Andohahela National Park

A view over the transitional forest of Andohahela National Park

Andohahela National Park
IUCN category II (national park)
Location of Andohahela National Park
Location	Anosy - Southern Madagascar
Nearest city	Tôlanaro (Fort Dauphin)
Coordinates
Area	760 km²
Established	1997
Visitors	approx. 1300 (in 2005)
Governing body	Madagascar National Parks Association (PNM-ANGAP)

Andohahela National Park, in southeast Madagascar, is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers 760 square kilometers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy Highlands. These mountains form a natural barrier to the moist trade winds that blow from the east, causing a rainfall of 1500 to 2000mm per year on their eastern side that supports one of the few rainforests south of the tropic of Capricorn. At the western edge of the park, the rainfall is just 600 to 700mm per year and the resulting vegetation is a dry spiny forest characteristic of southern Madagascar. In the area between these two climatic extremes is a unique transitional forest known as the Ranopiso transition, which is characterised by the locally endemic triangular palm, Dypsis decaryi.

The variety of habitats within Andohahela is mirrored in the richness of species that are found there. Fifteen species of lemur have been recorded, including two of Madagascar's most emblematic species, the Ring-tailed Lemur and Verreaux's Sifaka.

Several circuits within each of the habitat types of the park can be accessed by road from the town of Tolagnaro. Detailed information on arranging trips is available from the tourism information office or from the Madagascar National Parks Association (PNM-ANGAP)office in Tolagnaro.

This National Park was inscribed in the World Heritage Site in 2007 as part of the Rainforests of the Atsinanana.

List of lemur species found in Andohahela National Park

Location	Habitat Type	Species
Malio (Parcel 1)	Rain forest	Day viewing: Collared Brown Lemur (Eulemur collaris) Southern Lesser Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur meridionalis) Milne-Edwards' Sifaka (Propithecus edwardsi) – not confirmed Night viewing: Fleurete's Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur fleuretae) unidentified species of mouse lemur (Microcebus) - not confirmed unidentified species of fork-marked lemur (Phaner) - not confirmed Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) - not confirmed
Ihazofotsy (Parcel 2)	Spiny forest	Day viewing: Ring-tailed Lemur (Lemur catta) Verreaux's Sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) Night viewing: Gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus murinus) Reddish-gray Mouse Lemur (Microcebus griseorufus) White-footed Sportive Lemur (Lepilemur leucopus) Fat-tailed Dwarf Lemur (Cheirogaleus medius)
Tsimelahy (Parcel 3)	Transitional forest	few lemurs (not documented)

See also

• National parks of Madagascar
• Tôlanaro

External links

• Andohahela National Park Official site