The foliage of Vohipara was very much like Ranomafana National Park; thick with bamboo and feeling dry. The most notable difference was that while Ranomafana was very hilly, which turned me into a sweat-bucket by the end of the walk, Vohipara was comparatively flat.
Our guide had recommended we visit this park as it is the haunt of the Milne Edwards' Sifaka. Sifaka are a genus (propithecus) of lemur. Malagasy people named them Sifakas for the unique call they send echoing through the forests, which sounds like 'shif-ak'. They're different from other lemurs in that they maintain an upright position when leaping from tree to tree and moving along branches. They move by vertically clinging and leaping quickly from tree to tree by jumping with their powerful hind legs. In this way they can clear distances of over 9 metres.
The diet of Milne-Edwards’ Sifaka contains a variety of seeds and new leaves, as well as fruits and flowers. They move through the forest at a fast rate (I can testify to this!) to forage for this varied diet. As always sadly they're classed as endangered on the IUCN red list by habitat loss, hunting and sensitivity to a changing climate.
We first saw a troop of these Sifakas way up in the trees but it wasn't long before our guide was radioed to say that a mother and her baby were right down on the ground, albeit within thick forest. We rushed to see what we could find and sure enough there they were, completely unperturbed by us being there.
The next hour proceeded in us watching the troop as they moved through the forest. Often it was difficult to keep up as I tripped and awkwardly clambered along the forest floor. It was only when they occasionally stopped for a breather that I was able to try and get some photos of them...
It was quite difficult to get a clear shot of these Sifakas as the forest was so dense. Every so often they'd rest in a clearing and I'd take my opportunity. They were amazing to watch and I realised how well suited to their forest life they were, perfectly at home in the trees.
Near the end of our walk through Vohipara I was able to get some more natural looking photos of Lined Day Geckos sunbathing in a pandanus palm...
At the end of the walk Vohipara opened up to reveal a river running by which, our guide assured us, was used for fishing for the local village. Resting by the roadside and soaking up the surrounding landscape was a great way to end what had been a fantastic trip through Vohipara...
On our last full day in Ranomafana I had spoken to Bertaine about my hope of seeing a rare species of frog known as a Painted Mantella Frog. They're Madagascar's answer to poison dart frogs and they have evolved almost identically to those in Central and South America. Both Mantella Frogs and their counter parts on the other side of the world live almost entirely on land. Just like poison frogs, Mantella frogs are quite small, reaching no more than 5 centimeters in length. While they aren't closely related they've ended up being very similar. The reason for this is they've evolved to fill similar niches in their environment, so developed similar adaptations, something known as convergent evolution.
Mantella frogs are, surprise surprise, endemic to Madagascar. They're often considered the most beautiful of all frogs because of their bright colours which they use to warn off predators that they're poisonous.
Near the end of the day Bertaine took us to a little known spot favourited by one of the strangest insects you're every likely to see; the Giraffe Necked Weevil.
From the photos below it isn't difficult to see why they've been given their name, although it is the males who have the most pronounced 'giraffe-like' neck which they use for fighting during the mating season. The female uses her smaller neck to roll a leaf tube nest into which she lays a single egg. As with most insects they're tiny in size reaching only around 2.5 centimeters in length. While I was hoping to see these insects in Ranomafana I hadn't really expected to based on how small they are and finding one in the vast rainforest didn't seem like a possible chance.
We were very lucky that we had Bertaine with us for the duration of our time in Ranomafana as without him I wouldn't have seen most of the animals we came across. I am extremely grateful for his knowledge and enthusiasm for his local wildlife and environment. He had told us a story of a couple from Brazil that had come to explore Ranomafana just like us, and, just like us, they were so enamoured with his passion for the area that they gave him their lazer-pen which many guides use to point out species, shining it close by the animal but obviously not at the animal. Unfortunately while on a bus ride home Bertaine had lost his lazer-pen and was so upset about it that he didn't eat for two days. We spoke to our driver, Kiki, who was taking us around Madagascar whether he knew somewhere that we could buy a lazer-pen for him to say thank you for his time. There wasn't anywhere in Ranomafana but assured us that in the capital, Antananarivo (or Tana for short), there were places. So we gave him enough money to be able to buy one on his next trip to Tana as well as about triple what guides are normally given. I can only hope he's managed to get one to continue his guiding in the amazing place that is Ranomafana...