Kirindy Forest, Madagascar pt 3

https://www.wildmadagascar.org/conservation/parks/Kirindy.html

Kirindy Reserve or Kirindy Forest is a gorgeous dry deciduous forest with reflective lakes. It's a research station, a magnet for birds and animals and a joy for visitors. Here you have a bigger than average chance to see the fossa, Verreaux's sifaka, the fat-tailed dwarf lemur and endemic vanga birds. Add the erotic statues, the comfortable if basic cabins and the lack of tourists, it's just a paradise for the nature and wildlife lover.

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It's hard to get to Kirindy so there are very few tourists - another great reason to go.

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About Kirindy

Nick Garbutt 2007, Mammals of Madagascar: a complete guide, Yale University Press.

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Kirindy consists of dry deciduous forest, providing habitat for many different lemurs, mongeese, birds and reptiles. It's the only place where you can see the giant jumping rat, which we sadly did not see, and one of the best places for the fossa, which to our excitement we did find. 

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I've talked on the video about Verreaux's sifaka and the fossa: two species of interest. The fossa is especially amazing as it's normally extremely difficult to see but it has overcome its fear of people to some extent at Kirindy and shelters under rangers' huts during the day.

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Kirindy is situated 60 km north-east of Morondava and from there it's a two- to three-hour ride on a rough dirt road. Lack of accessibility plus the fact it's more of a research station than a park means it does not get as many visitors as other national parks. This is another great reason to visit as the rangers are more than happy to give you a private tour, and they know where to find all the birds and animals.

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Guest houses in Morondava will arrange tours to Kirindy and Kirindy is often included on wider tours of Madagascar's reserves and national parks.

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3 great reasons to visit Kirindy 

1. The wildlife

Wildlife is plentiful at Kirindy. As already mentioned, it's one of the best places to see the fossa and also a great place for nocturnal wildlife. There are six species of nocturnal lemur: we saw three - the red-tailed sportive lemur, the grey mouse lemur and the fat-tailed dwarf lemur.

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Kirindy is also a fab place to see vangas: birds that only live in Madagascar. On our video you can see the blue vanga, the rufous vanga and the white-headed vanga. They are gorgeous.

 

10 fun facts about the fossa Cryptoprocta ferox
https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/5760/45197189

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/fossa

1. The fossa is the largest mammal and the largest carnivore in Madagascar.

2. Although it is a member of the mongoose family, the fossa has retractable claws and sharp teeth like a cat and a muzzle like a dog.

3. It uses its long tail to balance, meaning it can move swiftly, especially in trees, evading detection.

4. These animals are very effective hunters. They can hunt as well on the ground as in trees, using their claws and teeth. 

5. These versatile creatures are nocturnal but if necessary will be active during the day too.

6. They can live up to 20 years in captivity.

7. Fossas are not fussy eaters. They will eat anything that moves including lemurs, mice and rats, livestock and reptiles.

8. Fossas are in turn hunted by people, who like to eat them but also kill them because they eat their chickens or other livestock.

9. These mainly solitary animals have overlapping territories and can range for more than 7 kilometres a day in search of food. 

10. When not hunting, fossas will sleep in trees or caves or in Kirindy, under rangers' huts.

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10 fun facts about Verreaux's sifaka Propithecus verreauxi

https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/18354/115572044

https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Propithecus_verreauxi/

1. Like most sifakas, Verreaux's sifaka is critically endangered and Kirindy is a major sanctuary for this beautiful animal.

2. These sifakas eat leaves, fruit, seeds, dead bark, insects and other invertebrates.

3. These sociable animals live in family groups of 2-14.

4. Verreaux's sifakas mate between January and March, and a female will give birth to one young between June and September.

5. Females will only breed with dominant males so subordinate males will challenge dominant males during breeding season, leading to fighting.

6. These versatile creatures live in rainforests, deciduous forests and also in spiny forests and shrubland, living mainly in trees.

7. They are great leapers, leaping from tree to tree, but they can also leap on the ground in a forward and sideways movement.

8. Verreaux's sifakas scent-mark to communicate with each other and dominant males scent-mark to claim territory. 

9. Mothers carry newborn sifakas near their chest and abdomen for the first 2 to 3 months and then on their backs until offspring are about 6 months old.

10. The sifakas can live for between 18 to 23 years in captivity.

 

 

 

 

2. It's just so relaxing

The gorgeous forests and reflective lakes of Kirindy are lovely places to stroll around. As long as you are careful, there's not much chance of stepping on a venomous snake or encountering a carnivorous predator (the fossa hunts at night). Cabins are set up for research with a desk where you can update your travel journal or online blog (at the time of writing wi-fi was flaky so check out the latest situation). Or you can sit on your veranda surrounded by the gorgeous forest and probably heaps of birds and animals will just turn up around you. We had a troupe of Verreaux's sifakas coming to us. One minute we were on our own: the next minute a troupe of five or six animals was feeding in the trees around us. Magic.

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3. Research

https://www.dpz.eu/en/unit/sociobiology-homepage/study-sites/madagascar.html

If you are interested in conducting research into the wildlife of Madagascar, Kirindy is set up to help you. Many animals and birds are tagged and there are many research projects under way. There is one URL above but you can probably find research projects in your own country.

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Alternatively, as a citizen scientist, there are heaps of online resources.

 

About this video

This video is part 3 of a series on Madagascar.

• Part 1 dealt with our trek across the Bongalavo Mountains and most of our canoeing trip down Manambolo River.

• Part 2 described our time in stunning Tsingy de Bemeraha National Park.

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Do you have questions or comments about this article? Email maddestinations@gmail.com or leave a comment under the video

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