I am able to post another update and new profile pic(small photo to the right) so soon as I am traveling through the capital on my way back to my site after a mini vacation. I went to visit the Andasibe-Mantadia National Park(about 2-3 hours drive from the capital). Also there are more photos from my trip on my Facebook page. to view the photos copy and paste this link into a new browser or just log into fb and look for my profile(http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2785213&id=10718571&l=b807e8ea4c ). One of the environment volunteers; Sara; lives near the town and she was willing to let me crash at her place. The Analamazoatra Special reserve and Mantadia National Park are both located near the town of Andasibe. The first day I went with Sara to visit; Mitsinjo; which is an association focused on tourism and conservation activities. There is a group working with this association on a frog breeding project.
The next morning I went on a hike in the National Park. Thanks to my ability to speak Malagasy; and my residence card; I got the Malagasy rate of 1,000 Ariary instead of 37,000 Ariary entrance fee. Guide fees were a bit more, but my guide was really good since he's been working in those forests for over 10 years. We found one family of lemurs jumping from branch to branch, then we spotted a group of lemurs hanging out low on the tree trunks. My profile picture to the right is a photo of the lemurs right behind me. I was only a few feet away from them. These were the Indri Lemurs(or Babakoto in Malagasy, legend of the Babakoto is below), which inhabit several sections of these eastern rainforests. The Indri Lemur is most famous for being the largest species of lemur and for the sounds they make in the forest. The cry of the Indri Lemur is a loud wailing call that can be heard up to a couple miles away. During an early morning walk on the main road I heard the Indri call through the fog and it felt like they were just in the trees above as the volume was so loud.
Legend of the Babakoto One day a little boy named Koto was zalking in the forest and got really hungry. He looked around for something to eat and saw a beehive way up in the tree. He climbed up to get it and as he reached for the hive the bees began to sting him. He was so shocked that he let go of the tree and started to fall. In mid-air a large lemur (an Indri lemur) caught Koto and put him on his back to bring him safely down to the ground. From that day on the Indri Lemur was known as Babakoto; dad of Koto. The third day I went the Special reserve north of the main town. During that visit we saw Grey Bamboo lemur, Brown lemurs, and the Sifaka lemurs (photo below).
I really enjoyed seeing all the lemurs in their natural habitat. By the third day I was getting better at spotting the lemurs by listening for their calls and looking for the rustling of leaves high up in the tree tops.
Love, Teena
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