Madagascar - The 8th Continent
Madagascar's Amazing Wildlife
All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2015. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission.
Madagascar - The 8th Continent Madagascar's Amazing Wildlife
All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2015. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission. |
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Whilst in Madagascar I visited 4 national parks or reserves in which an incredible diversity of endemic plants and animals can be found. These parks and reserves were:
This park is located in the far north of the country not far from Antisiranana (Diego Suarez) where I was based for the Racing The Planet Madagascar 2014 run. To get there from town I rode by quad bike through Joffreville and into the national park. It is a mountain of around 1200m elevation and blanketed in dense rainforest. Due to its elevation it receives much higher rainfall than the surrounding countryside. The world's smallest chameleon is found here and nowhere else on the planet
After the race I returned to the capital Antananarivo and began mountain biking south along the RN7 highway. After a few days I reached the town of Fianarantsoa and from there I rode into the Ramonafana National Park. This park is home to the rare golden bamboo lemur and several other species of lemur. I saw 5 species of lemur in this national park.
From Ramonafana I continued riding along the RN7 as far as Ambavalao and from there I rode into the remote Andringitra National Park. This park is a highland of granite massifs and is home to Madagascar's second highest mountain, Pic Boby. It is not rainforest. Instead it has a distinct dry season and wet season. I was there in the dry season and saw some insects and lizards.
From Ambavalao I rode around 12km further west along the RN7 to this small privately run reserve where chameleons and several families of ringtailed lemur can be found.
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 The beach near the camp. |
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Here my guide found the lizard and it sits on his hand. Note it is NOT missing a leg! |
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This one is the most carefully camoflagued gecko I saw in the whole trip. |
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The tiny mouse lemur. This is the smallest primate in the world. You can see it jumping from tree to tree just after dark. |
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This is the rare Golden Bamboo Lemur. |
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This might be the Greater Bamboo Lemur. |
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And this is another species of lemur. |
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Leaf tailed gecko. |
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This amazing butterfly looks like a bird back to front. |
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This amazing butterfly looks like a bird back to front. |
Photos - Andringitra National Park
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An iguana in Andringitra National Park. |
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And then ... |
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It shows its true colours. |
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Madagascar's snakes are harmless. |
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All content copyright © Ashley Burke 2015. Not to be copied, duplicated or used for any purpose without permission. Page created 9 May 2015, last updated 10 May 2015. |
