Madagascar Flora and fauna are the best thing that this island has to offer to the world along with the awesome natural surroundings of this island nation. Flora and fauna in Madagascar is extremely popular as the island houses some of the most unique and rare species of the world. Numerous species of plants, reptiles, insects and fishes are found exclusively in this island, and they are the very heart of Madagascar geography. Initially Madagascar was blanketed by forests but later on deforestation caused a huge devastation of these natural assets of the island.
A large portion of the
Madagascar flora and fauna inhabit the rain forests of the island. The rain forests mainly consist of numerous unique plant species and the island houses about 900 species of orchids. Coconut, bananas, mangoes, vanilla and other tropical plants are widespread in Madagascar forests.
Some of the unique flora of Madagascar are mentioned below:
- The Alluaudia Procera
- The Rosy Periwinkle
- The Aloe Vaombe
- The Euphorbia Viguieri
- The Moist Cucurbitaceae
- The Adansonia Grandidieri
Fauna is an equally important part of the Madagascar island and the lemurs and the chameleons can be considered to be the dual iconic vertebrates of Madagascar. The island has numerous varieties of these two species and it is quite easy to spot them. The wild life safari is the best bet to explore these friendly wild creatures of the island. The parks and reserves of Madagascar offer numerous varieties of lemurs and they are really the most striking among other wild life species.
Chameleons are even easier to find in Madagascar and these creatures are the masters of camouflage. Chameleons in Madagascar come in wide range of colors but it is really unusual to find these creatures not changing their colors to merge with the environment. Desert tortoise is another part of Madagascar flora and fauna. Huge deforestation has caused a massive decline in the number of birds and some of the invertebrates in Madagascar. The endemic insects exist also in Madagascar, although it is quite tough to find them.
Madagascar is the most diverse planet in earth but it is sad to see the misuse of the natural resources leading to the gradual destruction of the flora and fauna of Madagascar.
