Lined Day Gecko
Our first opportunity to explore the wildlife of Ranomafana was in its own national park. The park was established in 1991 with the purpose of conserving the unique biodiversity of the local ecosystem. It is part of the World Heritage Site Rainforests of Atsinanana. Ranomafana literally means ‘hot water’; Rano is Malagasy for ‘water’ and mafana means ‘hot’. It is home to huge array of species, from 12 different lemur species to 120 different types of frogs. Its celebrity species are the two bamboo species; the Golden Bamboo Lemur and the Greater Bamboo Lemur.
We were lucky enough to see both during our trek through the rainforest. The Golden Bamboo Lemurs were the first we saw but very high up in the trees so no photos, but were amazing to watch as they jumped around the tree-tops finding things to eat. Lemur agility is amazing to watch; they are able to move through the trees with complete ease.
One thing that surprised me on our walk through the rainforest here is that it was dry. By the very definition of 'rainforest' I was expecting humidity and rain. Instead it felt like the dry heat of a sauna. I assume it was because we were there in October/November which is the end of the dry season just before the rains kick in, in December to April. We continued on through the forest not seeing a lot. It's often very difficult to see animals in a rainforest as they're so well hidden amongst the foliage. Soon our guide received a call to say that the Greater Bamboo Lemurs had been found not far from where we were. All the guides radio to each other so they can track what the animals are doing.
After a lot of climbing through the rainforest we reached the lemurs. This time they were at our level so we could get a good look at them from a distance. We were very lucky to see them as there are only 2 left in Ranomafana. Unfortunately, as the rest have either been killed for bushmeat or have died from habitat loss, the 2 left are a daughter and her father so therefore can't breed. Sadly new ones can’t be introduced either, as the bamboo they eat contains cyanide and therefore they need a clay lick to counteract this, but new lemurs wouldn’t know where to source it.