L I F E S T Y L E Travel & Adventure
Saturday June 25, 2005
Real-life Madagascar
Story & Pictures by LIZ PRICE
I am not an avid cinema-goer, but I was one of the first in line to see the film Madagascar. Why? Because it was set in a memorable country I had visited.
Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and lies off the southeast coast of Africa. For me, it evokes strong memories, as I have been there twice on caving expeditions. I remember the exotic wildlife – lemurs, chameleons and crocodiles.
Lemurs and giraffes (bottom left) are examples of Madagascar’s amazing wildlife.
The lemurs are primates, and native to Madagascar and the neighbouring Comoros islands. The film has three main lemur characters: King Julian is a ring-tailed lemur, little Mort is a tiny mouse lemur and Maurice is an aye-aye with huge bat-like ears on a large head, and an extra long middle finger on each hand. This is used for extracting meat from nuts and prising grub from beneath the bark of trees.
The sifakas weren’t featured in the film but they are some of the more agile lemurs. I found it amusing that the lemurs spoke with a French accent. This is because Madagascar was a French colony. The capital of Madagascar is Antananarivo, affectionately known by the locals as Tana.
The baddies in the film are the fosas, the largest of Madagascar’s carnivores, which are related to civets and mongooses. It looks like a small puma. Note that there is another Madagascar animal called the fossa, which is a civet.
Half the world’s chameleon species are found in Madagascar. They are comical-looking reptiles, with clamp-like feet, a long tapering tail and conical eyes which swivel independently of each other. Contrary to popular belief, chameleons do not change colour to match their surroundings. In the film, a chameleon is the king’s secretary taking the notes of the meeting.
Geckos are also common in Madagascar. One was shown at the end of the film on the king’s new crown. The island also boasts some of the world’s most bizarre-looking spiders.
Madagascar is home to the huge Nile crocodile. One of these ate a little duckling in the film. On our expeditions, we were wary of these creatures, especially when we had to wash in the river at night. On another occasion, we were walking alongside a pool to reach a cave when we realised we were being watched by two crocs. Luckily, they weren’t hungry that day.
The Madagascan flora is also special. My favourite is the baobab tree which has become the symbol of the island.
Baobabs have thick trunks and branches that look like roots sticking up in the air. That is why the baobab is called an upside down tree. Maybe it’s just having a bad hair day! Some baobabs tower above other trees.
Bad hair day
Cacti are found mainly in the south. Lemurs and other animals, such as the ox-like zebus eat cacti.
In the film, Alex the lion and Marty the zebra had problems with cacti spines. The other two main characters are Melman the giraffe and Gloria the hippo. All four animals come from Africa and are not found in Madagascar. Madagascar is not part of Africa, even though they are neighbours.
The film was well-researched, with the native flora and fauna quite accurately represented. Another feature is the tsingy, a spectacular landscape found in the north and west of Madagascar. It is made up of karst, a rocky area of caves, potholes and razor sharp limestone pinnacles. This landscape was depicted at the end of the film when Alex and Marty were nearly attacked by the fosas.
Madagascar is a great country with amazing animals. The film shows a good representation of these creatures. It’s educational as well as funny. W
Travel Tip
To get to Madagascar from Kuala Lumpur, fly to Johannesburg, South Africa or Mauritius, and take a connecting flight.
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