Analamerana Special Reserve (or Analamera) is a

wildlife reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or ...

in the north of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

. The reserve was created in 1956 to protect its

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

plants and animals, such as the critically endangered

Perrier's sifaka Perrier's sifaka (''Propithecus perrieri'') is a lemur endemic to Madagascar. It was formerly considered to be a subspecies of diademed sifaka It has a very small range in northeastern Madagascar where its habitat is dry deciduous or semihumid fo ...

(''Propithecus perrieri''), which is considered to be one of the most endangered primates in the world.

Geography

Analamera is in the

Diana Region Diana is a region in Madagascar at the northeast part of the island. It borders the regions of Sava to the southeast and Sofia to the southwest. It covers an area of 19,266 km2, and had a population of 889,736 in 2018. The regional capital i ...

, of northern

and the range in altitude is between sea level on the east coast, up to , within the highlands of

Ankarana Ankarana Special Reserve in northern Madagascar was created in 1956. It is a small, partially vegetated plateau composed of 150-million-year-old middle Jurassic limestone. With an average annual rainfall of about , the underlying rocks have been e ...

. The reserve is a

karstic Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistant ro ...

eroding limestone plateau, between the Indian Ocean and the Ankarana-Analamerana massif. It is bordered by the mouth of the

Irodo River The Irodo River is located in northern Madagascar. Its sources are situated in the Ambohitra Massif and flows into the Indian Ocean. Near Sadjoavato it formed the Tsingy Rouge, a stone formation of red laterite Laterite is both a soil and ...

on the east, by the Iloky River to the south, in the west by streams flowing into the Anivorano River and on the north, steep rocks in the

Sava Region Sava is a region in northern Madagascar. Its capital is Sambava. Until 2009 Sava belonged to Antsiranana Province. The region is situated at the northern part of the east coast of Madagascar. It is bordered by the region Diana to the north, Sofia ...

. The wet season is from November to March and the annual rainfall is from to . Due to the lack of infrastructure the reserve is difficult to access, with the best time to visit, during the dry season from May to September. The nearest town is Anivorano Nord. The roads around the reserve are poor and

Diego Suarez Diego Suarez or ''Diego-Suarez'' may refer to: * Antsiranana, a city in Madagascar formerly known as Diego-Suarez * Diego Suarez (navigator) or Diogo Soares, 16th-century Portuguese navigator and explorer * Diego Suárez (soldier) (1552–1623), Sp ...

provides the easiest access point.

Flora and fauna

Along the coast there is

mangrove forest Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones. Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangroves cannot withstand fr ...

and inland,

dry forest Dry or dryness most often refers to: * Lack of rainfall, which may refer to **Arid regions **Drought * Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages * Dry humor, deadpan * Dryness (medical) ...

with many rare species, including three species of

baobab ''Adansonia'' is a genus made up of eight species of medium-to-large deciduous trees known as baobabs ( or ). They are placed in the Malvaceae family, subfamily Bombacoideae. They are native to Madagascar, mainland Africa, and Australia.Tropic ...

, several

palm trees Palm most commonly refers to: * Palm of the hand, the central region of the front of the hand * Palm plants, of family Arecaceae **List of Arecaceae genera * Several other plants known as "palm" Palm or Palms may also refer to: Music * Palm (ba ...

species and wild coffee. This is one of the last remaining areas where Perrier's sifaka remain. Other

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are Strepsirrhini, wet-nosed primates of the Superfamily (biology), superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 Family (biology), families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 exist ...

s on the reserve are the

crowned lemur The crowned lemur (''Eulemur coronatus'') is a lemur that is long and weighs . Its tail is about long. Description The crowned lemur is endemic to the dry deciduous forests of the northern tip of Madagascar. It eats a diet of mostly flowers, f ...

(''Eulemur coronatus'') and

Sanford's brown lemur Sanford's brown lemur (''Eulemur sanfordi''), or Sanford's lemur, is a species of Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhine primate in the family Lemuridae. Sanford's brown lemur was previously considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur (''Eulemur fulv ...

(''Eulemur sanfordi'').

References

External links

Madagascar National Parcs - Analamerana Reserve
{{authority control 1956 establishments in Madagascar Diana Region Special reserves of Madagascar Protected areas established in 1956 Madagascar subhumid forests Madagascar dry deciduous forests Important Bird Areas of Madagascar

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links