Once hunted for their tortoiseshell, now threatened with extinction Five species of sea turtles are found around Madagascar’s coasts and islands. One of the best known is probably the hawksbill turtle, Eretmochelys imbricata. It is most famous for its tortoiseshell, French caret, a term from the French Antilles. It refers to both the animal itself and the valuable tortoiseshell obtained …
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Until a few years ago, whale sharks, Rhincodon typus, had never been heard of in connection with Madagascar. Today Madagascar is the absolute insider tip for anyone who wants to experience whale sharks up close. The life of whale sharks is still almost unknown Whale sharks belong to the nurse sharks. This makes them the largest fish in the world. …
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All over Africa, there are lovebirds: Small, colorful parrots that live with the same partner for life. They are not only famous for their lifelong pair bond, but also for extensive social behavior. Once a pair has found each other, the little birds are constantly seen cuddling or grooming each other’s feathers. Madagascar is also home to lovebirds, especially small …
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Already the botanist Rudolf Schlechter praised the orchid Gastrorchis françoisii in 1925 as one of the most beautiful he would ever have described. And indeed it is: its large flowers, about 5 cm wide, pink on the outside and white and purple on the inside, with the striking yellow spot on the lip, are a real eye-catcher. And even among …
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Lemurs are generally considered social, peaceful animals. But one lemur, in particular, stands out in terms of its family ties: the eastern woolly lemur (Avahi laniger). The name comes from its slightly curly fur, which no other lemur in Madagascar has. Eastern woolly lemurs live only on Madagascar, they are endemic to the island. Their habitat is on the east coast …
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It seems completely unbelievable that there are still lost species that could be rediscovered in the 21st century. But in Madagascar, almost anything is possible. And so in 2020, almost unbelievable news went around the world: A chameleon had been rediscovered after more than a hundred years! The whole story goes back to 1893. At that time, paleontologist Oskar Böttger, …
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In the west of Madagascar, far from roads and larger cities, lies the dry forest of Beanka. Although by far not as well known as the world-famous Tsingy de Bemaraha a little further south, this area also has its own Tsingys. Malagasy Tsingy, that’s karst rock shaped like meter-high needle peaks. A complicated system of caves and gorges winds through …
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Looks like a poison dart frog, but it’s not! Like their South American counterparts, frogs of the genus Mantella on Madagascar wear bright colors to draw attention to skin poisons. For humans, however, the small frogs of the island in the Indian Ocean are completely harmless. Ebenau’s colorful frog (Mantella ebenaui) doesn’t match its English name ‘Brown frog’. It wears …
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The Madagascar Goshawk or Henst’s Goshawk (Accipiter henstii) lives up to its name: it lives exclusively on the red island and cannot be found anywhere else in the world. It can often be seen circling high in the sky during the dry season. Henst’s Goshawk grows to 52 to 62 centimeters with an impressive wingspan of 86 to 100 centimeters. …
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Madagascar is home to many frogs that are found nowhere else in the world. One such unique inhabitant of the tropical island is Scaphiophryne marmorata, the Marbled Rain Frog. The males of the Marbled Rain Frog grow to 32 to 36 millimeters in size – that’s just a little more than two sugar cubes. You can easily recognize them by …
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MADAMAGAZINE Your Magazine about Madagascar
