Madagascar also known as the Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean, approximately 250 miles off the coast of Southeastern Africa. At 228,900 sq miles, Madagascar (along with its numerous smaller peripheral islands) is the world’s 4th largest island in the world behind Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian subcontinent around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in isolation, ultimately resulting in the country becoming a biodiversity hotspot.
Did you know that over 90% of the wildlife found on the island only exist in Madagascar – literally nowhere else on the planet!
Until the late 18th century, Madagascar was ruled by a fragmented assortment of shifting sociopolitical alliances. Beginning in the early 19th century, most of the island was united and ruled as the Kingdom of Madagascar by a series of Merina nobles. The monarchy ended in 1897 when the island was absorbed into the French colonial empire, from which the island gained its independence in 1960. The population measures approximately 25 million people (4 million of which reside in Antananarivo, the capital city). The official languages are Malagasy and French.
Traditionally, archaeologists have estimated that the earliest settlers arrived in successive waves throughout the period between 350 BC and 550 AD. These dates make Madagascar one of the last major landmasses on Earth to be settled by humans.
Arab traders first reached the island between the 7th and 9th centuries and a wave of Bantu-speaking migrants from southeastern Africa arrived around 1000 AD. South Indian Tamil merchants arrived around 11th century and brought with them the zebu, a type of long-horned humped cattle, and a century later irrigated paddy fields were developed.
The oral histories of the Merina people, who may have arrived in the central highlands between 600-1,000 years ago, describe encountering an established population they called the Vazimba. Today, the spirits of the Vazimba are revered as ancestral masters of the land by many traditional Malagasy communities.
Madagascar served as an important transoceanic trading hub with the first documented history recorded by Arabs, who established trading posts along the northwest coast in the 10th century. The Arabs also introduced Islam, the Arabic script (used to transcribe the Malagasy language in a form of writing known as sorabe), Arab astrology, and other cultural elements. European contact began in 1500, when the Portuguese sea captain Diogo Dias sighted the island. The French followed establishing trading posts along the east coast in the late 17th century. From about 1774 to 1824, Madagascar gained prominence among pirates and European traders, particularly those involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
If you ask the Malagasy people if they are African, they simply say “we are Malagasy”. Indeed, Malagasy people are a beautiful mix of predominantly African and Asian influences and cultures. Many people looked as though they could hail from Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Sri Lanka or Ethiopia. Several times while on my tour, I was either asked if I was Malagasy or spoken to in their native language. I literally blended right in.
Word of the day: Salaama! (pronounced “sal-ah-ma”)
Salaama means Hello in the Malagasy language.
So, now that you have a compressed version of the history of the island let’s move on to the “inhabitants”. After a 19-hour flight from New York to the capital city of Antananarivo then another 2-hour flight from Antananarivo to Morondava, as you can imagine, I was beyond ready to start exploring and what better place to start than iconic Baobab Alley.
Baobab Alley
Day 2:
Baobab Alley at sunrise was just short of magical. Watching the baobobs be transformed from harsh almost menacing outlines against the nighttime sky to a warm, sundrenched landscape defies words. After sunrise, we headed off to Kirindy Forest for our first wildlife treks.
Day 3:
In the Malagasy language, Kirindy means “dense forest with wild animals”. Understandable, as we had superb animal sightings there, starting with a sighting of the elusive fossa shortly after we arrived.
The Tsingys
Days 4-6:
We visited Little Tsingy on Day 4 and Great Tsingy on Day 5 then after an 8 hour drive, revisited Baobab Alley at sunset on Day 6. Madagascar is sometimes called the eighth continent because of its diverse geology and the sheer number of endemic species. This otherworldliness is perfectly exemplified in Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park, located in the northwest corner of the island in the remote Melaky region.
Spanning approximately 579 square miles (1,500 square kilometers), the park is dominated by two incredible limestone plateaus known as Great Tsingy and Little Tsingy. “Tsingy” is an indigenous Malagasy word that roughly translates into “where one cannot walk barefoot”. This is a very appropriate name considering the plateaus’ intimidating appearance consisting of countless razor-sharp limestone spires and pinnacles. The formation of these pinnacles began approximately 200 million years ago when the limestone seabed rose to create a plateau that was gradually eroded by groundwater into a labyrinthine series of caves, gorges, and ravines.
Because the erosion occurred both horizontally AND vertically, the remaining limestone was shaped into sharp, needle-like structures. Conventional jeep safaris popular in other African countries like Kenya and Tanzania are impossible here. For this reason, the park remained largely unvisited by tourists until the late 1990s, when a network of aerial suspension bridges and ladders was built. Visitors could now climb from one peak to the next to explore different areas of the park. Today, several routes exist that can be explored with the help of a trained guide, a climbing harness and a sense of adventure. Needless to say, some portions of the trek are slightly challenging. In order to participate, one cannot be afraid of heights and must be relatively fit.
Day 4:
We were introduced to Little Tsingy in all its otherworldly beauty. We scrambled across flat portions of the rock formations and scraped up our knees and legs on the sharp surfaces as we jockeyed for position for the best views. This was what I will call the “dress rehearsal” because it was our introduction to what to expect the next day when we “met” Great Tsingy.
Day 5:
We visited Great Tsingy and while the trek was more difficult than navigating Little Tsingy, I can definitely say a great time was had by all, despite my nervous smiles in the pictures.
Day 6:
Baobab Alley in all its glory at sunset.
Day 7:
A free day to ourselves in Morondava and decided to just loll around and check out the local market.
Day 8:
Flight to Tana and time to relax.
Day 9:
Free day in Tana – some of my new friends and I decided to venture out and visit the Lemur Park. So glad we did! We were treated to up close and personal run-ins with sifakas and lemurs.
The diademed sifaka is the largest sifaka species. Due to its bright distinctive coloring, it stands out from other lemur species. The diademed is found mostly living within the trees and is quite active during the day. Their diet changes depending on the season, but is mainly made up of ripe fruits, seeds, flowers and young leaves. They are found in matriarchal groups of 2-8 individuals.
Lemurs are primates found only in Madagascar and some tiny neighboring islands. It is believed that lemurs may have floated there from mainland Africa eons ago on “rafts” of vegetation and evolved in isolation over countless centuries. Lemurs use their hands and feet to move nimbly through the trees, but cannot grip with their tails as some of their primate cousins do. Ring-tailed lemurs live in groups known as troops and these groups may include 6 to 30 animals, but average about 17. Both sexes live in troops, but a dominant female presides over all, just like their cousins the sifakas.
Days 10-11:
We visited Andasibe-Perinet National Park where we encountered more lemurs, sifakas, chameleons and all types of insects and birds.
Day 12:
Andasibe / Antsirabe we visited the Merina Tombs and rice paddies.
A firm belief in the existence of close ties between the living and the dead constitutes the foundation for Malagasy religious and social values. The Malagasy people have traditionally accepted the existence of a supreme God, commonly known as Zanahary (Creator) or Andriamanitra (Sweet, or Fragrant, Lord).
The dead are believed to play the role of intermediary between this supreme God and humankind. As such, they are viewed as having the power to affect the fortunes of the living, whether for good or for evil. Sometimes described as “gods on earth,” the dead are considered the most important and authoritative members of the family. Even in death, they remain intimately involved in the daily life of the living members.
At the same time, the razana (best defined as “ancestors”) are the sources from which the life force flows and the creators of Malagasy customs and ways of life. The living are merely temporary extensions of the dead, and great hardship or trouble can result if the dead are offended or neglected.
The burial tomb, a prominent part of the landscape in all regions, is the primary link between the living and the dead. It is built with great care and expense, reflecting the privileged position of the dead. The tomb is often more costly and substantial than the houses of the living. The land upon which a family tomb is situated, called tanindrazana (land of the ancestors), is to remain in the family – always.
Merina tombs tend to be solid, stone structures, built partially underground. The tombs feature a chamber in which the bodies of the ancestors are kept on shelves, wrapped in silk shrouds. The traditional tombs of the Mahafaly in the southwest were built of stone but surmounted by intricately carved wooden posts depicting human and animal figures.
More recent Mahafaly tombs, particularly those built by rich families, are often made of concrete. They are designed with glass windows, brightly painted designs and often feature depictions of airplanes, taxis, or other modernities mounted on the roof. At one time, it was the custom of the Sakalava people who lived around the Morondava River to decorate their tombs with carvings showing explicit sexual activity. These were meant to illustrate the life-giving force, or fertility, of the ancestors.
Day 13:
After Antsirabe-Perinet National Park we traveled to Fiadanana where we stayed at a Community Guesthouse complete with a traditional dinner. We also spent time with some of the locals including a shaman.
Day 14:
Travel day to Ranomafana – we had a paper factory and silk factory visit.
Day 15:
Ranomafana/Ambalavao – we had an early morning forest walk. There is no such thing as too many animal sightings.
Day 16:
Ambalavao / Ranohira – About a half hour’s drive away from Ambalavao is Anja Community Reserve. The Reserve was created in 1996 in response to the progressive destruction of the region’s original forests by the slash and burn technique. The technique calls for burning down swaths of vegetation so the ashes serve as fertilizer for future agriculture crops. Understandably, this is very problematic for the animals that call those forests home. Anja is known for its ring-tailed lemur troops.
Day 17:
Ranohira – We spent a full day exploring Isalo National park on foot with a nice stop at a natural swimming pool and waterfalls.
Day 18:
Another day traveling – this time toward Ifaty. We got to see Mahafaly tombs and giant baobab trees en route.
Days 19-20:
Ifaty beach on the Mozambican Channel. This was some nice down time at a beachside resort. It made me smile because many people believe Africa has no real beaches. The beach we spent the next two days enjoying could rival any in the Caribbean.
Day 21:
Our final evening together as the next day we boarded flights to Tana in preparation for our flights home.
The baobab is the national tree of Madagascar and is commonly called the “Tree of Life”. Its bark is fire-resistant, the trees can regenerate themselves and can recover from fire, drought or termite attacks. While stripping the bark from the lower trunk of a regular tree proves deadly – the baobab possesses the unique ability to regenerate itself and will re-grow bark over damaged areas. Its massive trunk can hold up to 32,000 gallons of water, which is an adaptation to its arid environment. Their lifespan is very long – you require carbon dating to determine their age as many specimens are over 1,000 years old!
This strange looking creature is the extremely elusive “piece de resistance” of Kirindy Forest. Meet the fossa. A close relative of the mongoose – he looks like a cross between a cat and a mongoose or weasel. Let it be known, he is not be played with – especially during mating season. He loves to snack on lemurs and has no problem hunting them down in trees. Because he can climb and descend trees head-first due to his strong semi-retractable front claws, he is a real threat.
- The fossa’s scientific name literally means “hidden anus”. No, I did not just make that up. Google it…
- The female fossa undergoes a strange developmental stage during adolescence called “transient masculinization” where she temporarily becomes male!
- They are the top predators in Madagascar and have no known enemies. Can you say, “large and in charge?”
This fluffy cutie is called a Verreaux’s sifaka or the white sifaka. While very adept at tree dwelling, they are like fish out of water on the ground. They are known for the dance they do when they attempt to walk.
This wide-eyed guy is a mouse lemur. He is the largest of the mouse lemurs, if you can call measuring approximately 11 inches in length “large”. If the size of his eyes are any indication – he has excellent night vision. When we spotted him, he was observing us as we observed him. He was very curious and didn’t scramble away once he realized we had spotted him peeking out from the safety of a hole in a tree.
The Oustalet has a large body and long tail and ranges in colors from brown to green to blue. They have a large ridge from the end of their snout to the eyes, a smaller ridge from the eye to the back of the neck and a ridge of triangular spines from the back of the neck to the tail. The shield-like casque on top of the head can change color. Toes grow in groups, the back feet have three toes on the outside and two toes on the inside; front feet are opposite (zygodactyl toes).
The male grows to a maximum length of 27 inches (68.5 cm); the females to 12 inches (30.5 cm). Weight is between 14-17 ounces (400-500 gr).
The arboreal chameleon uses its long, prehensile tail and its feet for climbing. It is solitary and the male will sometimes turn blue during courtship rituals.
Its diet consists of large insects, some fruits and occasionally small birds and reptiles. It has a long (about the same length as its body), muscular tongue coated in a sticky substance with a suction cup at the end, which is used to capture its prey. The tongue of an Oustalet can travel as a speed of 13 miles per hour. Mind blown…
Fun Fact: Did you know chameleons’ eyes act independently? One can flip backward to watch his back and one can stay trained forward to watch the front. Freaky, right?
The crowned sifaka measures 34-40 inches (87-102 cm) in length, 18-22 inches (47-57 cm.) of which is tail. It weighs 7.5-11 pounds (3.5-5 kg.) and has an average lifespan of 17.5 years.
Their legs are quite a bit longer than their arms meaning they are not good at walking on all fours, instead they move in a different, quite remarkable way: they jump vertically! Due to their ability to make enormous leaps, they can move extremely fast. They also no trouble jumping through prickly shrubbery as they have small, protective pads on their hands and feet.
They have a pointed snout with a wet nose at the end. Crowned sifakas also have some useful characteristics that help them keep each other’s fur clean. The teeth in their lower jaw serves as a comb, and they have a toe with a special nail used for brushing. This enables them to thoroughly clean each other’s fur serving as a way for them to maintain social relationships.
Crowned sifakas live in small groups consisting of five individuals on average: one or more adult females, one or more adult males and their offspring. As is the case for many other lemurs, the females are in charge. For example, they are entitled to receive the tastiest food.
Ring-tailed lemurs at Lemur Park outside Antananarivo. Unlike other lemurs, they spend 40% of their time on the ground. They move quadrupedally along the forest floor and live in communities numbering between 10-25.
The average body mass for adult males is 6 pounds (3 kg.); females are usually smaller. Their tails can be up to 2 feet long (61 cm.).
Their biggest danger: the fossa which I showed you above.
- A group of lemurs is called a troop or a conspiracy.
- Each ring-tailed lemur has exactly 13 alternating black and white bands on its tail.
- A ring-tailed lemur mob will gather in open areas of the forest to sunbathe. They sit in what some call a “yoga position” with their bellies toward the sun and their arms and legs stretched out to the sides. This position maximizes the exposure of the less densely covered underside, warming them up before they forage.
When ring-tailed troops travel throughout their home range, they keep their tails raised in the air, like flags, to keep group members together. Ring-tailed lemurs use warning calls if danger approaches and also communicate using facial expressions.
The brown lemur is cathemeral, being active both day and night. They eat fruit, flowers and young leaves but will supplement their diet with bark, sap, soil, birds eggs, frogs, chameleons, nestlings and insects.
They weigh 4-6 lbs. (1.8–2.7 kg) with males and females being about the same size. Their non-prehensile tail is as long as their body, which averages 16-20 inches (41–51 cm). The tail helps the lemurs maintain balance as they walk quadrupedally on branches or leap from tree to tree. In this picture, you get a really good look at how long their tails really are. It’s one thing to SAY their tails are longer than their body – it’s another thing entirely to SEE just how long it is. They can live up to 30 years in the wild; longer in captivity.
The delicate features of their faces are highlighted by two round bright orange eyes that face forward. Forward facing eyes tell us they have binocular vision indicating they have good depth perception.
Their forelimbs are shorter than their legs. Muscular thighs and longer hind legs allow them to take long leaps and appear as if they are flying between branches.
Their hands and feet are thin with five long digits. Opposable thumbs and toes afford a secure grip on branches. Their palms and the bottoms of their feet are bare and ridged, like humans. The second digit on their feet, the toilet claw, has a long pointy nail that they use for grooming.
The diademed sifaka is the second largest lemur behind the indri. Widely considered the most beautiful of Madagascan primates, the diademed sifaka has a bare, black or dark gray face framed with white hair, with a patch of black on the top of its head. Its head resembles a ‘diadem’ or ornamental headband worn by royalty, this its name. It has an average weight of 14 lbs. or 6.5 kg and a total adult length of approximately 41 in. or 105 cm., half of which is its tail.
This beauty was daintily admiring and smelling each flower prior to chomping off its petals. I decided her name would be “The Little Princess”.
As their name suggests, the black-and-white ruffed lemurs have black and white bodies with black hands, feet, faces and tails with a distinctive white ruff around their necks. These lemurs also have bright yellow eyes.
Black-and-white ruffed lemurs can reach 20-22 inches (50-55 centimeters) in body length and an additional 24-26 inches (61 to 66 centimeters) in tail length. Whoa! Adults weigh between 6.6-10 pounds (3-4.5 kilograms).
As is common with lemurs, black and whites have an array of vocalizations they use to communicate. When alarmed, they produce a deep, barking call and when defending their territory, they emit a wailing howl. They often walk, run and leap from branch to branch. Because ruffed lemurs are especially frugivorous, they are adept at hanging from their feet to reach ripe fruit from tree branches. This is known as suspensory movement and is exhibited in this species more so than other lemur species.
This is the rainbow milkweed locust spotted in Isalo National Park. These colorful creatures feature almost every color of the rainbow and the colors should alert predators that they’ve got a whole lot of toxins flowing through those grasshopper veins. They feed on toxic plants such as the milkweed plant.
This is truly the stuff nightmares are made of…this beast is a giant hissing cockroach commonly called “hisser”. It measured about 3″ long and just shy of 2″ wide by my guesstimates. They are commonly found in rotting logs and are excellent climbers and can scale smooth glass. Thankfully, unlike their smaller counterparts they are wingless and unable to fly (thank God for small blessings!).
Fun Facts: When threatened, they hiss by forcibly pushing air out of tiny breathing holes.
The praying mantis courtesy of the Spiny Forest, Ifaty.
Mantids (the family name for the mantis) may stalk or ambush prey, waiting silently then launching a sudden, individually calculated attack that takes mere milliseconds. Springing forward, they grasp their victim with their forelegs, called raptorial legs. The second and third sections of these limbs have interlocking spines, like a claw clip for your hair, making escape impossible.
Fun Facts: The head of the praying mantis can turn almost 180 degrees and when lurking for prey, the insect almost looks as if it is praying, hence, it’s name.
This is not the greatest picture but considering how far off the ground this indri was, I am glad to have gotten one this clear. The indri or singing lemur found in Andasibe-Perinet National Park.
The indri, also called the babakoto, is the largest living lemur, with a head-body length of about 25-28.5 inches (64–72 cm) and a weight of between 13-21 lbs. (6-9.5 kg).
Being herbivores, they feed mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits, and flowers. The indri maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging and is monogamous, living in small family groups. The groups are quite vocal, communicating with each other by singing, roaring and utilizing other vocalizations. Besides humans, it is the only mammal found that can use rhythm.
This is a sportive lemur. He is a strictly nocturnal creature and predominantly arboreal, moving among the trees with long jumps powered by strong hind legs. On the ground they hop similar to a kangaroo. During the day, they hide in leafy covering or the hollows of trees.
Apparently this one didn’t take too kindly to us traipsing through his “house” during the day while he was napping (see him giving us the stink eye in the picture above).