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Caption: The Wildlife of Madagascar #ConservationStory
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Caption: Back in August 2010 I spent four weeks travelling around Madagascar. My aim was to photograph as much of the Island’s unique wildlife as possible. I had an incredible time and was overwhelmed by the diversity of animal species that I came across.
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Caption: The Island of Madagascar split away from mainland Africa around 160 million years ago. This isolation created a laboratory in which animals could evolve into weird and wonderful forms in order to fill different ecological niches. Madagascar is now home to 5% of the world’s plant and animal species, of which more than 80% are endemic (i.e. they are found nowhere else on Earth).
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Caption: Madagascar’s fantastic biodiversity is in part due to its highly varied habitats. These range from cool highland rainforests in East to arid deciduous and spiny forests in the West. I started this trip in the lush tropical rainforest of Amber Mountain National Park in the North of Madagascar.
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Caption: The rainforests were a haven for
a large number of Madagascar’s famous chameleons. Almost half the World’s species of chameleon are
found in Madagascar!
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Caption: One of my favorites from this trip was the Brookesia Chameleon. These tiny chameleons spend their lives in amongst the leaf litter, where they hunt minuscule insects. When they are disturbed they play dead and resemble a dried leaf… as a result they are also known as “Leaf-mimicking Chameleons”.
Unlike many other chameleons, Brookesias cannot change their colour drastically. Instead, they are limited to a palette of brown, earthy colours which allows them to camouflage themselves perfectly in their environment.
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Caption: Madagascar is also home to a diverse array of gecko species.
Geckos are unique among lizards as they have the ability to stick to almost any surface! This is because gecko feet have special adaptations which are believed to generate attractive van der Waals forces between their toes and the surface they are on. Apparently, these forces are so strong that a gecko can support about eight times its weight hanging from just one toe on smooth glass!
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Caption: The most conspicuous geckos in Madagascar are the luminous-green Day Geckos. As their name suggests, these geckos are diurnal. Different species range in size from around 7cm up to 30cm. It is particularly fun to focus in on their beautiful abstract back patterns…
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Caption: The day geckos were quite skittish and therefore a challenge to photograph. However, Madagascar has another group of geckos where just managing to spot one is challenging enough!
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Caption: Leaf-tailed geckos are true masters of camouflage! They can change their colour to blend in perfectly with the tree they are on. They also have frills to break up their outline.
My fellow travelers and I were never able to spot them in the gloomy rainforest, but our guide had an extraordinary ability to spot them from up to 10m away… apparently, the trick is to look out for the telltale shape of their eyes.
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Caption: Lemurs are primitive primates found only in Madagascar. The ancestor of all lemurs was probably carried to Madagascar on a raft of vegetation from mainland Africa around 62 to 65 million years ago. Since that time, lemurs have evolved into many different forms in order to take advantage of different habitats and ecological niches. Today there are nearly 100 species of lemur!
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Caption: Ring-tailed lemurs are the most ground-dwelling species of lemur. They are highly social and live in family groups consisting of up to 30 animals. In these groups the females are dominant, a trait they share with other lemur species.
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Caption: August in Madagascar can be rather cold so at this time of year the lemurs need to warm up in the morning… each day, about an hour after sunrise, we would find groups of ring-tailed lemurs emerging from the forest and sunbathing in the open! They were very cute! A typical sunbathing lemur faces the sun with his arms outstretched, soaking up the rays!
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Caption: The world’s largest living species of lemur is the Indri. Indris can weigh up to 9.5kg and can reach up to 1.2m with their legs extended. It is an impressive spectacle watching them leap up to 10m high up in the tree tops.
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Caption: I photographed three species of Sifaka during our trip; Verreaux’s Sifaka in the South of Madagascar, Golden Diademed Sifaka in the cool highland rainforests of Andisibe-Mantadia and Coquerel’s Sifaka in the Northwest.
Sifakas are some of my favourite lemurs due to their gentle temperaments, fluffy soft fur and goofy demeanors!
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Caption: Verreaux's Sifaka
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Caption: Golden Diademed Sifaka
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Caption: Coquerel's Sifaka
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Caption: Sifakas are perhaps best known for the way in which they traverse open ground; they stand upright and hop along, holding their arms up for balance.
Caption: I could go on forever about the weird and wonderful wildlife of Madagascar. To see more wildlife from this fascinating place, check out the Madagascar gallery on my website! To learn more about how you can
have an impact on conservation, visit:
awf.org/conservation-story
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Caption: #ConservationStory #wildlife #Madagascar #nature #animals #animalkingdom #photography #wildlifephotography
