Madagascar’s reptiles offer many a superlative. The smallest lizard in the world, the most colorful chameleons, the smallest iguana, the rarest tortoise – all that is missing is a record-breaking gecko. The Giant Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus giganteus) fills exactly this gap. It measures up to 34.5 cm and is thus the second largest gecko in the world. The giants among …

Couas are only found in Madagascar. A particularly pretty representative of these colorful birds is the Crested Coua (Coua cristata). The back and tail feathers are purple, the breast feathers are rust-red, the head carries the eponymous mop of feathers. Around the eyes, as with all Couass, there is naked skin around the eyes, which glows blue in this species. …

The hot south is the home of a small and very pretty gecko, the Madagascar Ground Gecko (Paroedura picta). It inhabits spiny and dry forests around Toliara (French: Tuléar) down to the bay of St. Augustin. The somewhat wetter valley along the river Onilahy is also populated. Even further south the species occurs as far as Berenty and Amboasary Sud …

It is a bit hidden on the edge of a street in the district of Andohalo. But those who visit the royal palace of the capital of Madagascar should not simply walk past this piece of history. Directly at the Lalana Ramboatiana between the Rova of Antananarivo and the palace of the Prime Minister runs approximately 40 meters long terracotta …

In Madagascar, no one needs to be afraid of snakes. One of the most common snakes in the west and south of the island is the Common Big-Eyed Snake (Mimophis mahfalensis). But it is also one of the most harmless snakes that only bite in the worst of times. If you simply watch it, you will discover exciting behaviours. The …

It actually isn’t really big, but at least clearly the biggest in its family: The big Cuvier’s Madagascar Swift (Oplurus cuvieri) measures a maximum of 38 cm from the nose to the tip of the tail. Alone the scaly tail constitutes good 20 cm of it. Cuvier’s Madagascar Swift belongs to the family of the Madagascar iguana, that there is …

Not half a meter tall, having with two kilos the weight of a small cat and pitch-black colored: These are black lemurs (Eulemur macaco). However, only the males are black. The females have little to do with the name. Their coat is reddish-brown, only their face and hands are black, the first one framed by a white coat wreath. Black …