Kasijy Special Reserve 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

Betsiboka Betsiboka is a Regions of Madagascar, region of Madagascar. It borders Boeny Region in north, Sofia Region, Sofia in northeast, Alaotra-Mangoro in east, Analamanga and Bongolava in south and Melaky in west. The capital of the region is Maevatanana. ...

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 ...

. Nearly half of the species of plants and animals recorded within the reserve are

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 ...

to Madagascar and

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

have listed the reserve as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

Geography

Kasijy Special Reserve is north-west of Bemonto (municipality of

Antanimbaribe Antanimbaribe is a rural commune in Madagascar. It belongs to the northern part of the district of Kandreho, which is a part of Betsiboka. It borders the regions of Boeny and Melaky. The Kasijy Reserve Kasijy Special Reserve is a wildlife re ...

) in the Betsiboka region of Madagascar. Access is difficult because of the poor roads and there is no accommodation or Park Office in the reserve. The nearest accommodation is in the port of

Mahajanga Mahajanga (French: Majunga) is a city and an administrative district on the northwest coast of Madagascar. The city of Mahajanga (Mahajanga I) is the capital of the Boeny Region. The district (identical to the city) had a population of 220,629 i ...

, to the north. There are two outcrops of

karst 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 ...

, the Kasijy massif and the smaller Analamajera massif; both are covered in forest. Kasijy Special Reserve covers , of which are

savanna 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 does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...

and tropical rainforest. There is also swamp and open water on the reserve. The site is bordered by three rivers; in the north is the Andranomaitso River, the Mahavavy Sud River in the east and the Mahiarere River to the south. The climate is harsh with a dry season from April to November when the rivers run dry, and the reserve is closed to visitors in the wet season which runs from December to April. Annual rainfall is and temperatures can reach . The dominant ethnic groups are the

Sakalava people The Sakalava are an 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 percent of the total populatio ...

and

Tsimihety people The Tsimihety are a Malagasy ethnic group who are found in the north-central region of Madagascar.Tsimihety
E ...

Wildlife

The karst outcrops are covered in dense, semi-deciduous, and dry forest and the typical trees are species of ''

Adansonia ''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 ...

'', '' Cedrelopsis'' and '' Hildegardia''. In the southern part of the reserve is savannah with woody shrubs. Fifteen species of mammals, six species of amphibian, 22 species of reptiles and 67 species of birds have, so far, been recorded on the reserve. Some of the species found: * ''

Accipiter henstii Henst's goshawk (''Accipiter henstii'') is a species a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is a large, diurnal bird endemic to the island of Madagascar. It is an obligate forest species that occurs at very low densities on the island and ...

'' (Henst's goshawk) * ''

Coua coquereli Coquerel's coua (''Coua coquereli'') is a species of cuckoo in the family Cuculidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its habitat is subtropical or tropical dry forests. It was named in 1867 by the French naturalist Alfred Grandidier in honor of the ...

'' (Coquerel's coua) * ''

Coua gigas The giant coua (''Coua gigas'') is a bird species from the coua genus in the cuckoo family that is endemic to the dry forests of western and southern Madagascar. It is suggested that couas probably originated from a particular Asian ground-cucko ...

'' (giant coua) * ''

Falculea palliata The sickle-billed vanga (''Falculea palliata'') is a species of bird in the vanga family Vangidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Falculea''. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are tropical dry forests and tropical dry shrublan ...

'' (sickle-billed vanga) * ''

Philepitta schlegeli Schlegel's asity (''Philepitta schlegeli'') is a species of bird in the family Philepittidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forest and subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest. It is threaten ...

'' (Schlegel's asity) * ''

Ploceus sakalava The Sakalava weaver (''Ploceus sakalava'') sometimes known as the Sakalava fody is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is endemic to Madagascar. The bird is long and weighs . Taxonomy The Sakalava weaver was first described by Gust ...

'' (Sakalava weaver)

Threats

The savanna is graze by herds of introduced

zebu The zebu (; ''Bos indicus'' or ''Bos taurus indicus''), sometimes known in the plural as indicine cattle or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle originating in the Indian sub-continent. Zebu are characterised by a fatty ...

References

External links

Madagascar National Parks
{{authority control 1956 establishments in Madagascar Betsiboka Important Bird Areas of Madagascar Special reserves of Madagascar Protected areas established in 1956 Madagascar dry deciduous forests