A visit to the Tsingy de Bemaraha in Western Madagascar was undertaken in 1991 to survey the lemurs of this little known reserve. Preliminary results of field observations and interviews with local inhabitants are presented together with notes on the forests, the human population and the conservation status of the regio

Mutschler, Thomas

Rakotoarison, Nasolo

Thalmann, Urs

RERO DOC Digital Library

Lemurs in Bemaraha (World HeritageLandscape, Western Madagascar)Nasolo Rakotoarison, Thomas Mutschler and Urs ThalmannA visit to the Tsingy de Bemaraha in Western Madagascar was undertaken in1991 to survey the lemurs of this little known reserve. Preliminary results of fieldobservations and interviews with local inhabitants are presented together withnotes on the forests, the human population and the conservation status of theregion.IntroductionThe Reserve Naturelle Integrate Tsingy deBemaraha is the largest reserve in Madagascar(1520 sq km) and has recently been classifiedas a World Heritage Landscape by UNESCO.The calcareous plateau of Bemaraha with itsspectacular pinnacles (tsingy) in the southernpart rises from about 100 m in the west to 850m in the east, and drops precipitously to thevalley of the Manambolo in the south. The cli-mate is seasonal, with rain from November toApril and a dry season of 6-8 months. Themean annual temperature exceeds 26 °C(Nicoll and Langrand, 1989).In 1990 two of us (TM, UT) discovered apopulation of Avahi (woolly lemur), whichwas provisionally identified as Avahi cf. occi-dentalis (Mutschler and Thalmann, 1992; tax-onomy for Avahi according to Rumpler et al.,1990). A follow-up visit was organized in 1991to study this population in more detail and tocarry out a survey of the lemur species, updat-ing the faunal list of Nicoll and Langrand(1989). The results of the lemur study are pre-sented here and the detailed results of theAvahi study will be presented elsewhere(Thalmann et al., unpubl. data).MethodsAn initial flight over the southern part of thereserve yielded an overall impression of thevegetation and the extent of forests. Becauseno car was available and public transportfacilities do not exist in the study region, theground survey was very limited. In order tolook for Avahi, surveys on foot were carriedout by day and night in a forest nearBekopaka (16-18 September) and in the sur-rounding forests of the camp site nearAmbalarano (22 September-14 October,Figure 1). During these walks, other lemurswere often encountered. At night, headlampsand night-vision apparatus (Leica WILD BIG-3) were used to identify species.Interviews were undertaken by one of us(NR) with our guide Monsieur Felix (7-10October). Fifteen people from seven villages(Figure 1) were interviewed to collect informa-tion on local human inhabitants and their useof the forests as well as information aboutlemurs, particularly Avahi, Hapalemur andDaubentonia.ResultsHuman populationEach village had 10-50 inhabitants. Many peo-ple belong to the Sakalava du Menabe tribe,which was once politically dominant. A fewconsider themselves to be Vazimba, some-times believed to be a legendary tribe ofMadagascar (e.g. Bradt, 1990; but see Sibree,1915; Birkeli, 1936; Lombard, 1988). TheVazimba were the first people to settle in thisregion; the Sakalava immigrated later and35at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300023930Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 30 May 2017 at 22:12:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, availableN. RAKOTOARISON, T. MUTSCHLER AND U. THALMANNnow there are immigrants from many othertribes: Antaimoro, Antandroy, Antanosy, andBara from the south, Betsileo from the south-ern highland, and Korao from the south-east.ForestsThe forests are mainly of the western drydeciduous type, especially on the plateau.Two types of subhumid forest also occur closeto the western precipice and in a number ofdepressions outside the reserve. At the end ofthe dry season, these forests are still green.The subhumid forest along the tsingy is aninterrupted band along the western border ofthe reserve. The main canopy reaches about 11m with emergent trees of 15-22 m. The mostfrequent tree species are the litsake (Sytnphoniasp.) and honofts-akoho (Mussenda laudia). Lightpenetration is relatively high and the under-growth is correspondingly relatively dense.The second type of subhumid forest has amain canopy layer at a height of about 15 m,and emergent trees reach a height of 20-32 m.Light penetration is less effective and under-growth is very limited. In this forest the mostfrequent tree species are the ampolindmno(IVepris sp.) and the rotsy (Eugenia sp.).Most villages are within 2-5 km of a forest,which is used for cattle pasture, huntingMahojaCamp sites:&:•:•:•:•:•rrrVReserve boundaryVillages visited for inquiryand number of people interviewedRoad, passable withCross-country vehicleduring dry seasonPassable with ox cartPathPrecipiceTsingyFigure 1. Map showing location and detail of study area (IGN, 1969).36 ORYX VOL 27 NO 1 JANUARY 1993at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300023930Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 30 May 2017 at 22:12:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, availableLEMURS IN BEMARAHA(mainly birds and lemurs) and gathering (e.g.medical plants, honey), as well as a source ofwood for fuel and construction of houses andcattle-pens.LemursInformation on lemurs is summarized in Table1. Nine lemur species were seen during oursurveys. We failed to find Daubentonia, but itspresence was reported by three local people.An unidentified species, with the local nameof malagnira, was mentioned by two relatedpeople. Six lemur species were considered tobe rare by one or several interviewees. Threespecies were said by people to be fady (=taboo)on at least one occasion: Propithecus verreauxideckeni, Phaner furcifer, Mirza coquereli. In gen-eral, however, lemurs are not fady.Daubentonia sp. The local name, bekapaky,describes the knocking sounds this animalmakes. Of the three people reporting the beka-paky, one claimed to have seen it in the late1960s in the Maromena forest within thereserve. When directly asked about the beka-paky, three further people said they knew thenoise, and three reported that they had onlyheard stories about the animal.Avahi cf. occidentalis. Dadintsifaky, the localname for this species, means grandparent ofthe sifaky. They are similar in appearance toPropithecus, but are believed to be olderbecause they are darker and smaller.Hapalemur g. occidentalis. The local name, bekola(be=big; fco/«=wound, also syphilis) refers tothe glandular area on the inside upper arm,particularly well developed in males(Tattersall, 1982). Hapalemur is not valued asfood because some local people fear that theycould become infected with syphilis if theywere to eat the animal.Phaner furcifer. (Local name: tanta). Severalpeople said that the meat of this species is bit-ter and repellent and they would not eat it.Propithecus v. deckeni. In addition to the well-ORYX VOL 27 NO 1 JANUARY 1993A male woolly lemur {Avahi cf. occidentalis) fromBemaraha at a sleeping site during the day (ThomasMutschler).known belief that these lemurs (local name:sifaky) are the ancestors of mankind (e.g. in theAntandroy tribe), one person told a moredetailed story. Once sifaky were human, butthey were transformed into their present formbecause the 'tromba' (a bad ancestral spirit)entered their bodies. They are not hunted bypeople who believe this story because theyfear that the 'tromba' will change host.Malagnira. The malagnira is claimed to be sim-ilar to the tilintilivaha (Microcebus), but smallerand with different behaviour.DiscussionHuman populationHuman population density in the region isstill relatively low although up-to-date census37at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300023930Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 30 May 2017 at 22:12:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, availableN. RAKOTOARISON, T. MUTSCHLER AND U. THALMANNdata are not available. The original inhabitantsof the region are very hospitable, and immi-grants do not encounter many problems. Mostimmigrants come from the south, leavingregions that are increasingly threatened bydrought. Population pressure is increasingand will probably accelerate in the future. Bytradition, immigrants from the south are morelikely to burn down the remaining accessibleforests for agriculture and settlements, evenwithin the reserve (H. Rabetaliana of UNDP,pers. comm.).ForestsAccess to some forests in the southern part ofthe reserve is difficult because of the tsingy.Wherever forests are accessible, especiallyalong reserve boundaries and outside(although borders of the reserve are unclear,F. Busson of UNDP, pers. comm.), they areheavily threatened by deliberate burning. Thesubhumid forest along the reserve's westernboundary has already been almost or com-pletely eliminated right up to the westernprecipice. It is possible that these partiallyevergreen forests serve as migration corridorsfor animals and as a refuge during the dryseason, so disruption of the area is alarming.Furthermore, the subhumid forests representunusual plant associations within the westernregion, where most other forest trees are leaf-less between the end of July and the beginningof November (Koechlin et ah, 1974; Rohnerand Sorg, 1989).LemursPublished distribution maps (Petter et al.,1977; Tattersall, 1982) show eight species oflemurs for Bemaraha or nearby regions. Inaddition, Tattersall (1982) indicates a museumspecimen of Avahi 200 km further south(Morondava). But the provenance of this speci-men cannot be confirmed (Mutschler andThalmann, 1992). Nicoll and Langrand (1989)listed seven species for the reserve togetherwith an additional species for a nearby region,again totalling eight species in all. Whereas itnow seems very probable that Daubentoniaoccurs in the region (see also Petter andAndriatsarafara, 1987), our discovery of Avahiextends the known distribution range of thespecies more than 350 km to the south. Thereis some evidence that Avahi from Bemarahadiffer from those of Ankarafantsika/Ampijoroa near Mahajanga, but it is not yetclear at which taxonomic level.Nine lemur species are definitely present inBemaraha (Table 1), and it is probable that theTable 1. Occurrence of lemur species at Bamaraha, based on surveys and interview resultsScientific nameMicrocebus murinusPropithecus verreauxi deckeniLemur fuhus rufusCheirogaleus mediusHapalemur griseus occidentalisPhaner furciferLepilemur edwardsiAvahi cf. occidentalisDaubentonia sp.UnknownMirza coquereliVernacular nameTilintilivahaSifakyGidroKelibehoyBekolaTantaBoengaDadintsifakyBekapakyMalagniraKifonjitsySV++++++++--+InterviewsN14131110101095+2*3+6*21R1--812-43--F_2---2----1STAVRAVRRVE-VSV, results of survey. Interviews: results include the number of local inhabitants reporting a species (N), con-sidering a species to be rare (R), and considering a species to be 'fady' (taboo, F). * Additional counts obtainedby asking directly about these species. ST: conservation status according to IUCN (Harcourt and Thornback,1990): A, abundant; V, vulnerable; R, rare; E, endangered.38 ORYX VOL 27 NO 1 JANUARY 1993at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300023930Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 30 May 2017 at 22:12:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, availableLEMURS IN BEMARAHAoccurrence of Daubentonia will be confirmedby sightings soon. We failed to confirm thepresence of the malagnira. According to R. D.Martin (pers. comm.), Petter (1962), andTattersall (1982), it is possible that two formsof Microcebus exist sympatrically in the west,but we did not pay special attention to thisproblem. There are, however, obvious differ-ences in Microcebus density. Near Camp 1,Microcebus was one of the most frequentlyspotted animals during each night walk. NearCamp 2, we first saw Microcebus only duringthe fifth night of intensive surveying, andnever in such high frequencies as near Camp1. We cannot provide an explanation for thesedifferences.The nine identified species, and possiblyDaubentonia, indicate a considerable diversityof lemurs for a western biotope, where reliabledata is available. Only seven species areknown both in Kirindy (about 150 km to thesouth, across the rivers Manambolo andTsiribihina), and in Ankarafantsika/Ampijoroanear Mahajanga (Nicoll and Langrand, 1989).Daubentonia may also be present inAnkarafantsika (Decary, 1950; Kaudern, 1915;Tattersall, 1982), but evidence is still weak.Although lemurs are protected by nationaland international legislation (for details seeHarcourt and Thornback, 1990), they are hunt-ed in considerable numbers in westernMadagascar (Favre, 1989 unpubl. data, 1990).Nevertheless, habitat destruction throughburning in order to gain new land for agricul-tural purposes is the most important threat, asis the case everywhere in Madagascar.ConservationThe UNDP recently initiated a MAB project(Man and Biosphere) in the region, as proposedby Petter (1988). Meanwhile, a project base hasbeen opened at Antsalova, an airstrip has beenbuilt near Bekopaka, and a second base atBekopaka was planned for construction (R.Albignac, UNDP, pers. comm.) while this arti-cle was being written. Consequently, consider-able efforts are under way to preserve thewhole region, including the RNI Tsingy deBemaraha.In addition to several other objectives, theproject aims to promote 'ecological tourism'.Indirect advertisement has already started inpopular magazines (e.g. Meister and Lanting,1991) and on French TV (P. Schmid, pers.comm.). Excursions to Bekopaka are offeredby travel agencies in Morondava, and publictransport (taxi brousse) has reached Bekopakatwice a week since 1991. Nevertheless, virtual-ly no tourist facilities are present in Bekopakaand there are not enough guides. A ReserveNaturelle Integrate may only be visited byofficials of the Water and Forest Departmentand scientists with permission from Malagasygovernmental authorities. It is not possible toobtain permission in Bekopaka or in Morondava.There are obviously legal and socioecon-omic problems to be solved in developing thearea for tourism. We sincerely hope thateverybody involved will draw lessons fromthe events in Perinet-Andasibe during the1980s. There, guides demanded exaggeratedsalaries (personal observations in 1987 andBradt, 1990). Subsequently, one of them spentmuch money on alcohol. The sad story endedwith the death of this once excellent and well-known young man (Bradt, 1990: 93).Development of tourism should be underta-ken very carefully, in order to avoid, as far aspossible, any form of negative impact on eitherthe social or ecological character of the region.Acknowledgmen tsWe thank the Madagascar governmental institutions(MINESup, MRSTD, MPAEF), especially MadameBerthe Rakotosamimanana, for permission to con-duct this expedition. Very special thanks go to ourguide Monsieur Felix and to Monsieur Ibrahim andhis family, all from Bekopaka. We thank T.Geissmann and Prof. R. D. Martin for comments onthe draft of the manuscript. The expedition wasmaterially and financially supported by: A. H.Schultz-Foundation, anonymous contributions, G.and A. Claraz-Donation, Leica Heerbrugg Ltd.,Rentenanstalt Insurance's, Swiss Academy ofScience, Vontobel Holding Ltd., Zoological Societyof Zurich.ReferencesBirkeli, E. 1936. Les Vazimba de la cote ouest deMadagascar. Mem. Acad. Malgache, 22,1—67.ORYX VOL 27 NO 1 JANUARY 1993 39at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300023930Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 30 May 2017 at 22:12:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, availableN. RAKOTOARISON, T. MUTSCHLER AND U. THALMANNBradt, H. 1990. Guide to Madagascar, 2nd edn. Bucks(UK) and Edison (USA): Bradt (UK) and Hunter(USA).Decary, R. 1950. La Faune Malgache. Payot, Paris.Favre, J.-C. 1989. Unpubl. Essai a"estimation de lavaleur economique de la foret dense seche de la regionde Morondava (Madagascar) selon different modes demise en valeur. Travail de diplome, EcolePolytechnique Federal Zurich, Switzerland.Favre, J.-C. 1990. Evaluations qualitatives et quanti-tatives des utilisations villageoises des ressourcesnaturelles en foret dense seche - etude de cas duvillage Marofandilia dans la region deMorondava/Madagascar. Dept. fur Wald- undHolzforschung ETH Zurich, ArbeitsberichteInternationale Reihe, 90 (4), 1-59.Harcourt, C. and Thornback, J. 1990. Lemurs ofMadagascar and the Comoros. IUCN, Gland,Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.IGN. 1969. Carte de Madagascar au 1/100 00 -Feuille G-47. Antananarivo: Institut GeographiqueNational, Centre a Madagascar.Kaudern, W. 1915. Saugetiere aus Madagaskar. Ark.Zoo/. 9(18), 1-101.Koechlin, J., Guillaumet, J.-L. and Morat, P. 1974.Flore et Vegetation de Madagascar. J. Cramer,Vaduz.Lombard, J. 1988. Le royaume Sakalava du Menabe-Essai d'analyse d'un systeme politique a Madagascar.Editions ORSTOM, Paris.Meister, M. and Lanting, F. 1991. ExperimentMadagaskar. Geo, 1991 (11), 165-192.Mutschler, T. and Thalmann, U. 1992. Sighting ofAvahi (woolly lemur) in western Madagascar.Primate Conservation, 11.Nicoll, M.E. and Langrand, O. 1989. Madagascar:Revue de la conservation et des aires protegees. WWF,Gland, Switzerland.Petter, J.-J. 1962. Recherches sur 1'ecologie etl'ethologie des lemuriens malgaches. Mem. MusNatn. Histoire Nat., Serie A, Zoologie, 27,1-146.Petter, J.-J. 1988. La conservation des foretsnaturelles dans la region de Morondava. InL'Equilibre des Ecosystemes forestiers a Madagascar:Actes d'un seminaire international (eds L.Rakotavao, V. Barre and J. Sayer), pp. 274-277.IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK.Petter, J.-J., Albignac, R. and Rumpler, Y. 1977.Mammiferes Lemuriens (Primates Prosimiens).ORSTOM/CNRS, Paris.Petter, J.-J. and Andriatsarafara, S. 1987. Leslemuriens de l'ouest de Madagascar. In Prioritesen matiere de conservation des especes a Madagascar(eds R. A. Mittermeier, L. H. Rakotovao, V.Randrianasolo, E. J. Sterling and D. Devitre), pp.71-73. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland.Rohner, U. and Sorg, J.-P. 1989. Observationsphenologiques en foret dense seche. 2 Tomes. (2ndedn.). Centre de Formation ProfessionnelleForestiere 'Fofampiala', Morondava.Rumpler, Y., Warter, S., Rabarivola, C, Petter, J.-J.and Dutrillaux, B. 1990. Chromosomal evolutionin Malagasy lemurs: XII. Chromosomal bandingstudy of Avahi laniger occidentalis (Syn: Lichanotuslaniger occidentalis) and cytogenetic data in favourof its classification in a species apart - Avahi occi-dentalis. Amer. J. Primatol. 21,307-316.Sibree, J. 1915. A Naturalist in Madagascar. Seeley,Service & Co Ltd, London.Tattersall, I. 1982. The Primates of Madagascar.Columbia University Press, New York.Thalmann, U., Geissmann, T., Mutschler, T. andRakotoarison, N. Unpubl. Field observations on arecently discovered population of Avahi (woollylemur) in western Madagascar.Nasolo Rakotoarison, Laboratoire de Zoologie, PareBotanique et Zoologique de Tsimbazaza, BP 4096,Antananarivo 101, Madagascar.Thomas Mutschler and Urs Thalmann,Anthropological Institute and Museum, Universityof Zurich, Winterthurerstr. 190, CH-8057 Zurich,Switzerland.40 ORYX VOL 27 NO 1 JANUARY 1993at https:/www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605300023930Downloaded from https:/www.cambridge.org/core. University of Basel Library, on 30 May 2017 at 22:12:49, subject to the Cambridge Core terms of use, available

Lemurs in Bemaraha (World Heritage Landscape, Western Madagascar)

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