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The Rainforest Home of the Lemurs
My first trip into the Madagascar
countryside came the day after my arrival, when a group of CARE
staff traveled to the Périnet Reserve, a 31,640 acre park
that is officially known as the Parc National d'Andasibe-Mantadia.
Located next to the village of Andasibe, Périnet is made
up of low-lying hills, covered with a degraded rain forest and
small lakes.
Although
not as renown or richly abundant as the Reserve de Masoala,
the Périnet Reserve is home to many lemurs, a type of
primate that is only native to Madagascar and the neighboring
islands of the Comoros. The indri, one of largest of the lemurs,
is the highlight of the Périnet reserve.
After arriving
in Andasibe, we stopped at a local hotel and we sampled a pot
of the savory hot chocolate, which alone was worth the trip.
We then decided to hire a guide that evening to help us see
some of the nocturnal animal life native to the region.
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Our
guide (on the right) at the Périnet Reserve.
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At night,
the sounds of the lemurs' voices and movements fill the air.
With a flashlight and the trained eyes of our expert guide,
we were able to see a dwarf grey mouse lemur from just feet
away and a woolly lemur from a distance. Because Madagascar
also is home to nearly half of the world's chameleon species,
we were able to see up close many of the colorful reptiles on
our evening excursion.
Continue
to Day 3
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