Andohahela National Park

Andohahela National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Map showing the location of Andohahela National Park

Location of Andohahela National Park

Location Anosy - southern Madagascar
Nearest city Tôlanaro (Fort Dauphin)
Coordinates 24°36′3″S 46°41′58″E / 24.60083°S 46.69944°E / -24.60083; 46.69944Coordinates: 24°36′3″S 46°41′58″E / 24.60083°S 46.69944°E / -24.60083; 46.69944
Area 760 km2
Established 1997
Visitors approx. 1300 (in 2005)
Governing body Madagascar 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" . 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.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andohahela National Park.
Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Andohahela National Park.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, February 18, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.