Madagascar's wildlifewww.audleytravel.com/madagascar ?01993 838 585 ?Madagascar115Ring-tailed lemursNational Park and is known for its eerie callthat echoes across the forest. Sifakas arefamous for their unique upright leaping acrossthe ground, making them resemble a triplejump athlete. Effortlessly graceful in the trees,they are almost comical on the ground butprovide one of Madagascar's great sights. Asidefrom these, two of the most delightful groupsare the dwarf and mouse lemurs. Dwarf lemursare relatively slow moving whilst mouse lemursare lively. The smallest of the mouse lemurs isthe pygmy mouse lemur, a creature so tiny itcould fit inside an egg cup. As some lemurs arediurnal and others nocturnal, walks occur inboth day and night time, allowing you to seethe maximum number of different animals.Reptiles & frogsMadagascar currently has 340 known reptileand frog species, 90 percent of which areendemic. Chameleons are the most striking ofthese and are seen incredibly easily. They rangedramatically in size, with Parson's chameleonmeasuring two feet long and the pygmy stump-tailed chameleon reaching just 33 millimetres.With bright colours, funny noses, curly tails androtating eyes these wonderful creatures cankeep you occupied for hours. Whilst Madagascar has no lizards, it does have some interesting geckos. Of particularnote are the day geckos with coats of emeraldgreen. The most extraordinary are the leaftailed geckos, camouflaged to look exactly likebark. Your eyes can be a foot away from oneand still you will not see it. Luckily, our guidesare extremely good at picking them out! The final reptile worth noting is the snake.There is a total absence of venomous snakes in Madagascar and the snake you are mostlikely to see is the slow moving boa.One of the joys of Madagascar is that none ofthe wildlife is dangerous to humans, and youcan explore the parks on foot. Rambling alongthe soft paths of a rainforest you will pass lushvegetation which, on close inspection, is alivewith creatures. Chameleons the size of yourthumbnail, leaf geckos camouflaged against thebark and tiny frogs the size of paper clips canall be found. Of course, the lemurs are thehighlight, with numerous species readily seen.Madagascar's wildlife is weird and wonderful -a fascinating mix of endemic creatures thathave taken their own evolutionary paths over the millenia.LemursMadagascar is famous for its lemur species, ofwhich there are 53 currently known varieties.Lemurs are prosimians, or pre-monkeys, andshare characteristics with early primates. Whilstother prosimians are found in Africa, namelybushbabies, lemurs are endemic to Madagascar.Lemurs are particularly appealing animals, withsoft fur, bright inquisitive eyes and a naturallycurious nature. They are easily habituated tohumans and can often be viewed at closequarters. Probably the best known are the ring-tailed lemurs which are found in southernMadagascar. Other lemurs of particular interestare the indri and the sifaka. The indri, thelargest of the species, is found in AndasibeChameleonFrog on a leaf

Ranomafana National ParkRanomafana National Park is part of the lushchain of rainforest that runs down Madagascar'seast coast. The steep hills are covered in thickvegetation, occasionally broken by waterfalls andmountain streams. The park's star attraction is the golden bamboo lemur, often found grazingamongst the bamboo thickets. Eleven otherspecies of lemur found here include diademedsifakas that leap through the canopy during theday, and tiny mouse lemurs that race up anddown tree trunks by night. Heading deep into thepark, you may hear the calls of cuckoo rollers,catch a glimpse of a leaf-tailed gecko or stumbleupon the graves of the Tanala, the 'people of theforest'. It is well worth spending a few days hikingaround this enchanting park.SETAMLODGE, RANOMAFANANATIONALPARKSetam Lodge comprises a handful of clean andsimple bungalows built into the hillside justoutside Ranomafana National Park. The lodge hasspectacular views over the park, so guests awakeeach day to the sight of the early morning mistrising from the rainforest. Setam is the closestlodge to the park gate, making it an excellentbase from which to explore.116River running through Ranomafana National ParkA trip around Madagascar is very differentfrom one on mainland Africa. It is importantnot to expect a polished safari but toapproach your trip with a relaxed attitudeand sense of humour. Accommodation is inall sorts of buildings from converted colonialhouses to A-frame reed and thatch chalets.All are unique in character and some havemore than a few quirks. Internal flights can besubject to delays and more than onemember of our team has flown with a crateof noisy chickens in the back of the aircraft.The airports are small and often quite chaoticbut surprisingly tasty hot samosas and colddrinks can be found in the tiny restaurants.There is rarely a dull moment in aMadagascar airport as the arrival anddeparture of planes often attracts localchildren. The Malagasy people arewelcoming, but there may well be a languagebarrier as English is not always widely spoken.It is useful to have a basic grasp of Frenchand we advise that you take a phrasebook.Despite the challenges of travel inMadagascar, we can't recommend it highlyenough! The guides are knowledgeable, thewildlife is exciting, and it is refreshing to beout of a vehicle and exploring on foot. Now is an excellent time to visit the countrybefore it has been 'discovered' by themasses. Our advice would be to revel in thechaos, the colour and the wildlife - and justdon't bother to take your watch.The realities of travel in MadagascarSetam LodgeGiraffe weevil