In the very north of Madagascar lives a small coloured frog: Mantella viridis. The males grow to a length of two to two and a half centimetres, the females hardly reach more than three centimetres. The small frog with the yellow-green back has several, small populations. On the one hand, Mantella viridis is found in the protected area of the …

They are feared in many places. They should be more afraid of humans than the other way round: hammerhead sharks are important predators in the Indian Ocean. Without them, the marine ecosystem around Madagascar would not function. A special representative of the hammerhead sharks is Sphyrna lewini, the scalloped hammerhead shark. The name says it all: the broad, hammer-shaped head …

Everything is a bit more colourful in Madagascar – even the sparrows on the roofs! The best example of this is the Madagascar Fody (Foudia madagascariensis). The Malagasy call him Red Fody, sometimes spelt Fodi or Foudi. Fodys are distributed all over the country. They are considered one of the most common birds in Madagascar. They can be found near …

In the southwest of Madagascar, between the famous baobabs of Andavadoaka and the beaches of Ifaty, lies a small and entirely unknown lagoon far away from the hustle and bustle of big cities. A coral reef protects seven kilometres of white dream beach stretch along the turquoise blue sea. Sounds like paradise? It is! This little paradise belongs to Salary …

Madagascar Palms Who doesn’t know them, the characteristic, bulbous trees of Madagascar? We are not talking about the world-famous baobabs, but the Madagascar palms. But they are not palms. They actually belong to the dogbane family. Better simply use the botanical name of the genus: Pachypodium. Pachypodium belong to the succulents, plants that are particularly good at storing water. You …

Lemurs are generally considered social, peaceful animals. But one lemur, in particular, stands out in terms of its family ties: the eastern woolly lemur (Avahi laniger). The name comes from its slightly curly fur, which no other lemur in Madagascar has. Eastern woolly lemurs live only on Madagascar, they are endemic to the island. Their habitat is on the east coast …