{"id":889,"date":"2022-11-02T21:03:32","date_gmt":"2022-11-02T19:03:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/?p=889"},"modified":"2024-11-16T16:54:41","modified_gmt":"2024-11-16T14:54:41","slug":"madagaskar-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/?p=889","title":{"rendered":"Madagaskar 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n\"<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n


Oct 23, 2017<\/a> At 5:30 am on the NE coast of Madagascar it is already daylight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Above the never ending swoosh & splash of the sea, a sudden series of dry, smacking calls nearby. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> The cabins of Masoala Forest Lodge are sturdy tents wrapped in a mosquito net and hoisted on top of two-storey wooden platforms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> If there is something to hear outside, you hear it but because of the net visibility isn\u2019t that good. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017 <\/a>Must be frogs, my sleepy mind reasons.. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Must be big frogs. I raise my head from the pillow. Clinging vertically on a tree trunk, the shape of an animal. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Small round head, long narrow-ish tail. A lemur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Between the trees, bare legs of a man, walking back and forth. On his right hand the man has a stick. He is chasing the lemur. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> A small group of Eastern Lesser Bamboo Lemurs (Hapalemur griseus) is here. Smacking sounds are their alarm calls. Lemurs are in panic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Lemurs try to escape from the open ground to the thicket. Jumps are long & horizontal, similar to those of the Indri or tarsiers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> I can imagine that it\u2019s the garden and young bamboo shoots that bring the lemurs here. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Happy coexistence between primates is hard when rules are not mutually agreed on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Here, two species got checked from my mental list of Animals I Still Want to See, Please: Helmet Vanga and Lowland Streaked Tenrec. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"Helmet<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Dimensions in the Masoala NP are such that my 1st impression of Helmet Vanga was: not bigger? Yet the bird is almost 30 cm. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Spectacular blue bill, yellow eye-ring, elegantly black & rufous body & wings. You can admire the bird a long time, it\u2019s not shy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Sometimes wildlife comes w\/ a bonus. Now it was a pair of Bernier\u2019s Vanga that followed Helmet. Dark, slender, hasty, rare (they say). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> 4 pm. You & your cold beer sit in the bar and ponder what nature travelers do by this time: what might they prepare for dinner? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Was there movement? Your gaze wanders few meters away, towards the area where beach sand gives away to a cultivated patch of shrubs. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Although this is my first encounter with a tenrec, the animal feels immediately familiar. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> It is an S size hedgehog (but not related) with a pointy, active nose. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Long black and white spikes on the body follow an irregular pattern, giving the tenrec a nicely bohemian finish. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> The tenrec is not a super fast runner but it keeps moving, sniffing air with a twitching nose. Is it looking for food? Partner? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Next morning at breakfast time, another (or perhaps the same) tenrec appears on the beach. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> On this stretch of the Masoala peninsula, the shoreline is scattered with black volcanic rocks, sculpted by the Indian Ocean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> The water level is packed with clams and seashells. Waves roll and unroll thick kelp with the color of Dijon mustard. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Here and there dead rock comes alive when mudskippers change places on its surface. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> The tenrec crosses the beach, and heads towards the rocks. Climbs up, and down the seaside. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> There it stops midway, turns around, climbs up, down to the beach, hurries over the sand, and vanishes among litter. Tenrecs \u2764\ufe0f <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Short-legged Ground-Roller is the most filming-friendly bird on this planet except perhaps sleepy owls at daytime. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> This handsome, bulky bird sits on a vine ~3 m from the ground. Now and then it turns its head to check if you are still there. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Scaly Ground-Roller on the other hand stays on the ground. \u201dRarely flies\u201d, like the book says. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> The bird looks uniformly dark when it takes distance from you on the path. Only binoculars reveal its scaly, colorful plumage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Back home we have an 1yo Miele washing machine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> When a program finishes, Miele starts to chirp a four-syllable \u201ctee-woo-tee-woo\u201d, almost identical to the call of Lesser Vasa Parrot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 23, 2017<\/a> Z\u00fcrich Zoo supports the NP, but it also has \u201dLe Petit Masoala\u201d of its own, a 90x120x30 m man-made tropical ecosystem, opened in 2003. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> \u201dIf a fossa, no tourists.\u201d In 2008, a guide at Berenty Reserve was sure that Madagascar\u2019s biggest carnivore would ruin the business. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Today at the Kirindy Forest on the W coast, it\u2019s totally opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> For many of us, fossa is the reason why we take the trouble in getting here in the first place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> You carry your dusty luggage to the basic but functional cabin nr 10, and put them on the squeaky wooden floor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> – and you are told that if we don\u2019t mind, a male fossa is seen behind cabin nr 13. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> It\u2019s mating season, and the male is restless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"Fossa\"<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Panting, the fossa lies on its back, legs spread, then rolls over, stands up, takes few idle steps, and falls on the ground again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Dark brown, slender yet muscular, long tail (almost as long as the body), small head, round ears, strong jaw muscles, long mustaches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Latin names are confusing at this point. Fossa fossa is not fossa but fanaloka aka Malagasy civet. Fossa is Cryptoprocta ferox. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> A quick glance is thrown to my direction by a Kirindy guide. \u201cThey did the…thing…last week, and now he is tired.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> A\ud83c\uddf2\ud83c\uddec-\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7-en code of conduct in the cabin is apt when it explains why you can\u2019t sleep outside:\u2018There are a \u201dwild\u201d animals in the forest\u2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> It\u2019s an ill-kept secret that fossas stay here because they are fed. There are 3 individuals atm, we are told. 2 males, 1 female. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> During the heat of the day fossas sleep under the cabins. Other times they check the feeding sites, followed by fascinated tourists. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> In the morning, there are footprints on the sandy road that leads to the forest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Fast fwd 3 days. Location: Tsingy de Bemaraha NP, <200 km N of Kirindy. In driving hours, incl. lunch in Belo and two ferry trips: 8.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> \u201dWait here, I heard something.\u201d Your focus is on a group of white Von der Decken\u2019s sifakas breakfasting up in the canopy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Tsiombia \u201dTV\u201d Tovonasy vanishes behind psychedelic, knife sharp limestone rocks that denote the start of the famous Big Tsingy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> There is urgency on TV\u2019s face when he rushes back in his plastic sandals. \u201dCome come, a fossa.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> The area is a rocky slope w\/ few bigger trees. Their thick trunks & branches tilt in an angle that looks just right to born climbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> It\u2019s a female. She is midway up on a tree. Short, nasal, cat-like meows. Sniffing of air. Rubbing of scent glands against the branch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> There is no response. The female fossa descends from the tree, crosses the path, and is gone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Except that it is not. But first, after a quarter of an hour of quiet waiting: another fossa above the rocks next to the tree.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> A bigger one, and more grey. A male. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> But the moment is not quite right yet. The male exits, too. Dry leaves on the ground rustle easily so we try not to move much at all. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Minutes pass. Temperature is rising, hope diminishing. Stingless bees find human sweat irresistible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> None of us saw when and from where it returned but all of a sudden the female was up on the tree again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> This time the female climbs higher up, but not the tree where it left its scent but another one next to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> From this moment on, time seemed to accelerate. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> As if it had heard the female\u2019s ascent, the male comes back. Maybe it had waited somewhere close by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Only 2-3 long, effortless, almost weightless leaps, and the male fossa was high up on the tree with the female. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> The mating act lasted maybe a minute or so. During it, both fossas held a grimace that revealed their impressive canine teeth. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> The male fossa showed also signs of tenderness by licking the female\u2019s back. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"Female<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> When all was over, the male quickly departs, leaving the female alone. Only after several minutes it came down, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 30, 2017<\/a> Tough times. The female fossa was limbing. There was fresh blood on its left back paw, so it descended from the tree very carefully. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Still there, i.e in the Farankaraina Forest, 45min boat ride from Maroantsetra, the busy seaport town in NE, 2 hour flight from Tana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"Aye-aye<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> The hardest part is camping but when that\u2019s sorted out, there\u2019s a big chance that an aye-aye is close to the main building. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Night walks in Kirindy Forest are famous and rightly so. Nocturnal lemurs are plenty. In the dry (=leafless) season also easy to see. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Loud, sharp, nasal calls cut the darkness. \u201dFork-marked lemurs\u201d, whispers Nambinina Randriatafitasoa. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Two of them sit side by side up on a vine, grooming each other. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> \u201dMost interactions between males and females are conflicts over food – the female wins.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> I cannot say in what way this couple was related but one thing is certain: the moment was a peaceful one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Other species seen: Grey Mouse Lemur; Coquerel\u2019s dwarf lemur; Fat-tailed dwarf lemur; Red-tailed sportive lemur; Berthe\u2019s Mouse Lemur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Berthe\u2019s Mouse Lemur (Microcebus berthae) is the world\u2019s smallest primate. Weight: 30g. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\"Madame<\/a>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> It doesn\u2019t run away from the torchlight so you have time to admire its delicate fingers and huge eyes. So tiny, so endangered. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> If you\u2019d like to see the Giant jumping rat (and who wouldn\u2019t) you need to wait until the Kirindy camp has switched to night gear. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> The generator churns electricity between 6 and 10pm. After that, there is only solar power, if available. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> A good hiding place is the open restaurant. When the lights go off, a lone dim bulb in the ceiling emits just enough lumens. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> It takes a while before Kirindy goes to rest. Headlights travel across the sandy yard. Sleepy flip-flop steps, last showers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> During the dry season, the camp occupies some 20 staff. In the wet season, the number of ppl increases. Flora and fauna change, too. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Student groups come to field courses. \u201dThey invent trees, and study frogs and snakes\u201d, explains Nambinina, a 26yro guide from Tana. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> In the restaurant, audible squeaks below the floor and above the ceiling beams. Running in circles over the floor. Rats. A lot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> 10:45pm. Onto the large shadowy area that covers most of the yard is added a new small batch of blackness. It moves. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> The jumping rat runs, in all four, and quickly at that. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Before we had time to do anything but follow the rodent w\/ a torch, it had crossed the yard, and disappeared behind the staff cantine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> We ran behind, only to see that it was already on the entrance road that runs ruler-straight for 5 km before it reaches the main road. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> But now the Giant jumping rat had stopped. It was sitting in the middle of the road, lifting its small front paws. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> Maybe it was waiting for the others – because others were coming, two of them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> At Kirindy, Giant jumping rats are often given leftover rice, we heard. This time there wasn\u2019t any, a fact the animals soon found out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> It is almost surreal that these animals like so many others on Madagascar, have only a single forest left to live. Outside it, 0. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a> It is almost surreal that these animals like so many others on Madagascar, have only a single forest left to live. Outside it, 0.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a>. Slash & burn everywhere. This is inside the Tsingy de Bemaraha NP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a>. It started further away but they can\u2019t control fire\u201d, we were told.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017.<\/a> Dunno. Le Soleil des Tsingy Lodge looks towards the NP. From the dinner table we saw several separate fresh flames in that direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Oct 31, 2017<\/a>. (Short-lived) field for eg cassava, but also to get fresh grass for zebus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Oct 23, 2017 At 5:30 am on the NE coast of Madagascar it is already daylight. Oct 23, 2017 Above the never ending swoosh & splash of the sea, a sudden series of dry, smacking calls nearby. Oct 23, 2017 The cabins of Masoala Forest Lodge are sturdy tents wrapped in a mosquito net and … Continue reading Madagaskar 2017<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[146],"tags":[139,132],"class_list":["post-889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-travel","tag-madagaskar","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1219,"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions\/1219"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tuijasonkkila.fi\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}