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Ankarana: Fossa |
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56;) |
57
;) |
58
;) |
Whilst chatting convivially over tea and coffee, waiting for dinner at the Camp des Princes, the cook suddenly shouted "Fossa". We (quietly) rushed over to him, and caught a rare glimpse of this strange, shy predator, which looks like a cross between a dog and a cat. It is a sort of civet (which we also saw), and is the main predator of lemurs. The guides said that it was an adolescent fossa [56-61], which was probably scavenging for scraps. As we crouched at the forest edge, it wandered closer and closer, to within touching distance, if we'd been foolhardy enough to try. An unexpected and priveleged encounter. It returned later that night, creating a crash of knocked-over glasses and dishes. |
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59
;) |
60
;) |
61
;) | ||
Ankarana: Sportive Lemur |
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62
;) |
63
;) |
64
;) |
Many creatures along the path, through deciduous forest and tsingy environment, including the normally nocturnal Sportive lemur, of which we saw three or four different specimens [62-66]. These lepilemur septentrionalis have big, bug-out eyes for night vision, and seemed to be misnamed since they are not at all sportive, observed to only cling to trees or sit in their holes. Also glimpsed several of the endangered and endemic white-breasted mesite birds, rustling around in the forest undergrowth. |
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65
;) |
66
;) |
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Ankarana: Limestone Tsingy & Formations |
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67
;) |
68
;) |
69
;) |
First stop on the path to Camp des Anglais is a very deep sinkhole [67], where water has scoured away the limestone. 1km or so further on is Petit Tsingy [68], first look at these uncomfortably sharp-edged, vertically-eroded peaks and ridges. At 10km, is Grand Tsingy, which consists of the Lac Vert [69] surrounding by high, jagged Tsingy cliffs. It was stifling hot, due in part to exertions, but mainly due to sweltering sun, as arrived midday, with little shade for the last few kilometres. On the way to crocodile caves, opportunity to swim in cool blue pool formed by flooded limestone caves [70-71], very refreshing to wash away the day's sweat and dirt. |
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70
;) |
71
;) |
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Ankarana: Flora & Fauna |
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72
;) |
73
;) |
74
;) |
Other flora and fauna photographed in Ankarana reserve:
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75
;) |
76
;) |
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