Madagascar 2020, part 24 (Andasibe, Peyrieras Reserve, Antananarivo)

When after two wonderful and long walks around the rainforests of eastern Madagascar we returned to our hotel in Andasibe it was still day and my friend Sneža and I sat on the terrace by the restaurant and ordered some coffee while, in line with the modern trends, each looked at her “digital device.” Still, I often love to look around myself and thus I by chance noticed an incredibly big moth that was, while hanging onto a blossom, standing above the entrance onto the restaurant’s terrace. This was the Madagascar emperor moth (Bunaea aslauga). Its wing span can be as much as 15 cm!

Madagascar emperor moth

In order to see the size of this moth better, I tried a couple of times to position my thumb next to the moth making sure that I did not touch it and possibly scare it or hurt it, but in the end my thumb was not at the same plane as the moth after all. On account of that the photo does not depict the real ratio of the sizes, but it still provides some notion about this huge insect.

Madagascar emperor moth and my finger

Then I also went for a brief walk around the complex that belonged to the hotel we were staying at and this was all situated in the middle of a forest.

Pond in the middle of the hotel’s complex and parts of the hotel

I also took another photo of a lonely, but nice traveller’s palm (Ravenala madagascariensis).

Traveller’s palm

When I returned to the terrace, the moth was no longer by those flowers. Well, ok. I sat at the table and continued staring at my “digital device,” while it was getting dark outside. At some point we needed to move inside in order to have dinner and when we wanted to take our backpacks and jackets, I saw that our “neighbour” was still there. Now I had to use the flash in order to take a photo of it, but this did not turn too bad in the end.

Madagascar emperor moth

The following morning, after breakfast, we started with our journey back to Antananarivo, but with plans to make stops at a couple of very important places. To start with, the morning was cloudy and it drizzled, but even that soon stopped and it was dry.

The pavement was still wet

In the village where we had been stuck on account of a traffic accident for a couple of hours on our way here two days earlier, there was a market day this time.

Local market day

While some were selling and buying at the market, some others worked hard in the fields since the rice would simply not plant itself.

Hard work in the rice field, but with a smile on the face

And then the road brought us to the private Peyrieras Reserve which has been named liked that after its founder, a well-known French naturalist. This is a centre for the breeding and reproduction of a large number of animals, primarily butterflies, chameleons, reptiles and amphibians. These are all small animals and therefore this reserve is not particularly big, but it is still an almost unavoidable stop for all visitors travelling between the capital, Antananarivo, and the east coast of Madagascar, which is additionally facilitated by the fact that the entrance into the reserve is located literally right beside the main road, RN2.

When Rija, our driver, parked the car, Sneža and I bought the tickets and on that occasion we were assigned a guide. While all of this was being arranged, I took the opportunity to take photos of a couple of species of local garden flowers.

Flowers in the garden of Peyrieras Reserve

Then we started going up a relatively steep path. Parallel to us, there were also two young Chinese women with their guide. In other words, it was not as crowded as it can certainly be during the high season.

At some point we came across a small family of Coquerel’s sifakas (Propithecus coquereli) and the guides gave us all pieces of banana so that we could feed the animals. Namely, in addition to their programmes for the breeding and reproduction of different endangered animals Peyrieras Reserve also serves as a zoo of a sort aimed at popularising the animal world and this certainly also ensures inflow of funds from the visitors craving “adventures” and picturesque experiences.

Coquerel’s sifakas, the mom and the baby

Then we climbed a little more up and there we came across another group of Coquerel’s sifakas, as well as a couple of specimens of the common brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus).

Coquerel’s sifakas

Coquerel’s sifaka

In addition to the possibility for the visitors to offer food to lemurs here as well, there was also a small platform where the food was left for them anyway in order to get them used to coming to a place where there was enough space so that the visitors could easily watch them and admire them.

Common brown lemur

After this, we went down the same path that brought us here and then the guide took us to a larger enclosure covered by nets, where there was a proper garden with low trees. This is the realm of a local “kingdom” of chameleons. Chameleons are a type of lizards and there are over 200 species of them. Although they are famous for their ability to change the colour depending on the direct setting, this is true for only a certain number of species of this animal, but not for all. These are very specific animals and, apart from that changing of the colour of their skin, they also have different other specificities – two eyes that can move and turn completely independently one from the other, an exceptionally long tongue which they use to catch prey, a tail they use to maintain their balance and move, etc. On this occasion I did not go at all into the discovery of the names of different species, but rather I fully enjoyed their amazingly fantastic picturesqueness.

Chameleon

Chameleon – this one is asleep

Their limbs are also characteristic and in the next couple of photos you can practically see how a chameleon moves from a horizontal to a vertical branch.

Chameleon – we are on a horizontal branch

Chameleon – now we are about to grab a vertical branch

Chameleon – now we are already fully on the vertical branch and we move on

Here is a short video version:

After this, we continued coming across other chameleons.

Chameleon

And then we came across one that was standing immobile on a branch until the guide caught an unsuspecting locust that was quietly resting on a leaf, after which the chameleon devoured it. Here is the photograph...

Chameleon in action

... and here is a video recording:

Then the guide repeated this with yet another chameleon, but in this case I only have photos of it while munching on its locust.

Chameleon munching its lunch

Now it was already the time to burp.

Chameleon after having swallowed a locust

There was yet another species for us to see.

Chameleon

With this chameleon, you can see in the photo below how its eyes go in different directions.

Chameleon

This one is just standing immobile on a branch.

Chameleon

And then came a moment when the guide offered us to hold a chameleon. This is something not to be missed and I can report that the feeling is quite cute.

Chameleon on my hand

With this we finished with the tour of the chameleons and then the guide took us to see some other animals. There were different species. For instance, Madagascar tomato frog (Dyscophus antongilii) which is endemic on Madagascar and whose female can grow to as much as 10 cm or so.

Madagascar tomato frog

There were also a few geckos. Again, I don’t know anything about the differences among species and sub-species of this lizard family, but those in the photos below certainly have a tail in the shape of a leaf and consequently they are appropriately called the leaf-tailed geckos and belong to the Uroplatus genus. Geckos used to be considered as poisonous, but in fact they are quite harmless little animals. Among other things they are characterised by the ability to climb vertical and polished surfaces (walls, rocks ...) thanks to the protrusions growing on the tips of their toes.

Leaf-tailed gecko – it appears that with its hind right leg it is holding on to the surface for dear life

Leaf-tailed gecko – thanks to such toes, there are no problems

Two leaf-tailed geckos in two different colours

Since I’m mentioning reptiles, let me say that we also saw a couple of boas, as well as an interesting small snake which I found particularly interesting. This was the Madagascar leaf-nosed snake (Langaha madagascariensis) that can grow in length up to 1 metre. Later I read that when provoked these snakes are known to bite and although a human cannot die from their bite (these are rare snakes here that produce poison), this poison of theirs can create significant pain. Perhaps it was good that I was utterly unaware of all of this when I accepted to have it slither across my hand. This was the first snake I have ever touched in my life, but I did not find the experience overwhelming.

Madagascar leaf-nosed snake

And then “hooked” to their cocoons we saw several specimens of one of the biggest moths in the world and that is the comet moth (Argema mittrei). This is an absolutely stunningly beautiful moth species.

Comet moth

Comet moths

Although the natural habitats of these moths are disappearing at a very fast pace, the good thing is that they can be successfully bread under artificial conditions. It is interesting that as adults these moths cannot feed (!) and therefore they die within 4-5 days.

Comet moth

Their wing span can go to around 22-23 cm, while the length of their “tails” is around 20 cm. I must admit that I came across different data, so I’m not quite sure about all of this, but in the end, here is a photograph in which it is possible to get an idea about their size.

Comet moth and my thumb

And it was more or less here that Sneža and I finished with our tour of the Peyrieras Reserve which is situated around 70 kilometres east of the capital of Madagascar. After we got into the car, we continued with our drive back to Antananarivo.

Along the way we kept seeing freshly washed laundry that was arranged over shrubs to dry. Rija told us that it was the custom when somebody died – all of their laundry is freshly washed and left out to dry.

Drying of laundry

Bearing in mind that we had yet another place left to visit on this day, when we approached Antananarivo, Rija started to go along some side roads he was familiar with in order to avoid the traffic jam in the city. In some places we did well, while in others we got stuck in traffic anyway. The capital of Madagascar has exceptionally dense traffic and although it can be seen that new roads are being built that should probably improve the situation, one has to be extremely patient. To start with Rija began driving along the perimeter of the city.

On the one side is the city, while on the other there are rolling green hills

The probable reason for such traffic jams and the “lack” of streets and roads is that Antananarivo spreads over numerous hills between which there are often rice fields. In this way, the surface that can be used for building roads is rather limited and on the other hand, although Madagascar is considered a poor country, like in all parts of the world the number of vehicles is on the rise.

Typical rice fields within the city

Still, although Rija certainly knows the city in which he lives and its streets very well, the crowds were such that it took us over an hour to cover some 10 km or so in order to get to the last destination Sneža and I were visiting with Rija and by the rented car. This was the Royal Hill of Ambohimanga.

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