The organization was formed in response to a plea by the Government of Madagascar to the international zoo community in 1987 to help conserve species and habitat in Madagascar and provide training and knowhow for such activities. The plea was made at a meeting held at St. Catherines Island, Georgia, United States. Convened by the Wildlife Conservation Society and the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, it was attended by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (then Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust) headed by Gerald Durrell, Parc Zoologique et Botanique de Mulhouse, the Strasborg consortium, the Duke Lemur Center, and several US zoos. These institutions became the founding members of the group when it was formalized in 1988. As of August 2021, the organization has 30 member institutions. The two logos of the organization sport two of Madagascar's oft championed species for conservation – the ruffed lemur and the aye-aye.
