Notes on the carnivores of Tsitongambarika Forest, Madagascar, including the behaviour of a juvenile Eastern Falanouc goudotii

1 1, 1 2 Andriamandranto RAVOAHANGY , Bruno Andriandraotomalaza RAVELOSON Abstract Voninavoko Maminandrasana RAMINOARISOA , and Roger SAFFORD

Eupleres goudotii

A juvenile Eastern Falanouc found resting 2 m up a tree in Tsitongambarika Forest Protected Area, southeast juvenileMadagascar, of this is thespecies. first observation The little-known of the Broad-striped climbing Vontsira in the wild, corroborating fasciata, behaviour previously known onlyGalidia in captivity. elegans, The record, with photographs, fossana also provides new documentationViverricula on indica what is presumed to be the undescribed appearanceCryptoprocta of the ferox as well as Ring-tailed Vontsira Spotted Fanaloka and Small Indian , were also recorded from this area; Fossa Keywords was reportedCryptoprocta by local ferox people., Fossa fossana, Galidia elegans, Galidictis fasciata, lowland forest, Viverricula indica

Fanamarihana: momba ny -n’ny Tsitongambarika, Madagasikara, mampiseho fitondrantenan’ny zanaka Eupleres goudotii Famintinana

Zanaka Eupleres goudotii

iray no hita natory tambony hazo sahabo ho 2 m tao anaty alan’i Tsitongambarika, Faritra Arovana- Vaovao ao Atsimo Atsinanan’i Madagasikara. Ity no fotoanaGalidictis nahamarihana fasciata ,voalohany Vontsira Galidia fa mihanika elegans, hazo Fossa ity fossanakarazana Carnivora Viverriculaity. Ny fihetsiny indica sy ny sariny dia maneho fomba amampanao mbola tsy fahitaCryptoprocta mikasika nyfero maha-tanora ilay biby. Voamarika nan dritra ny fitsirihana natao koa ny fisian’ny Vontsira fotsy ary Jaboady Teny fanalahidy ; Ny olona any an-toerana dia manamafy Cryptoprocta fisian’ny ferox, FosaFossa fossana, Galidia elegansx. , Galidictis fasciata, Viverricula indica : Ala mando ambanin’ny 800 m,

Introduction non-governmental organisation working for conservation, one

informationwas seen but was not gathered photographed during and ecological a sixth monitoringwas reported for by a etMadagascar al was ranked as the most important priority area in a local informant who we consider a credible observer. The the world for the conservation of small carnivores by Schreiber- . (1989), but the conservation status of most of its species ‘direct payments’ programme for biodiversity conservation- (all native ones are endemic) remains poorly known. Tsiton (within which the monitoring is done by the communities but gambarika Forest is a newly created protected area in extreme validated by Asity Madagascar) active in Tsitongambarika For lowlandsoutheastern humid Madagascar forest in Madagascar; (Fig. 1). Situated in the southern on the Vohimenahalf of the est since 2006. Twice a year, multidisciplinary teams survey for mountain ridge, it includes one of the biggest areas of surviving at least five days and five nights per site. Surveys began at two covers 605 km², within 24°45' ' ' 'E. aresites given (2006), here; extended the true to precision four sites is innot 2007 to the and nearest to six meter.in 2008. island, this forest-type is particularly rare. The protected area All altitudes were measured by GPS and the readings as provided –25°00 S and 46°57 –47°22 Species accounts Major threats to the forest are slash-and-burn agriculture, illegal logging and uncontrolled fire, resulting in a deforestation rate Eastern Falanouc Eupleres goudotii of around 1.74% betweenCryptoprocta 2000 and ferox 2005) are (Andriamasimanana hunted using traps Eupleres was in forest near the village 2008). All small carnivoran (that is, excluding the of Enato (24°53'23" '22" relatively large Fosa The only observation of made locally with tree trunks and rope, a practice that appears S, 46°58 E; 538 m), where a single was to have declined significantly since protection of this area. seen at 18h55 on 10 November 2010. It was found asleep on- Survey of Tsitongambarika’s flora and fauna is so far a horizontal branch-fork in a shrub about 2 m above ground,- limited, although BirdLife International (2011) summarised where it remained motionless for some time allowing close ob information on flora, reptiles, amphibians, lemurs, birds and- servation and photography. It appeared to have difficulty grip ants collected since 2005. Other taxa remain to be surveyed ping the trunk, and when it finally descended, it jumped rather thoroughly, but some information on them was collected inci- than climbed down; on the ground, it moved towards an unseen dentally during recent fieldwork. These include reports of six calling about 10 m away, before being lost to sight. The carnivore species described here. Four were seen and photo call was unfortunately not transcribed. Local guides shared the graphed by team members from Asity Madagascar, a national sighting and said that they were not familiar with the species. Small Carnivore Conservation 2

, Vol. 45: 2–4, December 2011 Small carnivores of Tsitongambarika, Madagascar

Eupleres The animal differed in shape from the adults in our field- experience of and all illustrations that we have seen: lookits rostrum of Eupleres is notably short, giving the animal a facial expres sion quite different from the normally long- inand litt narrow-faced. 2011, inde- , and the feet and ears seemEupleres unusually, its large. unu- However, K. M. Helgen and S. M. Goodman ( - pendently) agree that the animal is a juvenile sual appearance reflecting only its youth; they add the follow ing observations: elongation of the rostrum is a common part of the ontogeny of carnivores from juveniles and sub-adults,- and could be expected to be particularly impressiveEupleres in such a colour,long-faced Eupleres species. Other physical aspects, such as the fur tex ture, unique tail, claws and foot-pads are typical of . In may often appear more grey-brown and less rufous than the Tsitongambarika animal; however, this appears to be variable, and the strong rufous tones in the photograph may have been accentuated by flash photography highlighting- basal rufous colours and contrast with blackish tipping. The presence of the animal Eupleresup a tree, seemingly comfort- able there (not apparently having taken refuge in extreme- alarm), is noteworthy, because is generally consid ered a ground-dweller. However, Albignac (1974) found cap tive young to climb trees, up to 1.6 m above ground, regularly in the evening, to rest after eating.Eupleres Such behaviour may not have been previously documented in the wild. The smallerin litt size. 2011). and different proportions of young may make them much Fossamore ready climbers than are adults (K. M. Helgen Cryptoprocta Cryptoprocta ferox was not recorded in our surveys, but Benaina, Fig. 1. Tsitongambarika Forest Protected Area, extreme southeast a farmer, reported seeing an individual on 5 December 2009 Madagascar. Records of Fossa fossana not in map; see text. Broad-stripednear his cassava Vontsira (manioc) field at Amborabao. Galidictis ' " '42.35" Galidictis fasciata' " ' "E; was found at two sites, Amborabao (24°48 56.18 S, and47°0 a duo duringE; 715 m)the and night. Enato A (24°53group of37.3 twoS, individuals 46°58 19.73 was 312 m). At Enato, a group of three was seen by day (at 12h32)-

observed in Amborabao by day (at 07h04). Generally, the spe- cies was seen seeking food along forest trails. Circumstances did not allow prolonged behavioural observations, but photo

Fig. 2. Eupleres goudotii, Enato forest, Madagascar, 10 November 2010 (Photo: A. Ravoahangy).

The most striking characters are shown well in the pho- wastographs short, (Fig. round 2 andand frontthick. coverThe dorsal picture). surface The was muzzle covered was black and rather short. The claws seemed rather long. The tail Fig. 3. Galidictis fasciata, Enato forest, Madagascar 2 August 2008 The ventral side was lighter in colour. (Photo: B. A. Raveloson). with long hairs, with brown bases, becoming black distally.

3 Small Carnivore Conservation

, Vol. 45, December 2011 Ravoahangy et al.

Fig. 4. Galidia elegans, Beseva, Madagascar, 20 October 2010 Fig. 5. Spotted Fanaloka Fossa fossana, Madagascar, October (Photo: B. A. Raveloson). 2011 (Photo: B. A. Raveloson).

graphs were taken once (Fig. 3). As this text was finalised the commenting in detail on the photographs, and Géraldine Veron for Ring-tailedspecies was Vontsira also recorded near Farafara. Referencessupplying a reference from the Harry Van Rompaey library. Galidia Eu- Galidia elegans pleres Revue d’Ecologie (Terre et Vie) was observed at Amborabao, Enato, Farafara, Beseva- Albignac, R. 1974. Observations éco-éthologiques sur le genre als(Fig. visited 4) and the thecamp Col inside de Manangotry; forest (24°50 it'43.45 seems" likely ' that it" E; is , viverridé de Madagascar.Appui à l’élaboration du schema 28: present throughout the forest. At Farafara, up to three individu d’aménagement321–351. de la Forêt de Tsitongambarika, Tolagnaro par S, 47°00 27.48 Andriamasimanana,des outils d’observation R. H. 2008.de la terre. Rapport final - 468 m), probably attracted by food waste (chicken feathers and Spottedbones). Fanaloka Tsitongambarika Forest,. Birdlife Madagascar: Interna Fossa fossana were seen (one biologicaltional Madagascar and socio-economic Programme, surveys Antananarivo, with conservation Madagascar. recom- Fossa fossana BirdLifemendations International 2011. Two single Spotted Fanalokas photographed, Fig. 5) in October–November 2011: one at the . Birdlife International, Cambridge, U.K. camp near Enato at 22h02, the other at nearby Mahialambo, c. Durbin, J., Funk, S. SalanoiaM., Hawkins, F., Hills, D. M., Jenkins, P. D., Moncrieff, Small525 m Indian altitude, Civet at 20h38.Viverricula indica C. B. & Ralainasolo, F. B. 2010. InvestigationsSystematics into the statusand Biodi of a- This species, introduced to Madagascar, was seen once at versitynew taxon of (Mammalia: Carnivora: ) from '05.55" ' " the marshes of Lac Alaotra, Madagascar. 8: 341–355. Handbook Vatambe (24°49 S, 47°02 47.11 E; 135 m): a singleton Goodman,of mammals S. M. 2009.of the world. Family Vol. Eupleridae 1, Carnivores (Madagascar carnivores).- Concludingin paddy fields notesoutside forest at 00h25 on 12 June 2009. Pp. 330–351 in Wilson, D. E. & Mittermeier, R. A. (eds) . Edicions, Barce lona, Spain. Eupleres was not found, Brown-tailed Vontsira concolor, is Goodman,Mammalia S. M. & Helgen, K. M. 2010. Species limits and distribution The only other carnivore endemic to Malagasy rainforest that of the Malagasy carnivoran (family Eupleridae).- et al. 2010). All the en- 74: 177–185. Fieldiana, Zoology only known far from Tsitongambarika Forest, from central- Goodman, S. M. & Pidgeon, M. 1999. Carnivora of the Reserve Na and north-east Madagascar (Durbin turelle Integrale d’Andohahela, Madagascar. , demic species reported at Tsitongambarika are known from ,N.S. 94: , 259–268. and their relatives: an action plan for the con- the nearby forest of parcel 1 of the Parc National d’Andohahela- Schreiber,servation A., Wirth, of mustelids R., Riffel, and M.viverrids & Van Rompaey, H. 1989. (Goodman & Pidgeon 1999, GoodmanEupleres 2009, and Goodman Galidictis & remainHelgen so2010) rare and that so all these deserve records documentation; do not represent furthermore, major range the dis ex- 1Asity Madagascar, PO Box 1074,. IUCN, Antananarivo Gland, Switzerland. (101), tinctivetensions. appearance However, sightings of the juvenile of Eupleres Madagascar. Emails: [email protected], and its arboreal [email protected], [email protected] Acknowledgementsbehaviour, are not widely known. 2BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Girton Road, - Cambridge CB3 0NA, U.K. Email [email protected] The surveys that produced these sightings were implemented by As ity Madagascar, and funded by Rio Tinto, the Wetland Trust, and the Waterloo Foundation. We thank Kris Helgen and Steven Goodman for Small Carnivore Conservation 4

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