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Wildlife Tours in 2011

Nick's Tour Diary


MADAGASCAR

Nick with Brown LemurNick is well-known as a leading authority on the wildlife of Madagascar. He has travelled the length and breadth of the island, visited all the major national parks and reserves and has seen the majority of the island’s lemurs and other mammals in the wild, plus a very high proportion of the other endemic fauna. His enthusiasm for the country and its wildlife is infectious.

 

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Madagascar: The Lemur's Realm
November 2011

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Red Ruffed Lemur (Varecia rubra) baskingMadagascar is an island like no other. Millions of years of isolation has fashioned an array of wildlife that is totally unique. The lemurs - charming off-shoots of the primate family tree are the island’s most familiar inhabitants: there are cheeky Ring-tailed Lemurs, dancing Verreaux’s Sifakas, weird Aye-ayes and the teddy bear Indri that sings in the rainforest canopy.

Octopus Trees (Didierea madagascariensis)The birds too are unusual - Vangas have a variety of beak shapes, Couas peck through leaf-litter like pheasants and elusive Ground Rollers haunt the darkest recesses of the forest.

Reptiles too abound - chameleons have found their “promised land” - over 60% of the world’s species live on the island. Other reptiles include the amazing Leaf-tailed Gecko whose camouflage is near perfect. Add to this a myriad of colourful tree frogs and a multitude of peculiar insects and there is always something to grab your attention.

Leaf-tailed Gecko (Uroplatus phantasticus)There can be few places where it is possible to experience lush rainforests, dry forests and semi-desert spiny forests within a single tour. Madagascar is a country that many visitors fall in love with. The incongruous mixture of Far Eastern and African influences combine to produce a country unlike any other. Memories of the friendly people, unique habitats and bizarre wildlife will linger and the overriding experience will be of an island lost in time.