Analamazaotra Forest Station | |
---|---|
Ecology | |
Realm | Analamazaotra Reserve |
Biome | Forest |
Borders | Andasibe-Mantadia National Park |
Animals | Indri indri, mouse lemurs, hairy-eared dwarf lemurs |
Mammal species | dwarf lemurs, aye-aye, common brown lemurs |
Geography | |
Area | 7.1 km2 (2.7 sq mi) |
Country | Madagascar |
Region | Alaotra-Mangoro |
Analamazaotra Forest Station is a community-managed protected area adjacent to Analamazaotra Reserve and Andasibe-Mantadia National Park in the Alaotra-Mangoro region of east-central Madagascar. It consists of 710 hectares of rain forest and restored habitat. [1] It is managed through a contract between the local community-run organization Mitsinjo and the Ministère des Eaux et Forets. [2] Much of the forest station is being reforested with native vegetation through a habitat restoration project. [3] Part of the David Attenborough-hosted 2011 BBC Madagascar documentary was filmed at Analamazaotra Forest Station, including a scene where lowland streaked tenrecs cross a small stream. [4]
The Forest Station is home to an extreme variety of biodiversity. There are at least seven groups of Indri indri within the reserve, two of which are habituated to people and are commonly seen by tourists. [5] There are also mouse lemurs, hairy-eared dwarf lemurs, [6] dwarf lemurs, aye-aye, common brown lemurs, gray gentle lemur, and small-toothed sportive lemurs. [7]
At least six species of tenrecs are found in and around Analamzaotra Forest Station including common tailless tenrec, greater hedgehog tenrec, lowland streaked tenrec, mole-like rice tenrec, shrew tenrecs and aquatic tenrec.
The reserve is also known for its herpetofauna. More than 100 species of frogs are found within a 30 km radius of Analamazaotra Forest Station. [8] There are at least five species of chameleon including the brown pygmy leaf chameleon, Parson's chameleon, short-horned chameleon, nose-horned chameleon, and short-nosed chameleon. The forest station is also home to the Madagascar tree boa.
The indri, also called the babakoto, is one of the largest living lemurs, with a head-and-body length of about 64–72 cm and a weight of between 6 and 9.5 kg. It has a black and white coat and maintains an upright posture when climbing or clinging. It is monogamous and lives in small family groups, moving through the canopy, and is purely herbivorous, feeding mainly on leaves but also seeds, fruits, and flowers. The groups are quite vocal, communicating with other groups by singing, roaring and other vocalisations.
Lemurs are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea, divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are native only to the island of Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are small, have a pointed snout, large eyes, and a long tail. They chiefly live in trees (arboreal), and are active at night (nocturnal).
The Madagascar lowland forests or Madagascar humid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion found on the eastern coast of the island of Madagascar, home to a plant and animal mix that is 80 to 90% endemic, with the forests of the eastern plain being a particularly important location of this endemism. They are included in the Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions.
The hairy-eared dwarf lemur, or hairy-eared mouse lemur, is one of the most scarcely known lemurs. A. trichotis is a nocturnal lemur that is endemic to Madagascar. It was originally named by Dr. Albert Günther in 1875 as Cheirogaleus trichotis as part of the Cheirogaleidae family, or the dwarf lemurs. However, in 1967 Petter-Rousseaux and Petter reassigned the lemur to its own genus and is the now only member of the genus Allocebus. The hairy-eared dwarf lemur was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1989 in a northeastern primary lowland rainforest. The population of these mammals is shown to be severely decreasing and largely fragmented throughout Northern and Eastern Madagascar rainforests; most likely due to hunting, trapping, slash-and-burn agriculture as well as habitat fragmentation.
The Madagascar dry deciduous forests represent a tropical dry forest ecoregion situated in the western and northern part of Madagascar. The area has high numbers of endemic plant and animal species but has suffered large-scale clearance for agriculture. They are among the world's richest and most distinctive dry forests and included in the Global 200 ecoregions by the World Wide Fund. The area is also home to distinctive limestone karst formations known as tsingy, including the World Heritage Site of Bemaraha.
The Anjajavy's Protected Area is located on a peninsula of the town of Antonibe, in the district of Analalava and in the north-west region of Madagascar. It is part of the Sofia region of the independent province of Mahajanga and its position is between 47°13’ at 44°22’ of longitude east and 14°58 at 15°07’ of latitude south..
Xeko is an out-of-print collectible card game revolving around endangered species. It was launched on Earthday 2006. It won the Creative Child Magazine 2006 Toy of the Year Award and the National Parenting Center's Seal of Approval in its first year. Four "Mission" sets have been released. Mission: Costa Rica and Mission: Madagascar, based on biodiversity hotspots were released first. Mission: Indonesia, was released in 2007, with the final release, Mission: China, was released July 19, 2008. A total of thirty more missions were planned but never developed.
Andasibe-Mantadia National Park is a 155 square kilometre protected area, located about 150 km east of Antananarivo, consisting principally of primary growth forest in Alaotra-Mangoro Region in eastern Madagascar. The park's elevation ranges from 800 to 1260 meters, with a humid climate. Average annual precipitation is 1700 mm, with rainfall on 210 days of each year. This rainforest is habitat to a vast species biodiversity, including many endemic rare species and endangered species, including 11 lemur species. The park's two component parts are Mantadia National Park and Analamazoatra Reserve, which is best known for its population of Madagascar's largest lemur, the indri.
Zahamena National Park is a national park of Madagascar. Established in 1997, it covers an area of 423 square kilometres (163.32 sq mi) out of a total protected area of 643 square kilometres (248.26 sq mi). It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Rainforests of the Atsinanana, inscribed in 2007 and consisting of 13 specific areas located within eight national parks in the eastern part of Madagascar. In 2001, Bird Life International assessed avifauna of 112 species of which 67 species are exclusively endemic to Madagascar.
Analamazaotra National Park is a wildlife reserve of Madagascar, and is part of Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. The reserve is toward the northeast portion of the island, and is nearly centered between the coast. The neighbouring Analamazaotra Forest Station is a local reforestation effort.
Mangerivola Special Reserve is a wildlife reserve in the east of Madagascar. It was established in 1958 and is a hotspot for bird-watchers due to the one hundred species found there, including 63 endemics and many local endemics. There are also seven species of lemur and rare chameleons such as the Lance-nosed chameleon which is registered as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
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Calumma brevicorne, the short-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon endemic to Madagascar.
Madagascar Exotic is a small privately run reserve at Marozevo, on National Road N2, 75 km (47 mi) east of Antananarivo, between the towns of Manjakandriana and Moramanga. It is a popular tourist stop between Antananarivo and Madagascar's Andasibe-Mantadia National Park.