and its beautiful gardens, but it also has some wonderful wildlife stories to tell.
Madeira's ancient laurel forest
The world's largest continuous area of ancient laurel forest thrives on Madeira's steep mountain slopes. This was the forest that covered much of southern Europe, before the last ice age. And the forest is home to the laurel pigeon, a bird which used to be hunted as a seed-eating pest by Madeiran farmers, but whose fate has been turned around by conservation efforts over the last decade.
The Madeira petrel breeds in Madeira's highest mountains
Then there's the Madeira petrel - a black and white seabird that was thought to be extinct until one man's belief that it might still exist at the top of the highest mountains on the island was proved right. Lionel hears the story of its rediscovery from Alec Zino, now 86, and spends a night on the mountain with his son, Frank, listening to the ghostly nocturnal calls of the nesting birds.
Mediterranean monk seal
Finally there's the Mediterranean monk seal - the world's rarest marine mammal. Fifteen years ago there were just six left on the Desertas Islands just off Madeira. They were almost wiped out by fishermen who killed them without mercy as competitive fish hunters. But laws and attitudes have changed and now the population is growing, with three new seal pups born this year. Lionel Kelleway sets off in search of them in this programme of conservation success stories.
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