Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
males fight and wound each other, and could certainly fight females if they chose - but it
is built-in that they don't confront females.'
There are other lemurs which, being nocturnal, are harder to spot, although the
white-
footedsportivelemur
(
Lepilemurleucopus
)canbeseenpeeringoutofitshollowtreenest
during the day.
Grey mouse lemurs
(
Microcebus murinus
) may be glimpsed in the beam
of a flashlight, especially on spiny forest night walks.
Apart from lemurs there are other striking mammals.
Fruit bats
or flying foxes live in
noisy groups on 'bat trees' in one part of the forest.
Birdwatching
isrewardinginBerenty,andevenbetterinBealoka,beyondthesisalfact-
ory. Nearly 100 species have been recorded. You are likely to see several families unique
to Madagascar, including the hook-billed vanga, crested coua, giant coua, coucal, grey-
headed lovebirds and the beautiful Madagascar paradise flycatcher. Male flycatchers come
in two colour morphs: chestnut brown, and black and white. Two-thirds of Berenty's para-
dise flycatchers are black and white. If you visit from mid-October to May you will see a
variety of migrant birds from southeast Africa: broad-billed roller, Malagasy lesser cuckoo
and lots of waders (sanderlings, greenshank, sandpiper, white-throated plover).
Then there are the
reptiles
. Although Berenty's two chameleon species are somewhat
drab, they are plentiful. There is also a good chance of seeing Dumeril's boa (a huge but
placid snake). In captivity there is a sulky crocodile (its companion escaped after its en-
closure was damaged in a cyclone) and some tortoises.
Finally, don't forget the
insects
. One of my favourite activities in Berenty is visiting the
'cockroach tree,' a large tamarind on the left of the main trail to the river. This is pock-
marked with small holes, and if you visit at night and shine your torch into them, you
will see pairs of antennae waving at you. These belong to Madagascar giant hissing cock-
roaches. If you are able to catch one of these 5-8cm insects it will give a loud, indignant
hiss. (I have kept them as pets in England; they brought me endless enjoyment!) Another
equally entertaining insect is the ant lion (see boxes on
Click Here
and
Click Here
)
. Look
for their conical holes on the sandy paths, then find an ant as a drop-in gift.
THE BALD LEMURS OF BERENTY
Alison Jolly
Somering-tailed lemurs introopsnearBerenty cafeteria gonearly baldduringthedry
season, but grow their fur back in the wet season. This is not a contagious disease or
anythingtodowithtourism.Itistheresultoffeedingon
Leucaena
,atoxicintroduced
tree. If you see a team of veterinarians among the tourists, ask them for the latest in-
formation.Workmenhaveworkedhardtoeradicatemuchofthe
Leucaena
inaneffort
topreventthisproblem.Meanwhilelemursintherestoftheforestawayfromthe
Leu-
caena
areas are as furry as ever.
