Madagascan Wildlife - Lemurs, Chameleons and much more

Madagascan Wildlife

From the first time I saw a photo of a Lemur I always hoped to have the opportunity to see them in their natural habitat, which of course is the island of Madagascar. After watching an amazing David Attenborough documentary about 8 years ago I decided to add this trip to my bucket list. I promised myself that it would be one of the first trips I would take when I took a long break from work and here I am living up to that promise.

The two day coach journey through Madagascar has been an amazing experience and has really opened my eyes to how tough life is for the Malagasy people and how hard they work. I knew before the trip that Madagascar was a poor country but nothing had prepared me for the extent of the poverty as seventy eight percent of the population live below the poverty line. Most houses do not have electricity, sanitation or running water and little children walk miles to fill up water canisters. I find myself feeling guilty that I have so much compared to these poor people and experiencing this first hand has been very confronting. However, despite their poverty everyone we have met so far has been welcoming and smiling. Our guide tells us that the people are generally happy and that they welcome visitors as we bring money into their communities. We know that we cannot change everyone’s lives but hope that we are able to make a small difference by our visit.

But as we leave the highland villages behind it’s time to move on the second part of our trip as the next four days provide us our first opportunity to experience Madagascar’s amazing wildlife close up.

Ranomafana National Park

Today we travel to Ranomafana National Park a long and tiring five hour journey with a brief stop at Ambositra, home to many printmaking, woodcarving and marquetry workshops. Then back on the road and onto Ranomafana where we arrive late afternoon.

Ranomafana is considered one the most spectacular National Parks of Madagascar, is home to great biodiversity and is the perfect place to spot Madagascar’s famous Lemur. The park is home to twelve species of Lemur including the Golden Bamboo Lemur, the Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur and the very rare AyeAye Lemur. As we disembark from the bus you can really feel the excitement and anticipation in the group. Everyone wants to see their first Lemur and we aren’t disappointed as once into the forest we quickly spot a Red Fronted Brown Lemur. We follow it up the track through the woods slipping and sliding in the mud but not caring as we are so excited to catch a glimpse of the creature we have traveled thousands of miles to see. Cameras snapping away frantically we all want to get the perfect photo and not miss a shot. It’s really exhilarating!

After all this excitement we stop for a break and a snack at a beautiful lookout. As we are about to leave a cheeky little Mongoose creeps out of the shadows onto the track. We expect him to be nervous but he moves brazenly towards us. Our guide tells us that the Mongoose know that humans leave food scraps and that they come to the site after most of the visitors have left. He throws a small nut to our visitor who eats it quickly and then looks up for more. What a cute little thing he is - you can’t help but admire his cheek !!

After this short break we leave the park and travel to our overnight stop in Fianarantso exhausted but very happy. We have an early dinner then it’s off to bed to get a good night’s sleep ready for another exciting day tomorrow.

The next morning after breakfast we head back to Ranomafana for another walk. This time we see four different types of Lemur - The Bamboo Lemur, Red Fronted Brown Lemur, Red Bellied Lemur and Sifaka. They swing from branches and run through the treetops, sometimes coming closer than we expect and the excitement in the group raises again. The scenery in the park is spectacular with amazing trees and plants and cascading waterfalls. It truly is a magical place to visit.

An encounter with a Chameleon

Our visit to Ranomafana is over all too soon , then it’s back on the bus again to our next destination. We travel another few hours along rough bumpy roads. You soon learn not to expect tarmacked roads in Madagascar as when you leave the main cities the roads are full of potholes. On the way our driver pulls over unexpectedly to avoid a large Chameleon sauntering across the road. Initially we can hardly see it as it blends in so well with its surroundings but we pile off the bus excitedly as this is the first time any of us have seen a chameleon in the wild. And what an amazing creature it is. It looks like a cross between a lizard and a dinosaur with its strange looking feet, crest of horns, curly tail and independently mobile eyes. We stand completely still by the side of the bus as the Chameleon saunters towards us seemingly completely unphased by our presence. I am wearing khaki coloured trousers and walking boots and he stops at the inside of my boot between my legs. As he stops his skin colour begins to change and within no time he is exactly the same colour as my boot and almost seems to disappear. We stand there for a few minutes in silence just watching this strange creature until he saunters off into the bush then we board the bus again to continue our journey to Anja Reserve.

Anja Community Reserve

Anja is a Community Reserve founded in 2001 with the help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to preserve the local environment and wildlife, and to provide additional employment and income to the local community.

The reserve is home to the highest concentration of ring-tailed lemurs in all of Madagascar. The Ring-Tailed Lemur is the most widely recognised Lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It is seen in many zoos around the world and was of course made famous in the movie Madagascar. The local people, who believe they should not eat these Lemurs, used to sell them to outsiders. However, after realising that 95% of the ring-tailed lemur population in Madagascar had disappeared, they initiated the formation of a nature reserve. Nowadays the local villagers provide guiding and spotting services for visitors and protect these beautiful creatures. It is a true example of what can happen when a community bands together. This beautiful woodland area with it’s freshwater lake abundant with brightly coloured water lilies is a very special place to visit. It’s definitely one to put on your list if you visit this amazing country.

Ring-Tailed Lemurs

Anja provides our first encounter with the Ring-Tailed Lemur. They spend much of their time on the ground, sunbathing on the rocks in the mornings to warm themselves so they are much easier to spot than the other Lemurs we have encountered so far. Our guides and their spotters are amazing and within no time we have seen our first Ring-Tailed Lemur and then another and suddenly we are surrounded by whole groups of them. They are climbing branches, running along the ground and chasing each other. We are surrounded by noise, chirping, wailing, purring and howling, a cacophony of sound !! It seems to be coming from everywhere. Watching them and being so close is very emotional as I have been waiting for this moment for many years. You can tell that many of the group feel the same. The Lemurs seem to sense how excited we are and put on a great display, looking straight into our camera lens and posing for our photos and videos. It is truly amazing. We stay as long as we can but finally, it’s time to leave Anja and board the bus again for tonight’s stop at Ranohira.

Isolo National Park

Today we explore Isolo National Park where we have the chance to see Ring-tailed lemurs, Brown lemurs and the Verreaux’s Sifaka ( better known as the Dancing Lemur) as well as a number of species of nocturnal lemurs.

The Dancing Lemur

As we enter the valley our guide takes us to a wooded area known as the Tapia Forest. Within a few minutes we spot our first lemur, it’s a brown lemur but this little guy is not hanging around to be photographed so we move on further into the forest in search of more lemurs … and we’re in luck. The spotter has gone ahead of us and has found a Verreaux’s Sifaka which is more commonly known as The Dancing Lemur. Apparently, this beautiful creature is the only one of her kind in the forest as her family fled after a fire. Some local Ring Tailed Lemurs have taken her into their group ( or Conspiracy which is the official name for a lemur group) and she now hangs around in the same area as them. She doesn’t seem at all phased by our presence and moves slowly between the branches eating the fruit as she goes. Our guide tells us to stop as we have come to a clearing. There are no more trees so he tells us that she will climb down onto the path which will give us the opportunity to watch the famous “dance” for which her breed is known. We wait patiently, I am at the front of the group so I switch on my camera video and start recording . A couple of minutes pass and she hasn’t moved so some of the group get bored and turn off their cameras but I keep recording hoping to capture the moment. And I’m not disappointed….all of a sudden she makes her move, descends from the tree and hops, skips and jumps along the path then disappears into the bush. It’s a fantastic sight to see and I have recorded every second, I am shaking with excitement.

This is the end of the wildlife element of our trip and how fantastic it has been to see so many amazing creatures in their natural habitat. A truly magical experience which I will never forget.