Madagascar is known to be a true naturalistic sanctuary, unique in the world, home to countless species of flora and fauna, mostly endemic, including lush forests, baobab avenues, savannahs and extraordinary mineral landscapes, made up of rocky limestone labyrinths, or green expanses of fertile land, enriched with wild essences and orchids.
Famous for its fairy-tale lemurs, easily spotted almost everywhere, especially among the various national parks, the ‘Big Red Island’ is actually home to a complex ecosystem, of which these curious animals, emblematic of the country and resembling proto-primates, are just a few of the numerous faunal extras.
If, among the farmed species, the zebu is omnipresent, among the wildlife (free in this case of the large African predators), the most exciting sightings are among the fifty or so parks, protected areas and wetlands, where an infinity of endemic amphibians, reptiles and rodents, myriads of butterflies and insects, dotting the forests and hillsides, or chameleons, of all shapes and colours, are concentrated. But there are also carnivorous animals, such as the fosa, a kind of small puma, and mongooses, as well as a multitude of bats and birds, about 300 different species of which 110 are endemic, while along the coasts humpback whales, dolphins, sea turtles and hundreds of multicoloured fish constantly pass by, colouring the seabed like a gigantic aquarium, particularly in the area of the wonderful Nosy Tanikely Marine Park.
In short, Madagascar is definitely a vast spontaneous botanical garden and a gigantic zoological and aquatic park that has been able to preserve, thanks to its separation from the mainland during geological eras, flora and fauna that would otherwise have become extinct on the rest of the continent.
If there was still any need to be reminded, the curious lemurs, similar to small monkeys or washing bears, subdivided into about 110 subspecies, are the country’s main attraction. It is impossible to visit the island without coming across these funny little endemic animals.
The Indri Indri (or Babakoto), the largest lemur species, is certainly the most sought-after in sightings and lives in the stretch of rainforest from the Anjanaharibe South Special Reserve to the Mangoro River in the north of the island, or inside the Andasibe-Mantadia Park, in the Antananarivo region, where they feed on leaves and make their spectacular leaps from branch to branch, helping themselves with their long legs and gigantic, disproportionate ‘hands’.
Ranomafana National Park, on the other hand, is home to some of the most numerous colonies of bamboo lemurs, as well as other subspecies, such as the golden lemur and the sifaka, and an extraordinary variety of endemic flora and fauna, which earned it a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2007.
Further animal sightings are offered by a beautiful boat excursion through the wild Canal des Panganales, a trek through the geological formations of the Andringitra National Park, which is home to as many as 15 species of lemurs, hundreds of birds, dozens of reptiles, amphibians and rodents, as well as a thousand different species of flora. Or inside the Anja Forest Reserve, along the southern route, in search of the catta lemurs, among the country’s best known and most emblematic species.
And if you want to have a privileged and above all close-up view of all the varieties of lemurs existing in Madagascar, at the entertaining Lemurs Park, in Katsoaka, a locality just 25 km from Antananarivo, you will be spoilt for choice, as it is a kind of naturalistic zoo in which a few specimens of each subspecies have been reintroduced and are now accustomed to human presence.
