Nocturnal sportive lemurs aren’t very sportive. Even at night, they move slowly and during the day they hide (from the fossa) in tree hollows. You can sometimes spot them peering out of their hidey hole:
Not exactly easy to spot, are they? That’s why it’s good to have a guide, and many guides have “spotters” who scour the area for finds. Here’s a close-up:
Sifakas are named after the cry they make when they see an enemy (shee-fa-ka). Verreaux’s sifakas stay in family groups. According to one guide, there is one male per group; according to the other guide, the group consists of pairs. And according to Google, they’re both right – the “troops” of 2 – 12 animals can consist of one male and female, or many males and females together. Oh, and the females are dominant, so it’s a matriarchal society:
It was only on closer inspection later that we noticed that the male had lost an eye, and part of his ear:
Zombitse isn’t visited as much as the other parks on RN7, perhaps because it’s smaller and a little way off the beaten track – most tourists head from Isalo straight to the beaches of Toliara. But it was a rewarding and worthwhile experience. Apart from the lemurs, which are always a highlight, it was the short walk to the toilets that delivered the most impressive wildlife, the highlight of which was the gecko on the wall of the toilet:
Also on the “toilet walk” (I don’t think this is its official name!) was a giant coua:
Beautiful butterflies (impossible to photograph as they’re never still), termite nests, a shed snake skin and this lizard:
The park had also produced a strangling fig:
The ever-wonderful baobabs:
And some other incredible flora and fauna:
Isalo is the region of the Bara tribe, who have some of the more unusual customs. As well as the aforementioned circumcision ritual, every winter (Jul to Sep) they “turn the bones” of their ancestors, carefully rewrapping them before re-burial. Back to the ranch via plains dotted with Bara villages:
Other highlights on the return journey included the baobabs:
A small, but informative museum, and the “queen rock” (you might need a little imagination for this one):
Another great day 🙂
Other random stuff from today:
Let’s start with the BOTD:
A lady making rice cakes:
And us attracting attention during a comfort break:
