EXO TERRA Expedition Madagascar 2006 The Bamboo Expedition Journal EXO TERRA Expedition Madagascar 2006 Journal All members of the Exo Terra Expedition Madagascar 2006 Our Malagasy team members and logistic support people picked returned home safely after three weeks of intense field research in us up at Fascene Airport, where we overloaded two small taxis to the jungles and bamboo forests of North Western Madagascar. bring us to Ambatoloaka. Ambatoloaka is a small resort, located on the south-western coast of the island. When you arrive in After the discovery of a new species of day gecko (Phelsuma Ambatoloaka, with the knowledge that it is Madagascar’s biggest vanheygeni) by Exo Terra Manager Emmanuel Van Heygen in tourist centre, you realize that Madagascar still has a long way 2004 during the Exo Terra Expedition Madagascar 2004, many to go to before it will make it into the mainstream travel questions were left unanswered regarding the distribution range, brochures. behaviour and ecology of this remarkable discovery. In order to find answers to these questions the Exo Terra team returned to We checked in into our hotel for our last night of luxury. Most the area in June 2006. people would already consider staying in this hotel adventurous. It did not take long before we spotted our first day gecko, living on the ceiling of one of the rooms. The hotel is located right Itinerary on the beach, where many locals changed profession when the Day 01 – June 6th : Brussels – Paris – Reunion first tourists started to arrive. Before, Ambatoloaka was a typical Day 02 – June 7th : Reunion – Nosy Bé (Madagascar) Malagasy fishing village. The many boats passing by prove that Day 03 – June 8th : Ambatoloaka fishing is still the main source of income for many islanders. Day 04 – June 9th : Nosy Komba - Ankify Many try to sell their catch to local restaurants or trade for other Day 05 – June 10th : Ankify – Ampopo necessities. Day 06 – June 11th : Ampopo – Bezavona Day 07 – June 12th : Bezavona We already bought some fruits and vegetables from local women, Day 08 – June 13th : Bezavona who offered their produce out of fully loaded baskets on top of Day 09 – June 14th : Bezavona their heads. Our local team would provide the rest of our supplies. Day 10 – June 15th : Bezavona – Nosy Iranja – Russian Bay Later that night we met with Monsieur Nazer, the chief of our Day 11 – June 16th : Russian Bay – Ambaliha local logistics team. He is very respected and set us up with his Day 12 – June 17th : Ambaliha boat and a 60 horse power engine. We explained our plans and Day 13 – June 18th : Ambaliha – Djangoa calculated how much fuel we should carry with us. Day 14 – June 19th : Djangoa Day 15 – June 20th : Djangoa – Ambatoloaka Tired from a long trip we were happy that the sun set around six Day 16 – June 21st : Ambatoloaka – Mayotte (Comoro Islands) at night, and not much later than that we all went to bed. The Day 17 – June 22nd : Mayotte next morning after rising early, we loaded the boat and sailed to Day 18 – June 23rd : Mayotte our first destination, Nosy Komba. Day 19 – June 24th : Mayotte – Lokobe (Nosy Bé) Day 20 – June 25th : Lokobe – Reunion Day 21 – June 26th : Reunion – Paris - Brussels Nosy Komba Ambatoloaka We arrived at this idyllic island around noon. Nosy Komba is Malagasy for Lemur Island, but this time we did not see any. We On June 6, 2006 the Exo Terra Expedition team members met in started our search for reptiles and amphibians right on the same Brussels Belgium to start the first leg of the Exo Terra Expedition beach where we landed, across from our next destination, Ankify. 2006 to Madagascar. We first flew to Réunion Island where we It did not take long before we spotted our first skinks, mainly had a connection the next day to Madagascar’s biggest offshore Mabuya species, on some rocky outcrops on the beach. After island Nosy Bé. photographing a very nice colored caterpillar, we found our first day geckos; a juvenile Phelsuma dubia, Phelsuma laticauda and Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis. 2 EXO TERRA Expedition Madagascar 2006 Journal A short search in a nearby bamboo patch, where we hoped When exploring the nearby forest we encountered the largest to find Phelsuma seippi and Phelsuma klemmeri did not reveal chameleon of Madagascar, Furcifer oustaleti. The body of this anything. We found Phelsuma seippi on the island in 2004, but animal had the size of my underarm. never Phelsuma klemmeri. The peninsula has also its own colour morph of panther On our way back to the boat, we spotted a panther chameleon, chameleon, Furcifer pardalis. Several males were found in a small Furcifer pardalis. These panther chameleons are slightly different area, but no females where sighted. in coloration from those on Nosy Be and entirely different from those found elsewhere on Madagascar. We then sailed to Ankify, To make it before dark we had to leave Ankify for Ampopo, which a trip of only 30 minutes. is located onthe western side of the Ampasindava Peninsula. When we approached the shoreline where our boat was waiting, Ankify a group of dolphins passed very close to us, clearly hunting. In Ampopo we would just spend the night and then continue to Bezavona. It was a long trip of nearly 50 km and we had to refuel at sea from our fuel reserve. Ampopo The Ankify Peninsula is situated in the Sambirano Delta and probably the terra typica of the day gecko Phelsuma klemmeri. Upon arrival we immediately organized a vehicle to bring us as close as possible to the bamboo forests in the peninsula’s interior. This would be the last car we would see for a while. In late afternoon we arrived near the small village of Ampopo, The first day gecko we discovered was Phelsuma seippi who situated on a normally shares its habitat with Phelsuma klemmeri. It did not several kilometer-long stretch of pristine beach with the lowland take us long before we found our first Phelsuma klemmeri this forests immediately behind it. We set up camp right on the beach trip, without doubt the most striking coloured gecko! Another to better enjoy the cooler sea breezes and made a huge campfire species of day gecko present in these bamboo forests is Phelsuma to keep the mosquitoes and bush pigs away from our campsite. laticauda. That night we discussed the strategy for the upcoming days, and afterwards some team members ventured into the nearby forest Madagascar has no real poisonous snakes, the only exception is without much success. the Malagasy hognose snake, Leioheterodon madagascariensis. While measuring one of these large snakes, team member Achim The next morning, even before sunrise, we immediately prepared called for help, since he spotted another Phelsuma klemmeri for our boat trip to Bezavona, in the southern part of the nearby. We had to temporary put the snake in a backpack. Ampasindava Peninsula. The morning sunshine revealed the true beauty of this desolate spot, which made it all that much harder We caught several Phelsuma klemmeri for measuring and to pack the gear and leave. Out of the blue, a Malagasy hognose collecting of other data.Catching these little geckos that fit in the snake, Leioheterodon madagascariensis crawled through our tiniest bamboo crack is not an easy task. You need more than one campsite towards the nearby forest, where it disappeared as pair of eyes in order to finally capture them. It was remarkable swiftly as it came. While following the snake we found our first how many species of one genus occurred in this area. Next to the Panther Chameleon, Chameleo pardalis. giant Phelsuma madagascariensis grandis, we hoped to also find one of the smallest species, Phelsuma vanheygeni. This species This discovery exceeded everyone’s expectations as this was the was discovered by Exo Terra manager Emmanuel Van Heygen much talked about Pink Panther, a colour morph thought to be during the 2004 Madagascar Expedition. found only near Ankaramy, south of Ambanja. It was a young male 3 EXO TERRA Expedition Madagascar 2006 Journal that did not yet have the splendid pinkish-red adult colouration. found exactly underneath an insect while two ants were trying With this discovery we extended the known distribution range of to approach to feast as well on the probably sweet excretion this race of panther chameleon considerably, as it now sure that from the insect, but had to wait for the Phelsuma klemmeri to it inhabits the entire Ampasindava Peninsula. leave. In addition to day geckos of the genus Phelsuma we also encountered several unknown Lygodactylus species. At the edge of the forest and the beach several endemic orchids of the genus Angreacum were blooming. It was a very interesting Phelsuma seippi was definitely the most abundant of all the geckos spot that we sadly had to leave to make it in time to Bezavona. inhabiting the bamboo forest. Also the Phelsuma vanheygeni seems to be very common in this area but is a bit more difficult to Bezavona spot since it lives more between the bamboo leaves and thinner branches. One bamboo is usually the territory of a pair. During the day they move through the denser upper part of the bamboo and venture only seldom onto the thicker stem. They probably sleep in the dense leaves during the night. We also scanned the forests near the campsite for chameleons. The first one we encountered was a massive Furcifer oustaleti. It is abundant and widespread in Madagascar and inhabits both warm and humid coastal lowlands but seems to prefer drier forests.