Madagascar’s coasts are home to a secret that few travellers know about. Not only is the island itself a treasure trove of biodiversity, but the sea around it is home to particularly rare mammals: dugongs (Dugong dugon). They depend on seaweed for their entire lives In Madagascar, they are called lamboara or trozogno. The term “sea cows” goes back to …
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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 …
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In the southwest and deep south of Madagascar, you can encounter it: The Lesser Hedgehog Tenrec (Echinops telfairi). It lives in dry and spiny forests as well as savannahs, but also occurs in areas populated and destroyed by humans. Larger populations are however above all in forests, that obviously offer bigger protection from food-enemies. The northern distribution limit is the …
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Why it is called “great” is not known exactly. In fact, it is only slightly taller than his closest relative, the smaller hedgehog tenrec. Perhaps the term derives from its area of distribution: it covers almost all of Madagascar. Only in mangroves and marshes, the greater hedgehog tenrec does not occur. You can meet the greater hedgehog tenrec regularly in …
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White-fronted lemurs (Eulemur albifrons) carry their name thanks to the appearance of the males: They have white fur around their face, which makes them look a bit old and wise. The corresponding females are rather unobtrusively colored and have completely brown fur. With two to two and a half kilos the lemurs are not very large, the weight is more …
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A very special inhabitant of Madagascar is the Votsotsa. It looks like a mixture of a rabbit, a kangaroo, and a rat. Big ears, cute black button eyes, a partly jumping locomotion, and a hardly hairy, narrow tail. In fact, the Votsotsa belongs to the Madagascar rats, a separate genus that only lives in Madagascar. It is the largest rodent …
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Sportive Lemurs are everywhere in Madagascar. But every place has its own species. In the far north of Madagascar, in the dry forests of Ankarana, lives the eponymous Ankarana Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur ankaranensis). It is widespread as far as the nearby rainforests and dry forests of the Amber Mountain as well as Analamerana and Manongarivo and is only about 25 …
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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 …
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The lemurs with the orange crown of fur on their heads may be the smallest of the true lemurs, but they compensate for this with curiosity and adaptability: Crowned Lemurs (Eulemur coronatus). They will not weigh more than one and a half to two kilograms and are only 35 cm tall. The gentlemen of these lemurs wear a black fur …
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Most animals that only occur in Madagascar are very special. Also the streaked tenrec has its peculiarities and is considered to be the most highly specialized of all 31 tenrec species. They belong to the hedgehog tencres – they have spines like hedgehogs, but are actually not even related to the hedgehogs. Also the spines are not completely genuine: It …
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