Wednesday 25 November 2009

Stone Forest

There's a good article in this month's National Geographic Magazine about the Tsingy of Bemaraha in Western Madagascar.

Tsingy of Bemaraha, Madagascar
'A city of limestone towers' 

It reminds me of our trip there in May 2008; I still have a scar on my arm as a souvenir ! To read the article see Living on a Razor's Edge - Madagascar's labryinth of stone. Here are some more National Geographic photos of Madagascar; like the one above they were all taken by photographer Stephen Alvarez:

'Vertical pupils identify a seseke, or leaf-tailed gecko, as a
nocturnal creature. Its camouflage works so well that the lizard
doesn’t hide during the day. It simply flattens itself against
tree trunks while waiting for darkness and insects to eat.'

'Spiny, drought-tolerant Pachypodium plants
also thrive in the tsingy’s top reaches.'

'Unexplored passages shelter some of the island’s—and the
world’s— strangest species, from the ghostly Decken’s
sifaka, a lemur, to a host of reptiles, insects, and plants.'

'Troops of Decken’s sifakas, found only in west Madagascar, cruise
the tops of the tsingy searching for food and evading predators.
Like other lemurs, they probably live in small family groups.'

'Fearless acrobat, a Decken’s sifaka leaps a chasm a 100 feet deep'



If you enjoyed this post you might also like:

  • Ile Sainte Marie - in 2004 we spent a week on this island off the north-east coast of Madagascar.


Suggested reading:


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