After 28 years we decided to revisit the exotic island of Madagascar. On our first visit in 1995, we were volunteers on an Earthwatch project collecting reptiles and amphibians in the southern part of the island. This trip would be different in that our focus would be on observing many of Madagascar’s endemic lemur and carnivore species. We booked our tour with Patrick Richard a young guide based near Ranomafana National Park.
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| Us in Madagascar, 1995 |
We started our long journey on August 28 from Phoenix and after stops in Newark and Paris, we finally arrived in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar on Aug. 30. We were based at the Relais des Plateau, a nice hotel near the airport to recover from jet lag and prepare for our upcoming expedition. A day tour to Lemur’s Park gave us a nice introduction to five of the lemur species found on the island. Most of the park’s lemurs were confiscated pets and will be rehabilitated and returned to the wild.
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| Female Black Lemur |
Patrick met us at the hotel on Sept. 3 for the official start of our tour. We returned to the airport for a short flight across the island to Morondava and on to Kirindy National Park, our first destination. The draw here is the best chance to see a Fossa, Madagascar’s largest carnivore. Best described as a cross between a cat and a mongoose, Fossa had been regularly seen at the Kirindy Ecolodge but during Covid, they disappeared. As we pulled into the parking lot a group of tourists had gathered behind the lodge’s kitchen. Could it be that the Fossa had returned? Much to my delight, a female Fossa was searching for water and possibly a handout from the kitchen. Marc managed some photos in the growing darkness and just like that we had seen one of our most sought-after mammals for the trip!
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| Female Fossa |
We hustled to prepare for our first night walk and soon after we started the walk, our guide spotted a Pale Fork-marked Lemur, our first lemur seen in the wild! Like many of Madagascar’s lemurs, this species is endangered and occupies a narrow strip of western Madagascar forest.
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| Pale Fork-marked Lemur |
I spotted another nocturnal lemur which turned out to be a Gray Mouse Lemur. They were common in the forest and we spotted at least 7 of these tiny primates.
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| Gray Mouse Lemur |
A third lemur species, the Red-tailed Sportive Lemur was also observed. Our quest to see at least 30 species of lemur was off to a good start. We also got glimpses of Bastard Big-footed Mice (yes, that’s their actual name) scurrying along the forest floor. The mouse (Macrotarsomys bastardi) gets it name not from frustration one may encounter in trying to view and photograph it but from French naturalist, Eugene Joseph Bastard. One paused long enough for Marc to snap a photo.
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| Bastard Big-footed Mouse |
The following morning we entered the forest on a path near our bungalow to search for more wildlife. We got better views of the nocturnal Red-tailed Sportive Lemurs that we had seen the night before now that they were in their day roosts.
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| Red-tailed Sportive Lemur |
We encountered a group of diurnal Red-fronted Brown Lemurs high in the trees. Surprisingly they came down to greet us. At first, I thought they were super inquisitive but the real reason was for water. Using an empty snail shell, our local guide offered water to the lemurs who hesitantly then eagerly accepted it!
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| Drinking from a Shell |
Further down the trail, we came across 3 Verreaux’s Sifaka high in a tree. We had seen these critically endangered primates back in 1995 in the Spiney forest of southern Madagascar. It was a privilege to see them again here in Kirindy.
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| Verreaux’s Sifaka |
Our search turned to another of Madagascar’s carnivores, the Bokiboky. Despite our best efforts, we came up empty-handed. We returned to the lodge where our local guide said there was a Fossa near cabin 11. I thought he was kidding but sure enough, a female Fossa, possibly the same individual we had seen the evening before, was snoozing next to the cabin!
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| Snoozing Fossa |
As we were preparing for an afternoon walk, our local guide informed us that a male Fossa had shown up behind the kitchen. He was much larger and more wary than the female we had seen. What a privilege to have multiple and prolonged sightings of such a rare and unusual animal.
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| Male Fossa |
We returned to the dry forest to resume our search for the Bokiboky and had about given up hope of finding one when Patrick spotted a Bokiboky digging under a log! Amazingly 2 more individuals showed up and we had 3 Bokibokies to admire and photograph. The Bokiboky or Narrow-stripped Mongoose is not a mongoose but is a member of the Malagasy carnivore family and is the only species in the genus Mungotictis.
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| Bokiboky |
That evening, a walk yielded the same lemur species but our main quarry, the Malagasy Giant Jumping Rat remained elusive. Early the next morning we left Kirindy for the long drive to our next destination, Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park. We drove along NR8, a sandy rutted track past patches of deciduous dry forest and a few villages. We reached the Tsiribihina River and watched as Haja drove our 4x4 onto the ferry, more like planks on two pontoon boats.
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| Tsiribihina River Ferry |
We reached the town of Belo sur Tsiribihina for lunch and because of security concerns (apparently bandits have been robbing tourists), we had to join a caravan to our final destination. A second ferry across the Manambolo River brought us to the luxurious hotel, Le Soleil des Tsingy.
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| Soleil des Tsingy Hotel |
Despite the 10-hour drive we opted to do a night walk near the park headquarters in the village of Bekopaka. We succeeded in finding our 6th species of lemur, a Peter’s Mouse Lemur.
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| Peter’s Mouse Lemur |
September 6 promised to be an auspicious day. It was Patrick’s 30th birthday and we were to do a hike in the Big Tsingy. We were joined by local guide Martisenga and set off on a bumpy dirt track to the start of our trek. I was surprised when Martisenga pulled out 4 harnesses with two carabiners each. I had no idea we’d be doing technical rock climbing!
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| Martisenga and Peggy |
We set off with my apprehension growing into the forest where Martisenga left the trail and told us to wait. He returned moments later and beckoned us to follow. He pointed to a tree where a Randrianasolo’s Sportive Lemur was roosting. This was a new species of lemur for us and a great one to see!
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| Randrianasolo’s Sportive Lemur |
We continued on and to my delight, Martisenga spotted a Decken’s Sifaka in a nearby tree, it was joined by two others giving us great views. I’ve wanted to see these critically endangered primates after watching a documentary showing how they leap from tsingy to tsingy in search of forest patches in between to feed on leaves and fruit.
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| Decken’s Sifaka |
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better we encountered a group of Rufous Brown Lemurs, our 9th species of lemur so far!
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| Rufous Brown Lemur |
After our lemur fest, it was time to climb! At first, it was more of a scramble over limestone rocks. Care had to be taken where you grab onto the rocks as some have sharp edges. We reached our first exposed area where we had to clip onto a cable with both carabiners. I tried not to look down but focused on the climb ahead. Flat rocks to step on had been bolted along the route and Martisenga was there to give me a helping hand. When you reached the end of a cable, you had to unclip and clip onto the next. And so it went, clip, climb, and un-clip. Ladders were also strategically placed to assist in the really steep places. We haven’t done anything this arduous in years!
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| Tsingy Ladders |
We made the final push to the top viewing platform where we were rewarded with a stunning view over the Big Tsingy. I don’t know of many places on the planet where sheer limestone pinnacles pierce the landscape. The area is so extraordinary that it has been designated as Madagascar’s only UNESCO World Heritage Site. The word tsingy is indigenous to the Malagasy language and can be translated into English as “where one cannot walk barefoot”!
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| On Top of Big Tsingy |
We continued across the top of the Big Tsingy to a hanging bridge across a particularly deep canyon. The crossing looked scarier than it actually was, very similar to the rainforest canopy walkways that we have been on.
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| Peggy Crossing on Hanging Bridge |
We started our descent, stopping in a canyon for lunch. As we were eating, I turned around and to my amazement, a Ring-tailed Vontsira was sneaking up behind us! Apparently, the Vontsira had become accustomed to getting a handout at this popular lunch spot. The Ring-tailed Vontsira is another of Madagascar’s endemic carnivores and the only species in the genus Galidia.
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| Ring-tailed Vontsira |
It was a short climb out of the tsingy and back into the forest. I was happy to be done with the rock climbing. As we were nearing the car park, Martisenga saw a Fossa cross the trail! Unfortunately, the rest of us missed it. It took us 5.5 hours to hike a mere 3.1km but what an exhilarating trek it was, an auspicious day indeed!
The following morning we were poled down the Manambolo River in dugout canoes to explore some caves for bats. We managed to find 3 species, Bent-winged Bats, Mauritian Tomb Bats, and Madgascaran Flying Fox.
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| Manambolo River |
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| Bent-winged Bats |
Back at the dock, we walked to the Small Tsingy nearby. Although not as strenuous as the Big Tsingy, it did involve the use of cables and ladders to get to the top. The view wasn’t as expansive as the Big Tsingy but still impressive.
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| Small Tsingy |
Early the next morning we started the long journey back to Kirindy National Park joining the queue for the ferry across the Manambolo River. On the other side, we joined the convoy through bandit territory. We drove through without incident and reached the town of Belo sur Tsiribihina for lunch at the Mad Zebu. We arrived back at the Kirindy Ecolodge in the afternoon and made plans with local guide Alfred to search for Malagasy Giant Jumping Rats. Tonight was our last opportunity to find them so the pressure was on. We drove to a different part of the park where Alfred knew the location of a couple of burrows. We set off on foot to the first burrow but no rats were above ground. We sat on a nearby log in the darkness waiting for one to emerge. After an uncomfortable 45 minutes, one made a quick exit and we only got a glimpse of its rear end and tail, rats! We followed it to another entrance to its burrow and waited for it to come out again but it didn’t. We returned to the main burrow entrance and waited without any luck so Alfred suggested we try a different burrow. As we approached we could see a rat above ground. It paused long enough for a good view and for Marc to get some photos, success!
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| Malagasy Giant Jumping Rat |
The following morning we said our final goodbye to Kirindy Ecolodge and drove to the Akiba Lodge and private reserve for our last chance to find a Madame Berthe Mouse Lemur, the world’s smallest primate. We encountered a very friendly group of six Red-fronted Brown Lemurs and a group of four Verreaux’s Sifaka including a mom with a young baby. Our local guide also pointed out two roosting Red-tailed Sportive Lemurs. We came across the Verreaux’s Sifaka family and the Red-fronted Brown Lemurs again feeding on fruits that had fallen on the ground. It didn’t look like a natural setting. Patrick and our local guide explained that they were fed jujube fruit during the dry season by the lodge staff to keep the lemurs inside the reserve where they’d be safe. It did make for good views and photos.
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| Verreaux’s Sifaka Family |
Our local guide knew where there was a roosting tree with mouse lemurs. He was able to coax them out with a twig coated in sap. They looked smaller and different than the Gray Mouse Lemurs we’d been seeing. Could they be Madame Berthe Mouse Lemurs? They turned out to be Gray Mouse Lemurs so sadly no new lemur species on this walk.
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| Gray Mouse Lemur |
Continuing our drive to Morondava, we made a stop at the Avenue of the Baobabs, a prominent group of Grandidier’s Baobabs (Adansonia grandidieri). These massive trees endemic to Madagascar towered nearly 100 feet over a barren landscape, the only remaining trees in a once-dense tropical forest.
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| Avenue of the Baobabs |
We continued on to Morondava arriving at our hotel, Palissandre Cote Ouest resort around noon. Later in the afternoon, we ventured out to the beach along the Mozambique Channel.
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| View of the Mozambique Channel |
Tomorrow we would return to Antananarivo. The first leg of our Madagascar odyssey had come to an end. Stay tuned for the next leg of our journey.
We hope all is well with everyone,
Peggy and Marc
Our route map:
