Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
This diverse habitat supports numerous birds and mammals. It has even been claimed
that Ankarana has the highest density of primates on earth. Good examples: Isalo, Ank-
arana, Bemaraha and Namoroka .
SPINY FOREST Whenever photographers wish to startle people with the uniqueness
of Madagascar they head for the spiny forest. Its mass of tangled, prickly branches and
swollen succulent trunks creates a habitat variously described by naturalists as 'a night-
mare' and 'the eighth wonder of the world'. Stretching in a band around the southwest
coast from Morombe to Taolagnaro, the spiny forest is the only primary community able
to resist the extremely arid environment. All the plants here are beautifully adapted to sur-
vive on the sporadic rainfall, sometimes going without water for more than a year. The un-
worldly landscape of this community is a result of the dramatic and striking forms of tall
Aloes , broad-leaved Kalanchoe 'trees', octopus trees, Pachypodium, Euphorbia , endemic
orchids and palms - all extremely specialised to withstand the harsh dry conditions.
The most evident animal life, aside from reptiles and desert arthropods, are the groups
of sifakas which somehow avoid the vicious spines of the Didierea as they leap from one
trunk to another. Good examples: Berenty, Ifaty, Beza-Mahafaly and along the road from
Taolagnaro to Ambovombe .
WETLANDS Wetlandseverywhereareregardedasimportanthabitats.Theplantshereare
terrestrialspeciesadaptedtotoleratewaterlogging.Lakes,swampsandmarshesalloverthe
island are popular with birds, attracted by the shelter and materials of the reeds and rushes,
and the sustenance to be gained from the insect life. On open water and lagoons near the
coast, large flocks of flamingoes gather, accompanied in their feeding by various waders.
But in Madagascar it is not only birds that make their homes among the reeds. In the
reed beds of Lake Alaotra, a rare species of bamboo lemur, Hapalemur alaotrensis , has
givenupbambooforpapyrustobecometheworld'sonlyreed-dwellingprimate.Lakesand
waterways also play host to sometimes-sacred populations of crocodiles. Good examples:
Tsimanampetsotsa, Lake Alaotra, Lake Ampitabe, Lake Ravelobe and Ankarafantsika .
MANGROVES Where trees dominate the wetlands instead of grasses, there are swamps.
The most important of these are the mangrove swamps. Madagascar possesses the largest
areaofmangrovesinthewesternIndianOcean-about330,000ha.Theaerialrootsoftheir
characteristic salt-toleranttreesarealternatelysubmergedandexposedtwicedailywiththe
tide. Some of the trees get a head start in life by germinating their seeds whilst still on the
parent tree.
Mangroves are important and rich ecosystems. They support a wealth of bird species,
which feast on the swarms of insects above the water and shoals of fish below. Many
marine fish and crustaceans use mangroves as a nursery, coming in from the open sea to
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