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Andohahela National Park

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A view over the transitional forest of Andohahela National Park
Andohahela National Park
Map showing the location of Andohahela National Park
Map showing the location of Andohahela National Park
Location of Andohahela National Park
LocationAnosy - southern Madagascar
Nearest cityTôlanaro (Fort Dauphin)
Area760 km2
Established1997
Visitorsapprox. 1300 (in 2005)
Governing bodyMadagascar National Parks Association (PNM-ANGAP)

Andohahela National Park, in southeast Madagascar, is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers 760 square kilometers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy Highlands. These mountains form a natural barrier to the moist trade winds that blow from the east, causing a rainfall of 1500 to 2000mm per year on their eastern side that supports one of the few rainforests south of the tropic of Capricorn. At the western edge of the park, the rainfall is just 600 to 700mm per year and the resulting vegetation is a dry spiny forest characteristic of southern Madagascar. In the area between these two climatic extremes is a unique transitional forest known as the Ranopiso transition, which is characterised by the locally endemic triangular palm, Dypsis decaryi.

The variety of habitats within Andohahela is mirrored in the richness of species that are found there. Fifteen species of lemur have been recorded, including two of Madagascar's most emblematic species, the ring-tailed lemur and Verreaux's sifaka.

Several circuits within each of the habitat types of the park can be accessed by road from the town of Tolagnaro. Detailed information on arranging trips is available from the tourism information office or from the Madagascar National Parks Association (PNM-ANGAP)office in Tolagnaro.

This National Park was inscribed in the World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana.[1]

List of lemur species found in Andohahela National Park[2]
Location Habitat Type Species
Malio (Parcel 1) Rain forest

Day viewing:

Night viewing:

Ihazofotsy (Parcel 2) Spiny forest

Day viewing:

Night viewing:

Tsimelahy (Parcel 3) Transitional forest
  • few lemurs (not documented)

See also

References

  1. ^ "Africa, Rainforests of the Atsinanana, Madagascar" [1]. UNESCO Organization.
  2. ^ Mittermeier, R.A.; Louis, E.E.; Richardson, M.; Schwitzer, C.; et al. (2010). Lemurs of Madagascar. Illustrated by S.D. Nash (3rd ed.). Conservation International. p. 633. ISBN 978-1-934151-23-5. OCLC 670545286.