The Madagascar subhumid forests are a tropical moist broadleaf forest ecoregion that covers most of the Central Highlands of the island of Madagascar. They are included in the WWF's Global 200 list of outstanding ecoregions. Most of the original habitats have been lost due to human pressure.
The helmet vanga is a distinctive-looking bird of the vanga family, Vangidae, and is classified in its own genus, Euryceros. It is mainly blue-black, with rufous wings and a huge arched blue bill. It is restricted to lowland and lower montane rainforests of northeastern Madagascar. Its diet is composed of invertebrates, predominantly insects. The species is threatened by habitat loss.
Masoala National Park, in northeast Madagascar, is the largest of the island's protected areas. Most of the park is situated in Sava Region and a part in Analanjirofo. Created in 1997, the park protects 2,300 square kilometres of rainforest and 100 square kilometres of marine parks. The Masoala Peninsula is exceptionally diverse due to its large size, and variety of habitats. Altogether, the park protects tropical rainforest, coastal forest, flooded forest, marsh, and mangrove. Three marine parks protect coral reefs and a dazzling array of marine life.
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 diademed sifaka, or diademed simpona, is an endangered species of sifaka, one of the lemurs endemic to certain rainforests in eastern Madagascar. Along with the indri, this species is one of the two largest living lemurs, with an average weight of 6.5 kg and a total adult length of approximately 105 centimetres (41 inches), half of which is its tail. Russell Mittermeier, one of the contemporary authorities on lemurs, describes the diademed sifaka as "one of the most colorful and attractive of all the lemurs", having a long and silky coat. P. diadema is also known by the Malagasy names simpona, simpony and ankomba joby. The term "diademed sifaka" is also used as a group species designation formerly encompassing four distinct subspecies.
Berenty Reserve is a small private reserve, near Amboasary Sud, Anosy. It is situated along the Mandrare River, set in the semi-arid spiny forest ecoregion of the far south of Madagascar. For more than three decades the late primatologist Alison Jolly, other researchers and students have visited Berenty to conduct fieldwork on lemurs. The reserve is also a favourite for visitors who want to see some of Madagascar's endemic bird species, which include owls and couas.
In 2001, the Madagascar Ministry of Environment and Forests, in collaboration with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS), launched a program to create the 372,470 ha Makira Forest Protected Area, with first temporary legal protections provided in 2005 as Makira Protected Area. Formally established as Makira Natural Park in 2012, the site is one of the largest of Madagascar’s protected areas and encompasses 372,470 hectares of strictly protected forest buffered by more than 350,000 hectares of community-managed forests. The Makira Natural Park is managed by WCS on behalf of the Government of Madagascar under a delegated management contract.
Ankarafantsika National Park is a national park near Andranofasika in the Boeny Region of Madagascar. The closest city is Majunga 115 kilometres (71 mi) north of the park. Ankarafantsika is mostly tropical in climate type. The Sakalava people are the predominant ethnic group living and farming here. The greater big-footed mouse lives in the park and is not known anywhere else.
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.
The Masoala fork-marked lemur, also known as the eastern fork-marked lemur or Masoala fork-crowned lemur, is a species of lemur found in the coastal forests of northeastern Madagascar. It is a small nocturnal animal with large eyes, greyish fur and a long tail.
Pariente's fork-marked lemur, or the Sambirano fork-marked lemur is a species of lemur endemic to the Sambirano region of north-western Madagascar. This lemur has light brown to gray upperparts, a prominent facial fork and dorsal stripe that runs from the tail's tip to the point where it splits on the lemur's head to rejoin at the nose, and a white-tipped tail. It is found in lowland and mid-altitude humid forests and is nocturnal. It is an omnivore, eating tree gum, sap, bud exudes, insects and larvae. It sleeps in nests that have been abandoned by other lemurs, particularly Coquerel's giant mouse lemur. This species is relatively unknown, though it is threatened by habitat destruction. It was previously considered a subspecies of the Masoala fork-marked lemur. It is listed on CITES Appendix I.
The western lesser bamboo lemur, also known as the northern bamboo lemur, western gentle lemur, or Sambirano lesser bamboo lemur, is a species of bamboo lemur endemic to Madagascar.
The silky sifaka is a large lemur characterized by long, silky, white fur. It has a very restricted range in northeastern Madagascar, where it is known locally as the simpona. It is one of the rarest mammals on Earth. The silky sifaka is one of nine sifaka species, and one of four former subspecies of diademed sifaka (P. diadema). Studies in 2004 and 2007 compared external proportions, genetics, and craniodental anatomy supporting full species status, which has generally been accepted.
Marojejy National Park is a national park in the Sava region of northeastern Madagascar. It covers 55,500 ha (214 sq mi) and is centered on the Marojejy Massif, a mountain chain that rises to an elevation of 2,132 m (6,995 ft). Access to the area around the massif was restricted to research scientists when the site was set aside as a strict nature reserve in 1952. In 1998, it was opened to the public when it was converted into a national park. It became part of the World Heritage Site known as the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in 2007. "Unique in the world, a place of dense, jungly rainforests, sheer high cliffs, and plants and animals found nowhere else on earth", Marojejy National Park has received plaudits in the New York Times and Smithsonian Magazine for its natural beauty and rich biodiversity that encompasses critically endangered members of the silky sifaka. To that end, a global consortium of conservation organizations, including the Lemur Conservation Foundation, Duke Lemur Center and Madagascar National Parks, have sought to promote research and conservation programs in Marojejy National Park, neighboring Anjanaharibe-Sud Reserve and Antanetiambo Private Reserve, to protect the endemic flora and fauna that reside in northeastern Madagascar. In addition, these organizations have implemented a variety of community-based initiatives to mitigate human encroachment on the park, such as poaching and selective logging, by encouraging local communities to engage in afforestation and silvicultural initiatives to promote a sustainable alternative to mining, slash-and-burn agriculture, and wood collection.
Tsimanampetsotsa National Park also spelt Tsimanampetsotse, and known as Tsimanampetsotsa Nature Reserve is a 432 km2national park on the south-west coast of Madagascar in the region Atsimo-Andrefana. The park is 90 kilometres (56 mi) south of Toliara and 950 kilometres (590 mi) south of the capital, Antananarivo. Route Nationales (RN) 10 to Faux Cap passes the park and the nearest airport is at Toliara. The national park contains and is named after Lake Tsimanampetsotsa.
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.
Ambatovaky Special Reserve is a tropical rainforest and wildlife reserve in the north-east of Madagascar. It is designated by Bird Life International as an Important Bird Area for the large number of endemic species of birds.
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.
Maningoza Special Reserve is a 9,826 hectares wildlife reserve near Besalampy in Madagascar. It was created in 1956 to protect the many endemic plants and animals, and it also contains some of the last remaining areas of dry deciduous forest on the island.
The Madagascar succulent woodlands are a xeric shrublands ecoregion in southwestern and central western Madagascar. Native plants survive in the arid climate and long dry season with adaptations like succulent leaves, water storing trunks, photosynthetic stems, and dropping leaves during the dry season. The ecoregion is threatened by various human activities.
