Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Labord's chameleon. Equally attractive are some of Madagascar's 200 species of frog, in-
cluding the bright-red tomato frog and iridescent Malagasy poison frogs.
Common tenrec mothers can give birth to 25 infants at one time, the
most of any mammal in the world.
Amazingly, the verdant forests support not a single snake species harmful to people;
amongthemanybeautifulsnakesaretheMadagascarboaandleaf-nosedsnake.Incontrast,
the Nile crocodile is just as dangerous here as it is in Africa and it kills people every year.
Five of the world's seven species of marine turtle can be found in Madagascar (all en-
dangered); the country is also home to several species of tortoise, many of which are highly
endangered (
Click here
for information on conservation efforts to save the ploughshare tor-
toise).
WHAT YOU CAN DO
»Offset your air miles to Madagascar: some of your credits may come from the
country's budding carbon-offsetting projects.
»Do not buy items made from precious wood: their trade is illegal.
»Never buylemurs, tortoises orother protected species, nomatter howsorrythey
look: instead, report them to the police or the nearest MNP office.
»If you buy gemstones, make sure you buy them from an established dealer and
get an export permit.
INVERTEBRATES
As you might expect from somewhere that has such thriving wildlife, the bugs in Madagas-
car are out in force. It is thought there are some 100,000 species of insects on the island;
amongst the most charming specimens are hissing cockroaches, scorpions, giraffe-necked
weevils, tarantulas, giant millipedes, stick insects andthe incredible flatid bug,which looks
more like a giant bit of paper confetti than an insect.
FISH
Freshwater fish are one of the most endangered groups of animal on Madagascar, owing to
silting of rivers through erosion. A survey by the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature (IUCN) of 98 endemic species of freshwater fish found that 54% of the fish in
Madagascar were either critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable.
Marine life is incredibly diverse, but similarly vulnerable to erosion run-off, notably the
country's beautiful coral. Madagascar harbours the world's fourth-largest coral reef, but
