Destination: Ampasindava peninsula, North-western Madagascar
Season: Dry season
Date: June-July 2004
Objective: Explore the herpetological biodiversity and ecology
Up the Kongony river in a pirogue that barely holds two people. These pirogues are made out a single tree trunk
In June 2004, the Exo Terra expedition left Paris for one of the remotest and inhospitable parts of the 'Red Island': Madagascar. It took the expedition team four flights, a 10 hour ocean trip and several hours by pirogue through the natural canals of the dense mangrove forests, to finally be able to install the first campsite. Although it was supposed to be the dry season, it wasn't. Tents had to be erected in pouring rain, and the team's equipment was drenched. With everything soaked, the only remaining purpose of the inside-out tent was for protection against the millions of biting mosquitoes. Madagascar is one of the world's high-risk areas for Malaria, a mosquito-transmitted and often fatal disease.
The next morning looked more promising, as the sun's strong rays woke the team members up early. This early start made it possible to reach our final destination, a mountain ridge covered with pristine rainforests, the same day. The first part of this journey was easy, or at least not tiring, since it was done by pirogue up the Kongony River. This river is one of the only places in Madagascar where the Nile crocodile is still found in large numbers. Considering the size of the pirogues (smaller than the largest crocs), a scary thought! The second part of the journey was a combined crawl and climb of 10 km up to the mountain ridge, located at an altitude of 500 meters. A small area in the dense primary forest was cleared of twigs, branches and lianas to build the second campsite. The clear skies this time made it possible to light a campfire and prepare one of the freeze-dried meals, a Spaghetti Bolognese.
Bemanevika Village, one of the only villages along the river
The meal gave the team the strength for the first nightly survey around the camp site. Since this area remained unexplored by herpetologists and biologists we did not know exactly what species to expect, but we suspected the occurrence of Uroplates or Malagasy leaf-tailed geckos. The problem in finding these geckos is their incredible camouflage capability. When resting on a tree trunk, they blend in perfectly with the bark of the tree and its lichens and mosses. During their night time activity hours they are much easier to spot, thanks to their specific shape and white bellies. Several of the giant leaf-tailed geckos, Uroplates henkeli, were found hunting for insects. The search for the small leaf-tailed, Uroplates ebenaui, was unsuccessful, but other gecko family members like Paradoera oviceps and Geckolopis maculata were located.
A well camouflaged leaf-tailed gecko, Uroplates henkeli
A leaf-tailed gecko contrasting on a green bamboo pole
