Brandneues

Masika sipa

Horror in the jungle: Megaloremmius leo

Megaloremmius leo

It will surely frighten you when you discover it for the first time: Megaloremmius leo, one of the few large spiders in Madagascar. Eight long legs, a thick, clumsy body, bright red hair on a black ground. Although it looks like a tarantula, it is not even related to them. Megaloremmius leo belongs to a family of spiders that are …

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Madagascar’s rarest bird of prey

Seeadler Nosy Hara

Mighty dark brown wings, a sharp beak and claws that easily spear through a fish: These are the characteristis of one of the rarest birds of prey in the world. It occurs only – how could it be otherwise – on the eighth continent. We are talking about the Madagascar fish eagle (Haliaeetus vociferoides), Madagascar’s majestic largest bird of prey. …

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What is allowed by customs?

Handwerkermarkt Tana

After visiting such a fantastic country as Madagascar, you surely want to take some souvenirs home from your travel. However, there are some rules you have to take care of to avoid trouble at customs. Precious woods Rose wood and palisander are precious and rare, and you can get them in Madagascar still for relatively cheap prices. Although it has …

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Power & electrictiy

The electricity grid in Madagascar is poorly developed. Only larger cities have electricity connections. The major suppliers are JIRAMA, HydElec, HFF (Henri Fraise fils & Cie) and QMM (Rio Tinto QMM), the latter two being only available in Antananarivo and Tolagnaro (Fort Daupin). There are also smaller suppliers that operate small waterworks or individual solar panels, for example. JIRAMA is …

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Taboos and traditions: The Fady in Madagascar

Famadihana

As a traveller in Madagascar, you will hear about fadys sooner or later. Fady is the Malagasy word for taboo and probably derives from the Indonesian “pady”. But taboo is not the only meaning of this word, it is also used to call something sacred. Fadys are rules that concern situations as well as people, animals, locations or a certain …

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Karenjy – The first Malagasy car

Karenjy

As a traveller, you will rarely see, but surely recognize it once seen in Madagascar: The Karenyi. A bulky car, reminiscent of some kind of mixture between a kubelwagen and a colourful soapbox. It could even be part of the ideas of someone producing Lego toys normally. But behind this bizarre vehicle hides a true Malagasy story. In 1984, the …

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Der Paradiesschnäpper

Paradise flycatcher

Klein, aber oho! Der Madagaskar-Paradiesschnäpper (Terpsiphone mutata) ist sicherlich einer der schönsten Vögel der Insel, obwohl das Fliegengewicht gerade mal 12 g schwer wird – das ist gerade mal so viel wie ein Esslöffel voll Reis. Er gehört zur Familie der Monarchen und ist ein Singvogel. Ihn kann man überall auf der Insel beobachten, von Dornwäldern bis Regenwälder besiedelt er …

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Die singenden Lemuren: Indris

Indri

Ihre Gesänge gehören zu den eindruckvollsten, die die Tierwelt zu bieten hat: Man kann die Stimmen der Indris (Indri indri) kilometerweit durch den Wald schallen hören, und sie tragen eine eigentümliche Traurigkeit mit sich. Angeführt und begonnen wird der Gesang stets vom Elternpaar einer Familie, das damit sein Revier absteckt, aber auch mit anderen Familien kommuniziert und vor Bedrohungen wie …

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Der Tomatenfrosch

Tomatenfrosch

1875 fiel dem französischen Naturforscher Alfred Grandidier ein knallroter, dicker Frosch auf einer seiner vielen Reisen nach Madagaskar in die Hände. Gebracht hatte ihn ein Landsmann, der sich als Händler an der Ostküste niedergelassen hatte: Ein gewisser Herr Guinet. Der weit gereiste Grandidier nahm Tiere der noch unbekannten Art mit nach Frankreich und beschrieb sie dort erstmals. Warum ihm der …

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Kirindy reserve

Kirindy jumping rat

Kirindy: The word Kirindy means as much as „dense forest with wild animals“. Due to the more south located national park Kirindy-Mitea, the reserve is also known as “Kirindy Nord”. From former times it has the name “La forêt des Suisses”, the Swiss people’s forest. Location: Kirindy Forest is located in western Madagascar in Menabe region. From the capital of …

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