Ankarafantsika National Park is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

near

Andranofasika Andranofasika is a rural commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Ambato-Boeni, which is a part of Boeny Region. The population of the commune was estimated to be 16,971 in 2018. Only primary schooling is available. The majority 85% o ...

in the

Boeny Boeny is a region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interacti ...

Region 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 closest city is

Majunga Mahajanga (French: Majunga) is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: Rép ...

north of the park. Ankarafantsika is mostly

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

in climate type. The

Sakalava The Sakalava are an ethnic groups of Madagascar, ethnic group of Madagascar. They are found on the western and northwest region of the island, in a band along the coast. The Sakalava are one of the smaller ethnic groups, constituting about 6.2 pe ...

people are the predominant ethnic group living and farming here. The

greater big-footed mouse The greater big-footed mouse or long-tailed big-footed mouse (''Macrotarsomys ingens'') is a nocturnal rodent found only in north west Madagascar. It was first described by F. Petter in 1959. It is listed as an endangered species as a result of ...

(''Macrotarsomys ingens'') lives in the park and is not known anywhere else.

The park

The park is between the

Betsiboka River Betsiboka River is a long river in central-north Madagascar. It flows northwestward and empties to Bombetoka Bay, forming a large river delta, delta. It originates to the east of Antananarivo. The river is surrounded in mangroves. The river is di ...

to the west and the

Mahajamba River The Mahajamba is a river of northern Madagascar. It flows through Ankarafantsika National Park. The river is surrounded in mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. The term is also us ...

to the east. Originally there were two parks on either side of Route 4 national road, but they were combined in 2002. The park occupies about 135,000 hectares and consists of patches of thick dry tropical forest interspersed with less dense areas. There are also

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

, scrub and sandy eroded rock areas and some land is farmed by the indigenous Sakalava people. There are a number of lakes and the park is criss-crossed by tracks and paths. There are lodging facilities and guides are available to help visitors appreciate the wildlife and scenery.

Flora and fauna

Ankarafantsika National Park is mostly woodland, and the tree species are typical of

dry tropical forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

. Over 800 species are present, many of them endemic to Madagascar. Notable examples include the flowering bush mpanjakabenitany ('' Baudouinia fluggeiformis''), the katrafay ('' Cedrelopsis grevei'') used in

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

, the small tree lohavato (''

Hymenodictyon occidental ''Hymenodictyon'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Rubiaceae. It has about 30 species.''Hymenodictyon'' At: World Checklist of Rubiaceae At: Kew Gardens Website. (see ''External links'' below). All are native to the Old World. The w ...

'') and sakoanala ('' Poupartia silvatica''), a large tree with conspicuous flowers. The native fauna of Madagascar are well represented. Ten species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

and 44

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

species are present. These include the rare

Madagascan big-headed turtle The Madagascan big-headed turtle (''Erymnochelys madagascariensis'') is a turtle native to the waters of permanent slow moving rivers and lakes in western Madagascar. These turtles are critically endangered and have been evaluated to be the mos ...

(''Erymnochelys madagascariensis''), the rhinoceros chameleon ('' Furcifer rhinoceratus'') and the dwarf chameleon ('' Brookesia decaryi''). There are two ground-dwelling

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also called the red-tailed boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the family B ...

snakes ''

Acrantophis madagascariensis ''Acrantophis madagascariensis'' is a species of boid snake in the subfamily Sanziniinae that is endemic to the island of Madagascar. Its common names include Malagasy ground boa and Madagascar boa. Description This species is included in the B ...

'' and ''

Sanzinia madagascariensis ''Sanzinia madagascariensis'', also known as the Malagasy tree boaMehrtens JM. 1987. Living Snakes of the World in Color. New York: Sterling Publishers. 480 pp. . or Madagascar tree boa, is a boa species endemic to the island of Madagascar. It ...

'', and the rare terrestrial snake '' Liophidium therezieni''. Mammals include eight species of

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 ...

, two of which are mouse lemurs (''

Microcebus The mouse lemurs are nocturnal lemurs of the genus ''Microcebus''. Like all lemurs, mouse lemurs are native to Madagascar. Mouse lemurs have a combined head, body and tail length of less than , making them the smallest primates (the smallest spe ...

'' spp.), the world's smallest primates. The

(''Macrotarsomys ingens'') is a recently described small

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are na ...

known only in the park and its vicinity. One hundred and twenty nine species of birds have been recorded in the park, more than half of them endemic to Madagascar. They include the Van Dam's vanga (''Xenopirostris damii''), the

rufous vanga The rufous vanga (''Schetba rufa'') is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Schetba''. It is endemic to Madagascar, where its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tr ...

(''Schetba rufa''), the elusive

banded kestrel The banded kestrel (''Falco zoniventris'') is a bird of prey belonging to the falcon family Falconidae. It is endemic to Madagascar and is also known as the Madagascar banded kestrel, barred kestrel or Madagascar barred kestrel. Its closest r ...

(''Falco zoniventris'') and the more easily observed

Madagascar fish eagle The Madagascar fish eagle (''Haliaeetus vociferoides'') or Madagascar sea-eagle (to distinguish it from the ''Ichthyophaga'' fishing-eagles), is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such a ...

(''Haliaeetus vociferoides'') which can often be seen at Ravelobe Lake. The endangered

Madagascar heron Humblot's heron (''Ardea humbloti''), also known as the Madagascar heron, is a species of heron. In Madagascar, it is common on the north and west coasts of the island, but is also found inland, especially near Lake Alaotra. It is also present in ...

(''Ardea humbloti'') can be seen at Lake Ravelobe.

References

External links

Madacamp: Pictures & Description
{{authority control Boeny 1927 establishments in Madagascar Ankarafantsika Protected areas established in 1927 Ramsar sites in Madagascar Madagascar dry deciduous forests Important Bird Areas of Madagascar