Category Archives: Madagascar

Endangered Species: Greater Bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus)

The Greater Bamboo Lemur (Prolemur simus) is the largest of the 3 bamboo lemurs.

EI20130912_MG_2655

Their diet is mainly based on the giant bamboo (Cathariostachys madagascariensis). A small portion of their diet (5%) comprises other bamboo species, fruits and other foods (soil and mushrooms).

Endemic to Madagascar, nowadays this species is restricted to areas in and around Ranomafana National Park.

EI20130912_MG_2690

The destruction of the habitat is the major threat to the survival of the greater bamboo lemur. It includes both the destruction of its rainforests for slash-and-burn agriculture as well as the intensive cutting of bamboo. It is also hunted with slingshots in some areas.

It is classified as “Critically Endangered” on the IUCN list 2002 and is listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Critically Endangered

It was also included in the list of the World’s 25 Most Endangered Primates (on 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010) published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Species Survival Commission Primate Specialist Group (IUCN/SSC PSG), the International Primatological Society (IPS), and Conservation International (CI), and it has an estimated population of between 100-160 individuals.

Also posted in [:ca]Notícies[:es]Noticias[:en]News[:], Endangered Species Tagged , , |

New Gallery: Madagascar

It took me longer of what I thought, but finally I finished the Madagascar photo selection, so you can have a look at them at the new Gallery.

Mainly, you’ll find a small part of the big biodiversity we were able to see and photograph, and few landscape photos, like this one, from Avenue des Baobabs:

Avenue des Baobabs

The travel was amazing and I would like to come back before what they still have dissapears. I leave the contact for our guide: Olivier, at the Links section, in case you want to travel there.

Do not forget to leave your comments, they are welcome.

See you soon!

Esther

Also posted in [:ca]Notícies[:es]Noticias[:en]News[:], Galleries

Madagascar… Soon!

Last September I spent 3 weeks in Madagascar, the biggest island of Africa and the fourth in size of the world (being a bit bigger than France).

We visited different natural parks of the center of the island with the goal of enjoying the small pieces of nature that remain untouched, as the country is suffering a huge deforestation.

Madagascar’s deforestation is due to three activities: the slash-and-burn agriculture (to convert the tropical rainforest into rice fields), fires for land-clearing and partureland and wood & carbon production for cooking.

Every year, a third of Madagascar burns. We noticed that as everyday we saw smoke at the horizon or passed by one or more areas recently burned. What it used to be a green isle it is now a red isle (due to the color of its land).

Habitat destruction implies that main of the unique species from Madagascar (+75% are endemic, meaning they cannot be found anywhere else) are in the frontline of extinction. That is the main reason why I feel so lucky of seeing some of them, and in some cases also feing able to take a picture of them.

Indri

The Madagascar gallery will show you some of the fauna, flora and landscapes we found along our route… and I hope I am able to show it to you quite soon!!!

Also posted in [:ca]Notícies[:es]Noticias[:en]News[:], Àfrica Tagged , , , |