Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
WILDLIFE
Madagascar's 80-million-year isolation has allowed its wildlife to take a remarkable evolu-
tionary turn. Unperturbed by outside influences and human beings (who 'only' arrived 2000
years ago), the fauna and flora followed their own interpretation of the evolution manual;
the result is that 70% of animals and 90% of plants found in Madagascar are endemic.
As well as being completely unique, their sheer variety is staggering: Madagascar hosts
5%ofallanimalandplantspeciesknowntoman.Habitatdegradationthreatensmuchofthis
incredible natural wealth, and habitat conservation is now a worldwide priority. For more
information, see the Parks & Reserves chapter (
Click here
)
.
Fauna
LEMURS
Since 1999, an incredible 615 species have been discovered in Madagas-
car, including 41 mammals, 61 reptiles, 42 invertebrates, 17 fish, 69 am-
phibians and 385 plants.
Madagascar's best-known mammals are the lemurs, of which there are about 50 species. As
well as being entertaining to watch (they are primates after all, and therefore distant cousins
of ours), it's hard to overrate how unique they are: Madagascar's lemurs are found nowhere
else on earth, which also explains why primatologists class Madagascar in a category of its
own, the other three being Africa, Southeast Asia and the Americas.
Lemurs are divided into five families: the beautifully marked sifakas and indris (of which
only one species is extant), all known for their leaping abilities; a family of small, nocturn-
al mouse lemurs that includes the world's smallest primates; the 'true' lemurs, such as the
ring-tailed and ruffed lemurs; the sportive lemurs; and, most remarkable of all, the bizarre,
nocturnal aye-aye, which extracts grubs from under bark with its long, bony middle finger.
OTHER MAMMALS
Where to See Lemurs
»Indri: Parc National d'Andasibe-Mantadia
»Silky sifaka: Parc National de Marojejy
»Red-ruffed lemur: Parc National de Masoala
»Aye-aye: Aye-aye Island
»Ring-tailed lemur: Anja
»Coquerel's sifaka: Parc National d'Ankarafantsika
