One group of animals I was really hoping to see while in Madagascar (I seem to be saying that a lot in these blog posts) was the Day Geckos. They come in a whole range of different colours and sizes, but unusually for the gecko world they're active during the day, hence their name.
In Centrest they were everywhere, sunning themselves at every available opportunity. They seemed little bothered by people so as long as you kept your distance they would go about their usual business. Most of the time that meant yet more sunbathing and generally soaking up the sun to show off their amazing green colour. On one occasion during lunch something I wasn't expecting happened...
I was packing up my camera kit having spent some time photographing the geckos around the garden when a huntsman spider came shooting across the restaurant floor. For some strange reason this spider wanted to seek shelter in my bag, probably away from the prying eyes of the geckos. I'm all for supporting animals but I have to admit I draw the line at spiders climbing into my bag. I managed to fend it off for long enough to safely close my bag spider-free, at which point it found another safe-house in the form of a pipe in the restaurant wall (I'm guessing to allow water to drain away during flooding, it is a rainforest after all).
Once the spider had just about reached the pipe a small Lined Day Gecko came out of nowhere and landed right next to it. A Mexican stand-off ensued with each sizing each other up. The gecko was longer but very slender while the spider was, considering the legs, much wider. Eventually the gecko made up his (I'm calling it a 'he' for the purpose of this blog, really I've no idea!) mind that he could take the spider he jumped at it grabbing the abdomen in his jaws.
The spider writhed around trying to free itself to no avail, with the gecko violently shook the spider often smashing it against the restaurant wall. Eventually the spider gave in and the gecko no longer had to fight. I didn't actually see the gecko finish eating the spider as he disappeared from view but if he succeeded I've no idea how. As you can see from the photos below the spider was huge compared to him...
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.
Our guide, Bertaine, was very excited at having spotted a Satanic Leaf-Tailed Gecko. The photos below don't show the tiny size of this gecko, scarcely bigger than the end of your thumb. They're amazingly camouflaged looking exactly like a dead leaf which they use to avoid predators. They're nocturnal, so finding this little guy was quite an achievement. They go looking for insects to eat in the comparative safety of night. I took a few photos and left him in peace...
Near the end of our walk through Ranomafana National Park we came across our first Paradise Flycatcher, this time a male calling through the forest. We were in Madagascar in October and November which is mating and nesting season. I didn't realise at the time how many Flycatchers we'd see through our trip, so initially was pleased with the photos below, although I managed to get much better ones in Zombitse and Isalo National Park.
Right at the end of our first trek in Ranomafana we had my first highlight of the area. We were walking along a path back to the car park when something moved in the leaf litter; a tiny Brown Leaf Chameleon (brookesia superciliaris).
As you can see from one of the photos below, this critter was also tiny just like the leaf-tailed gecko and just like the gecko is endemic to Madagascar.
Obviously due to its size they not easy to find despite them being abundant through the park. It was my first opportunity to crawl around in the mud and leaves to get an 'eye-level' shot of this chameleon. Fortunately with the park being dry I was able to shake off most of the dirt once I was done.
The guide picked up the chameleon and moved him off the path to the safety of the other side amongst foliage. It could have quite easily been trampled by us or anyone else walking through the park as well as being picked off by predators otherwise.
I've written a separate blog about the night walks I was able to do in Madagascar but I thought I'd briefly mention them here. Walking through national parks at night is prohibited by law in Madagascar, so we walked along the roadside looking for whatever we could find. It might sound surprising but we came across a lot more than we expected.
Night walks in Ranomafana would start at sunset so the in the first hour there was usually enough natural light to work with photographically.
On every night walk the first animal we came across, usually heard before being seen, was the Madagascar Tree Frog. They made a 'quacking' sound not too dissimilar to a duck, hence we nicknamed them 'quacking frogs'. They were found right by the road side amongst branches and plant matter saturated in water running down from the trees above.
Higher up in the trees, around head height, we usually found Nose Horned Chameleons as well. They were abundant here. Aside from the pygmy chameleon family group (brookesia - like the Brown Leaf Chameleon above) the Nose Horned Chameleon is the smallest chameleon species, again endemic to Madagascar. Somehow they managed to cling on to tiny branches as the wind picked up during sunset.
Further down the road towards Ranomafana village during our night walks we came across a few huge Madagascar Golden Orb Web Spiders, one of which had just shed it's skin. It was amazing to see the difference in size between the male and female. In the third photo below you can see the huge female on the left and you can just about make out the tiny male on the right amongst the web.
On our second full day in Ranomafana we went to the less visited area of Vohipara National Park. Before reaching the park though, as we were driving, we screeched to a halt when a troop of Red Fronted Brown Lemurs were spotted crossing the road. Unfortunately being struck by cars is yet another way lemurs are being killed in Madagascar.
We pulled over on a lay-by and watched as the troop descended from the treetops and scampered across the road and disappearing from view in the thickness of the rainforest on the other side...