Bella Bear's Global Adventures from Sussex in the UK to the Amazon Rainforest and Madagascar
MADAGASCAR
Many children will know the Island of Madagascar because of the 2005 animated movie of the same name. But where is Madagascar?
Madagascar is a large island in the Indian Ocean and is near the east coast of Africa. In fact Madagascar is the 4th largest Island in the World. Britain, which looks large on a map, is only the 9th largest).
Half of the birds, and most of the plants exist nowhere else on earth, Madagascar is one of the top ten important places for nature biodiversity in the world. It is also the only country in the world where you can find lemurs.
Although the Lewes Railway Land Nature Reserve is more than 5300 miles from Madagascar, there is a unique and very special link between the two places.
This started with a very special friendship that developed between Dr John Parry Director of the Lewes Railway Land Wildlife Trust and Alison Jolly (a primatoligist and conservationist) and her colleague Dr Hanta Rasamimanana.
Alison Jolly's field research in Madagascar focused on lemur behavior and ecology on the Berenty Reserve in Madagascar.
Madagascar did not start off as an island
Click the play button below to see a short video explaining how Madagascar became an island.
Madagascar and Lewes
Madagascar is home to many amazing animals found nowhere else on Earth. Some species of animals found on Madagascar's today were left on the island when it separated from India.
Other animals arrived on the island after its split, travelling from other places. Some birds and some insects may have flown across the water to reach Madagascar. Sepearted from the main land these animals continued to evolve new species.
The island of Madagascar is divided by a very tall range of mountains. On the west side of the mountains, Madagascar's weather is very dry. Plants and animals live here that have adapted to the scorching-hot days and bitterly cold nights.
On the east side of the island is a lush green rainforest. Warm tropical winds blowing in from the Indian Ocean are trapped on the east side by the mountains resulting in lots of rain. The forest is home to many interesting insects, birds and other animals). 5 meters of rain can fall in a year.
An island of two halves and two climates
Where did Madagascar's wildlife come from?
Madagascar is also famous for being the home of lemurs, only found on Madagascar. The first lemur-like primates on the fossil record appeared roughly 60 million years ago in mainland Africa. Some scientists believe that lemurs may have have floated to Madagascar on "rafts" of floating vegetation.
Later, monkeys appeared on main land Africa but Lemurs where able to continue to evolve in isolation.
There are now many species of lemur ranging in size from the 25-gram pygmy mouse lemur to the indri. Locally, they are also known as babakotos, which means 'man of the forest'. They climb trees and using their powerful legs to jump through the canopy in leaps of over 10 metres. Indris produce loud territorial calls that can be heard from over 1km away. It’s the best way to tell other lemurs where you are.
The Indris are active during the day and feed on leaves and fruit growing in the forest canopy
Lemurs
People of Madagascar
People eventually travelled to Madagascar and made it their home. Historians think that these people settled at different times and came from different countries including Africa and South Asia.
Most of the people speak Malagasy and have their own culture and traditions.
Dr Hanta Rasamimanana
Dr Alison Jolly