Madagascar's Lemurs

One hundred and sixty-five million years ago the huge prehistoric super-continent of Gondwanaland began to break up. As the new continents embarked on their slow, inexorable drifts towards their present locations, the island of Madagascar was left isolated in an ever-widening ocean. This isolation allowed the island’s prehistoric fauna and flora free rein to evolve in their own unique way and, today, over 80% of all Malagasy wildlife is endemic, occurring nowhere else on Earth.

Perhaps the most familiar, and endearing, of these endemic creatures are the lemurs, one of the very first primate families to evolve and one that is now restricted to Madagascar. This 16-day tour focuses on them (offering an alternative to our popular and successful 24-day tour), and will take you lemur-watching in several of the island’s very best wildlife reserves, including Isalo, Ranomafana, Andasibe and the bizarre spiny deserts around Ifaty. Whilst the lemurs will no doubt take centre stage, you can be assured that the supporting cast of other mammals, birds, reptiles and other wildlife will not be ignored.

Our holiday begins with a flight to Madagascar’s capital, Antananarivo, known colloquially as ‘Tana’. From here we head south through the terraced hillsides of the Hauts Plateaux to the lush highland rainforests of Ranomafana National Park, spending one night in Antsirabe en route. Ranomafana is a beautiful mountainous reserve enveloped in lush rainforest. This is one of Madagascar’s newest national parks, established to protect the rare Golden Bamboo Lemur and its close cousin the Greater Bamboo Lemur. We will be based here for three nights whilst we explore the network of forest trails in search of a wide variety of lemurs and other wildlife. Species to look out for include the beautiful Milne-Edwards’ Sifaka, plus Red-bellied and Red-fronted Brown Lemurs, Grey Bamboo Lemur, the nocturnal Eastern Avahi (Eastern Woolly Lemur) and, if fortunate, maybe even the rare Golden Bamboo and Greater Bamboo Lemurs themselves. This is also a great place to search for the wonderfully camouflaged leaf-tailed geckos together with a variety of chameleons and other reptiles. Birds to look out for include Pitta-like Ground-roller, Brown Mesite, Pollen’s Vanga and Yellow-bellied Sunbird-asity.

From Ranomafana we continue south to the sandstone massif of Isalo, stopping on the way at the small reserve of Anja to enjoy the troops of Ring-tailed Lemurs that live there. The Isalo massif has been fashioned by the wind and the rain into spectacular gorges and gullies. Fringing woodland at the foot of the massif is home to Verreaux’s Sifakas and Ring-tailed Lemurs, whilst in the dry rocky hillsides that span into the surrounding countryside the bizarre Pachypodium roselatum (‘Elephant’s Foot’) and other unique plants may be found.

En route to Ifaty we will stop at Zombitse National Park, home to Zombitse Sportive Lemur and a variety of birds that includes the endemic Appert’s Tetraka. Once on the coast we will spend two nights at Ifaty to give us the time to explore Madagascar’s most unique habitat, the spiny desert. Here huge Bottle Baobabs and bizarre ‘Octopus trees’ create a fascinating habitat that is home to Grey Mouse Lemurs and the beautiful Long-tailed Ground-roller.

For our grand finale we journey back to Tana and then east to the rainforest reserves of Andasibe (Mantadia and Analamazaotra). Here we will enter the forests at dawn to listen to the eerie cries of the beautiful Indri, the largest and most vocal of the lemurs. It is a truly mesmerising experience to stand in the forest at first light listening to the different Indri families calling to one another from the tree-tops, a sound which, once heard, is never forgotten. We will spend three nights at Andasibe to fully appreciate the sight and sound of the Indri, and the other lemur species present; these are likely to include Common Brown Lemur and the beautiful Diademed Sifaka and the possibility of Goodman's Mouse Lemur and Black-and-White Ruffed Lemur. We are sure to find plenty of birds too, including Red-fronted Coua, Madagascan Pygmy Kingfisher, Rufous-headed and Scaly Ground-rollers and Velvet Asity, plus a range of reptiles that could include such species as Parson’s Chameleon, Short-horned Chameleon or perhaps a Madagascar Ground Boa.

With the plaintive cries of the Indri still fresh in our minds, we must reluctantly return to Tana for an overnight stop ahead of our flight back to London, leaving the unique creatures of this lost world far behind and returning to the more familiar wildlife of home.