Animal fun in Madagascar

LETTERS

Madagascar has always been on our bucket list. Your article “Mora mora in Madagascar” in go! #129 gave us the final push. We contacted Madagascar Island Safaris and off we went on a week-long paddling trip. We slept in a different location each night, snorkelling with turtles and eating fish we’d caught off the kayaks. We extended our trip with Malagasy Tours for 10 days to see the rest of the north of Madagascar. One day we felt like we were on a National Geographic film set. We were leaving Amber Mountain National Park heading over to the Tsingy Rouge ( jaw-dropping limestone formations) when a panther chameleon (inset) was rather hurriedly crossing the road. He was partially green, but still very bright, and our guide said there must be a reason for his unusual colouration, so we looked around. We found another panther chameleon in a tree, in full yellow breeding colour, fighting with an Oustalets’s chameleon. We also found the femme fatale, who was decked out in purple and orange. A total of four chameleons – on the side of the road! At Ankarana National Park, while taking photos of a crowned lemur troupe, they suddenly went wild and climbed higher in the trees. Then a fossa appeared! It’s Madagascar’s only predator and it’s nocturnal, and here he’d showed up to snack on lemurs at lunchtime. It was a wonderful experience that we’ll never forget. Thank you for inspiring us on our adventures. RODNEY & JO DUFFETT, Cape Town