So!
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| A lovely sunset from the bench just outside camp, those are the village boats |
I'm finally doing something with these photos I have. Organising them was a chore, but I got it done. As you may know, I spent Sep. 2014 - Apr. 2015 in the village of Ambalahonko, Nosy Be, Madagascar. It is right outside the buffer zone (not reserve but still semi-protected) of the Lokobe Special Reserve. It is comparatively a tiny reserve, a little over 740 hectares, on the southeastern tip of the island, and the only remaining protected area of Sambirano rainforest. Our village was inaccessible by road, so people who wanted to go into town for snacks and internet took the village boat into town. The camp was literally on the beach, our floor being sand. On really high spring tides, we had to wade through knee high water, our huts were on stilts so no worries there.
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| My home for the last three months of my stay |
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| Lokobe - untouched |
During my first 20 weeks I was a volunteer and helped the staff members with collecting data (reptiles, birds, butterflies, lemurs, and sometimes amphibians) and their personal projects. The days we went close to the edge of Lokobe were usually the most interesting, especially at night. The level of forest degradation was painfully visible as we came back to camp. Reptiles were the main attraction, although I had a special fascination with invertebrates, and especially caterpillars, moths, and spiders. I made it a point to go on (almost) all the walks, and being tired was worth it. After those 20 weeks I applied to be a staff member and got the position. I could then lead walks and was collecting data myself. I also conducted a personal project on the diversity of soil invertebrates. Some of those tiny things were really interesting, especially the pseudoscorpions (pretty much scorpions without tails). It was great knowing the forest so well after a while, and I became quite good at spotting things. I also assisted in the capture of the first Pseudoxyrhopus quinquelineatus specimen from Nosy Be, and captured an unidentified species of Madascincus skink.
Didn't cut my hair so I looked like a crazy beach bum, not that I mind. Yes, I will be using scientific names for reptiles and amphibians, because I don't know the common names. Not for the birds and lemurs though.
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| My last Madagascar sunrise, that is mainland Madagascar in the distance |
More to come!
