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Duke Alumni Travel Tour of Madagascar Visit to Marojejy
Continued
P A G E 5
V O L U M E 2 , I S S U E 1
Ambatotsondrana (which means “leaning rock” in Malagasy)
across the valley. If such a place were in a US national park,
there would be a paved road right up to it, with constant hordes
of visitors! We all felt awed and privileged to simply be there.
All of the following day was reserved for observing the rare
silky sifakas (
Propithecus candidus
), and we were not
disappointed! After an hour of difficult forest bushwhacking on
near-vertical forested slopes, our guides led us to Erik’s main
study group of silky sifakas. What amazing and gorgeous animals
they are – so big and robust with a thick pelage of white fur. And
jumping so effortlessly through the mountainous forest. As the
group is quite habituated now, we were able to stay with the
silkies for hours, watching them feed and the infants play. I have
spent many years in Madagascar, but this was one of the most
special moments I have ever experienced – just remarkable.
The following day we were back on the trail again for the
return hike. We took it slowly on the long walk back, which took
most of the day. Our uncanny good luck with the weather
continued, with no rain to speak of (an unusual occurrence at
Marojejy, especially over multiple days!) Along the way, before
crossing the park boundary, we were lucky enough to find the
spectacular helmet vanga (
Euryceros prevostii
) which has a huge
arched blue bill. It was sitting on its nest, which was nestled into
the central growing point of a tree fern. We also saw a few white
-fronted brown lemurs (
Eulemur albifrons
). But no matter what
else we saw, there just really was no comparison to our up-close-
and-personal experience with the elegant silky sifakas.
S A V A C O N S E R V A T I O N
Kitchen and dining area at Camp Marojejia in Marojejy NP
Photo by Megan Elwing
Ambatotsondrona ("leaning rock") at Camp Marojejia
Photo by Megan Elwing
Silky sifaka near Camp Marojejia
Photo by Megan Elwing