Wildlifeof Madagascar
Places
Where to see Madagascar's wildlife, from the eastern rainforest and western dry forest to the spiny forest, highlands and offshore islands.
Why the eastern rainforest
The wet east coast and its mountains hold Madagascar's richest rainforest. Indris, sifakas, ruffed lemurs, bamboo lemurs, the aye-aye, tenrecs, chameleons, leaf-tailed geckos, mantellas and a long list of endemic birds live here, in parks that run from Andasibe near the capital to Masoala and Marojejy in the north-east.
Why the north
The far north mixes dry deciduous forest, limestone tsingy and a rain-soaked mountain. Crowned lemurs, Sanford's brown lemurs, Perrier's and golden-crowned sifakas, leaf chameleons and many reptiles and frogs occur here, and several of them live nowhere else.
Why the western dry forest
The west has a long dry season. The leafless deciduous forest and the limestone pinnacles of Bemaraha make lemurs, the fosa and other big animals easier to find than in the rainforest, and the baobab avenue near Morondava is one of the island's best-known sights.
Why the south
The arid south holds the spiny forest, a thicket of octopus trees and other plants found nowhere else, along with sandstone canyons and gallery forests. Ring-tailed lemurs, Verreaux's sifakas, ground-rollers, mesites, radiated tortoises and spiny-forest lizards make the south a reliable region for wildlife.
Why the highlands
The central highlands rise to granite peaks and cool, mossy forest. Ring-tailed lemurs on rock slopes, mountain chameleons, rare frogs and cold-adapted birds live here, and the capital, Antananarivo, is the usual gateway for all of Madagascar.
Why the offshore islands
Madagascar's small islands offer easy lemur watching, small chameleons found on a single island, coral reefs and, from July to September, humpback whales that breed in the channels around Sainte Marie and Antongil Bay.