Andohahela National Park, in south-east

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 ...

, is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the

Anosy Anosy is one of the 22 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name ''Anosy'' means "island(s)" in Malagasy language, Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea ...

mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy Highlands and contains the last humid rainforests in the southern part of Madagascar. The Park was inscribed in the

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

in 2007 as part of the

Rainforests of the Atsinanana The Rainforests of the Atsinanana is a World Heritage Site that was inscribed in 2007 and consists of 13 specific areas in six national parks in the eastern part of Madagascar: # Marojejy National Park # Masoala National Park # Zahamena National ...

History

Andohahela has been a protected area since 1939 but did not become a national park until 1998.

Geography

Andohahela National Park is north-west of

Tôlanaro Fort-Dauphin (Malagasy Tolagnaro or Taolagnaro) is a city (''commune urbaine'') on the southeast coast of Madagascar. It is the capital of the Anosy Region and of the Taolagnaro District. It has been a port of local importance since the early 1500 ...

and at the southern end of the Malagasy Highlands. The park is divided into three zones. The first, Malio, ranges from to the summit of Pic d' Andohahela at , and has dense

lowland Upland and lowland are conditional descriptions of a plain based on elevation above sea level. In studies of the ecology of freshwater rivers, habitats are classified as upland or lowland. Definitions Upland and lowland are portions of ...

and

montane rainforest Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

with more than two hundred species of

tree ferns The tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae (scaly tre ...

, orchids, wild vanilla, lemurs and many birds. The second, Ihazofotsy-Mangatsiaka, contains dry spiny forest with rare birds and reptiles in altitudes ranging from to at the summit of Pic de Vohidagoro. The third zone, Tsimelahy, is mainly at an altitude of , and contains the unique Ranopiso transitional forest. The mountains form a natural barrier to the moist

trade wind The trade winds or easterlies are the permanent east-to-west prevailing winds that flow in the Earth's equatorial region. The trade winds blow mainly from the northeast in the Northern Hemisphere and from the southeast in the Southern Hemisph ...

s that blow from the east, causing on the eastern side a rainfall of per year that supports one of the few rainforests south of the

Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Capricorn (or the Southern Tropic) is the circle of latitude that contains the subsolar point at the December (or southern) solstice. It is thus the southernmost latitude where the Sun can be seen directly overhead. It also reac ...

. At the western edge of the park, the rainfall is just per year and the resulting vegetation is a dry spiny forest characteristic of southern Madagascar. Several circuits within each of the habitat types of the park can be accessed by road from the town of

Tolagnaro Fort-Dauphin (Malagasy Tolagnaro or Taolagnaro) is a city (''commune urbaine'') on the southeast coast of Madagascar. It is the capital of the Anosy Region and of the Taolagnaro District. It has been a port of local importance since the early 1500 ...

. Detailed information on arranging trips is available from the tourism information office or from the

Madagascar National Parks Association Madagascar National Parks, formerly known as ''l'Association Nationale pour la Gestion des Aires Protégées'' (ANGAP), was founded in 1991 and is charged with managing a network of 46 National Parks, Special Reserves and Integral Nature Reserve ...

office in Tolagnaro.

Flora and fauna

The variety of habitats within Andohahela is mirrored in the richness of species that are found there, and the park is the richest place in Madagascar for

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. Fifteen species have been recorded, including two of Madagascar's most emblematic species, the

ring-tailed lemur The ring-tailed lemur (''Lemur catta'') is a large strepsirrhine primate and the most recognized lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. It belongs to Lemuridae, one of five lemur families, and is the only member of the ''Lemur'' ge ...

and Verreaux's sifaka. Some rare species of

geckos Geckos are small, mostly carnivorous lizards that have a wide distribution, found on every continent except Antarctica. Belonging to the infraorder Gekkota, geckos are found in warm climates throughout the world. They range from . Geckos ar ...

, turtles and snakes are among the 67 species of reptiles found in the park, 130 species of birds and fifty species of amphibians. The Triangle palm is found only here.

References

External links

Official website (in French)
{{authority control Anosy 1998 establishments in Madagascar National parks of Madagascar Protected areas established in 1998 World Heritage Sites in Madagascar Madagascar subhumid forests Madagascar lowland forests Madagascar spiny thickets Important Bird Areas of Madagascar

History

Geography

Flora and fauna

See also

References

External links