Especially the rainforests of Madagascar offer an abundance of different frogs for observation and discovery. Almost 4% of the world’s amphibian fauna is found on the island. Especially in the rainy areas on the east coast, you can find countless different species in a small area. In the rainy season, the croaking, chirping, and chirping of the courtship males can …
LesenSchlagwort-Archiv: endemic
An extraordinary predator: The Fossa
Indeed it looks a little strange: The Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox). The long-stretched body wears a thick tail of almost equal length, and the cat-like head is graced by quite sharp teeth and a big, round nose. And although the Fossa grows only knee-high, it is Madagascar’s largest predator. Both genders reach a maximum body weight of 12 kg, the males …
LesenOther mammals in general
Originally, Madagascar has no big mammals like buffaloes, zebras, hippos, lions or other large animals you can meet all around Africa. Ruminants, which settle nearly all regions worldwide, lack in Madagascar completely. The now everywhere kept Zebus were introduced to the island as domestic cattle and don’t occur in the wild. The Indian Civet is another animal introduced by humans, …
LesenKings of the sky: Madagascar’s birds
Almost 300 different bird species inhabit Madagascar, half of them are endemic. The country’s flagship species, the Madagascar fish eagle or Ankoay (Haliaeetus vociferoides), is a bird of prey. It’s the biggest one in Madagascar and critically endangered, not even more than 100 pairs are known to breed on the island. Other birds of prey are the Madagascar serpent eagle …
LesenInsects, arthropods and arachnids in general
Presumably, the largest wealth of species of Madagascar can be found in insects, arthropods and arachnids. Several thousand species could it be, rather more – especially since many of them are neither discovered nor described yet. Famous and bizarre at the same time is the giraffe-necked weevil. The males of this species got red wings and have a long, giraffe-like, …
LesenNationalpark Tsimanampetsotsa
Tsimanampetsotsa: The park is named after its salt lake of the same name, which lies in the middle of the park area. The name means “lake in which no dolphins live”. Location: The Tsimanampetsotsa National Park is located in southwestern Madagascar in the Atsimo-Andrefana region. It is located about 950 km south of Antananarivo, the nearest cities are Anakao and …
Lesen