Exploring Kirindy National Park

Lemurs, Lemurs, and more Lemurs!

October, 2022

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The next morning we were off in good time, heading south. But we didn't get too far right away, as the first thing we had to do was get across the river. That involved a ferry ride.

Most of the ferries are basically two big metal canoes with a platform on top, so a type of catamaran. They had to be shallow draft because the river is not very deep; but they still had to support the weight of the cars. Each hull had its own engine, a small gas engine hooked up to a flywheel and some belts going back to a gearbox that had a shaft going down to a propeller. The gas tank was a plastic jug, elevated so the carbureator was gravity fed.

Cars were driven onto the ferry over moveable ramps, similar to what people in the United States use to get off-road vehicles and snow-machines into a pickup truck or onto a trailer, only longer and heavier, being made of steel instead of aluminum. As each car was loaded, two guys moved the ramps to the next slot by hand. Once loaded, the cars were "secured" by placing rocks in front of / behind the wheels. No tie-down straps. The ferries were all different, constructed from materials at hand and adapted to what the owner/operator could get his hands on.

Kirindy Ferry
Kirindy Ferry

Loading the Ferry

The ferry in the picture below has its ramps dragging in the water for some reason. It also appears to have a much beefier engine, but it also looks to be made of whatever was available to the builder.

Kirindy Ferry
Heading across the river

The boats are light enough and the current is slow enough that a few people can move them, so they don't waste time and fuel repositioning them when necessary. They just hook up a few guys together and haul.

Kirindy Ferry
Makeshift outboard engine
Kirindy Ferry
A different kind of engine

On this first river crossing, we weren't going far — just across the river. With a good vehicle, we didn't even need to get clear to the bank. We drove off into the water and up on the other shore.

Kirindy Ferry
Preparing to unload
Kirindy Ferry
Looking back across the river

Kirindy Coconuts
Coconuts

We drove on rutted dirt roads for several hours until we came to the town of Belo sur Tsiribehina, a town on the banks of the Tsiribihina River. Belo is famous for it's Mad Zebu Restaurant, whose chef used to work in a 3-star Michelin restaurant in France. The food was ok; nice presentation, as you would expect. Sid and I had a shrimp ceviche-like appetizer. Dona and I had a shrimp main course, with big shrimp from the Manambolo River. Maybe some of the people we saw setting traps a few days before had caught them.

Lova told us one of the Madagascar origin stories. The west of Madagascar was burning up. God asked all the forest animals to try to put it out. God said he would make whoever could put it out the king. The Lemurs tried, and all got burned and failed. The Fossa tried to smother it, and failed. Birds tried to blow it out by flapping their wings, and failed. Finally the bats smothered it with their wings; in the end they were badly burned and exhausted. The Drongo (trickster/slackard) saw it was out, rolled in the ashes to get all dirty, and went to God and said he had put it out. So God made him king and gave him a crown (his crest). The bats recovered and went to God and said they had actually put it out, that Drongo had lied. But God said "That's too bad, I already made him king." So now the bats sleep hanging from their feet, head down in the trees, with their butts facing the sky and God.

Kirindy Belo Lunch Sid Lova Dona
Lunch in Belo; Sid, Lova and Dona

After lunch, we had to catch another ferry, this time across the Tsiribihina River. The Tsiribihina ferry does not go straight across the river to the other side, but has to go upstream a kilometer or so, so it is a much longer ride. There was a fair amount of river traffic, with ferries coming and going. It looked like every one was different. Ours held three cars, was made of two pontoon canoes made of flattened corrugated tin rivited and welded together, with one engine at the stern of each pontoon. It took 30-40 minutes to slog our way upstream.

As on the Manambolo ferries, the fuel tanks were plastic jugs suspended above the engine. They were crank started, and the operator did a fast dance when he cranked, the engine caught, and he then had to adjust the fuel mixture. Once under way, I was surprised to see one of the operators with his bare feet casually resting within inches of the big spinning flywheel.

Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry
Crank and adjust fuel all at once
Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry

Tsiribihina Ferry

Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry
Note the feet next to the spinning flywheel...
Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry
Who needs tiedowns?

Kirindy

The ferry landing was steep with a rutted track. The first vehicle to unload either had no 4WD or it didn't work or the driver didn't know how to engage it. They couldn't make it up the bank and got stuck.

Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry
Tsiribihina Ferry Landing, South Side of River

Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry
Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry

The Vehicle that Couldn't Make It

Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry

Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry
Kirindy Tsiribihina Ferry

Caesar had no trouble getting off and up the slippery slope.

South of Belo, the deforestation was devastating. We passed huge expanses of former forest where the only trees left were old baobabs, widely spaced. Lova said when he had last been there three years before, it was all forest. All the trees had been cut and the land burned. We finally found forest only when we turned off for the short road to Kirindy National Park. Madagascar just has too many people, too many zebu, and too much fire. The country seems too far gone, spiraling out of control downward.

Kirindy Baobabs PA280693
Photo by Dona
Kirindy Baobabs Burned Ground
Burned Ground

Baobabs

When we got to Kirindy we were delighted, as no sooner had we gotten out of the vehicle than we saw a Giant Coua. Our cabins had showers, although there was almost no water pressure. My beard was still reddish-brown afterwards, but that's probably more a comment on my personal hygiene habits than the shower...

My diary says "Only ripstop pants. Knee ripped from sticking sweat, crummy material."

Kirindy Cabin, Gary & Sid
Gary and Sid on Porch of our Kirindy Cabin
Photo by Dona

We were delighted with the number of birds about the compound; some were new species for us, while others had become old friends.

Kirindy Bird Crested Drongo
Crested Drongo
Dicrurus forficatus

Photo by Dona
Kirindy Bird Souimanga Sunbird F
Female

Souimanga Sunbird
Cinnyris sovimanga

The baobabs and other trees were starting to leaf out and bloom, so there was a bit more color in the forest.

Kirindy Tree Red Flowers
Kirindy Tree Flower Xxx Red PA280711
Photo by Dona

Tree with Red Flowers

Kirindy Tree Flower Xxx Pink PA280727
Tree Flower Xxx Pink
Photo by Dona

Kirindy Tree Baobab
Baobab
Kirindy Tree Xxx PA280714
Tree Xxx
Photo by Dona

We had night walks booked every evening. Our first night was a bonanza.


Grey Mouse Lemur
Microcebus murinus

Red-Tailed Sportive Lemur
Lepilemur rudicaudatus

Kirindy Lemur Fork Marked
Kirindy Lemur Fork Marked

Fork-Marked Lemur
Phaner furcifer

Kirindy Lemur Xxx
Lemur Xxx
Kirindy Lemur Xxx
Lemur Xxx

Kirindy Lemur Xxx
Lemur Xxx
Kirindy Lemur Xxx
Lemur Xxx

Kirindy Snake Cat Eyed
Cat-Eyed Snake
Madagascarophis spp.
Kirindy Tuft Tailed Forest Rat
Tuft-Tailed Forest Rat
Eliurus spp.
Kirindy Spider Golden Orb Web
Madagascar Ground Gecko
Paroedura spp.

Photo by Dona
Kirindy Spider Golden Orb Web
Golden Orb Web Spider

The next morning we had a great bird "walk"; we spent most of it sitting quietly beside a pond. Back at camp there was a Fosa hanging around. The Malagasy spell it "Fosa," pronounced "foos" while in English it is "Fossa."

We were happy to be in an actual forest, although the devastated countryside was not far away. However, the heat was oppressive. After one mid-morning walk Dona needed a ride back to camp. A shower barely helped to cool us off; we were still exhausted. We wondered if we might have Covid. We had all been triple vaccinated, and should have been reasonably well protected. We hoped any symptoms would be mild if we did get it. We had no tests, so no way to tell, and even if we did, what would we do?

We tried to be careful about where we put our hiking snacks, but one night a mouse lemur or forest rat or ... something got into my stash of dried cherries. I thought my pack was closed up...

Dona Gary
Dona and Gary
Photo by Sid

Kirindy Bird MGParadise Flycatcher PA290799
Photo by Dona

Two different morphs
Kirindy Bird MGParadise Flycatcher F
Female
Photo by Dona

Malagasy Paradise Flycatcher
Terpsiphone mutata

Kirindy Bird Long Billed Tetraka
Long-Billed Tetraka
Bernieria Madagascariensis
Kirindy Bird Xxx
Bird Xxx

Kirindy Bird Namaqua Dove
Namaqua Dove
Oena capensis
Kirindy Bird MGTurtle Dove
Malagasy Turtle Dove
Nesoenas picturatus

Kirindy Bird Sakalava Weaver
Kirindy Bird Sakalava Weaver
Kirindy Bird Sakalava Weaver F
Female

Sakalava Weaver
Ploceus sakalava

Kirindy Bird Crested Coua
Kirindy Bird Crested Coua
Photo by Sid

Crested Coua
Coua cristata

Kirindy Bird MGScops Owl
Kirindy Bird MGScops Owl

Madagascar Scops Owl
Otus rutilus

Kirindy Fosa
Kirindy Fosa

Fossa
Cryptoprocta ferox

Kirindy Fosa
Photo by Dona

Kirindy Bird Greater Vasa Parrot
Greater Vasa Parrot
Coracopsis vasa
Kirindy Bird Rufous Vanga
Rufous Vanga
Shetba rufa
Kirindy Bird Rufous Vanga F
Rufous Vanga F

Kirindy Lemur Verreauxs Sifaka
Verreaux's Sifaka
Propithicus Verreauxi
Kirindy Lizard Merrems MGSwift PA290797
Photo by Dona

Merrem's Madagascar Swift
Oplurus cyclurus

Kirindy Bird Blue Vanga
Blue Vanga
Cyanolanius madagascariensis
Kirindy Bird Crested Coua
Crested Coua

Kirindy Bird Coquerels Coua
Coquerel's Coua
Coua coquereli

Kirindy Bird Giant Coua
Kirindy Bird Giant Coua
Photo by Dona

Giant Coua

Kirindy Bird White Headed Vanga
White-Headed Vanga
Artamella viridis
Kirindy Bird MGMagpie Robin
Madagascar Magpie Robin
Copsychus albospecularis