The Mikea Forest (or Forêt des Mikea ) is a forested region of southwestern Madagascar , between Manombo and Morombe . More specifically, it stretches from Route Nationale 9 to the west coast and from Mangoky south to the Manombo River . It lies at the transition between dry deciduous forest , which is more common further north in Madagascar, and spiny forest , which is dominant in southwestern Madagascar. Its underlying geology is unconsolidated sand, and the region contains several freshwater lakes. The Forêt des Mikea is one of the largest remaining continuous forest blocks in western and southern Madagascar, but it is not protected and it is threatened by human development.
14-592: The Masikoro are a group of farmers and herders who inhabit areas surrounding the Mikea Forest , a patch of mixed spiny forest and dry deciduous forest along the coast of southwestern Madagascar in Toliara Province . Along with Vezo and Mikea , the Masikoro are Sakalava people , the difference being that Masikoro are of the land, Vezo are of the sea, and Mikea are of the forest. Some 90,000 of
28-532: A large protected area , to provide aid to improve agriculture, and to establish a network of community-based conservation areas. In 2001, Madagascar National Parks , known then as ANGAP, was considering a new national park in the area. By 2008, a national park encompassing 184,630 hectares (712.9 sq mi) in two parcels had been submitted to the Supreme Council for Nature Protection (a state entity that deals with natural resource management) and
42-504: Is trying to save this species from extinction. Furcifer belalandaensis is endemic to Belalanda , a town and rural commune in Toliara II District , Atsimo-Andrefana , south-west Madagascar. It is one of only five Critically Endangered reptiles extremely threatened by extinction. It has an extremely small range, being restricted to an area of 4 square kilometres ( 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 square miles). Its original habitat
56-590: The Furcifer belalandaensis is unknown, the International Union for Conservation of Nature believes that the population is declining. In a local initiative, the municipal authority has taken steps to ban the collection and trade in this species and local people are involved in its preservation. The Belalanda chameleon is green in colour. It has a casque similar to its relative the veiled chameleon , albeit somewhat smaller. Furcifer belalandaensis
70-475: The baobabs Adansonia za and A. rubrostipa . Between the 1960s and the 2000s, forest cover had declined by 16% and deforestation was accelerating, having doubled in the last five years of that time period. The factors behind the deforestation at that time were slash and burn agriculture for maize cultivation in the northern regions of the forest and charcoal production in the southern regions. As of 2000, recommendations had been made to establish
84-753: The Masikoro people, mainly concentrated in the districts of Toliara and Morombe , speak the Masikoro-Malagasy language, a dialect of the Malagasy language . At one time there was a Masikoro kingdom with a king ruling the territory. Masikoro according to some means "Those dressed in clothing made from rushes". The Masikoro belong ethnically to the Sakalava people along with the Mikea and the Vezo fishermen, which trade products caught, foraged or cultivated in
98-463: The Masikoro, rather than the Vezo, as the Masikoro have had more power and a larger population. It was important for the king to have a reliable boat available for transport, so if a Masikoro damaged a Vezo canoe, the punishment was beheading. Masikoro have "long, curly hair; high and broad foreheads; large and deep-set eyes; and wide nostrils". The women pound maize and rise on a daily basis, which calluses
112-626: The forest among themselves. Some of the clan names are shared between the Masikoro and Mikea peoples. As agropastoralists, the Masikoro typically raise cattle and cultivate maize and manioc "semi-intensively on a 12-to 15-month schedule". Weekly markets are held in villages of the Masikoro people in which the Mikea trade their products made from the forest such as honey , tambotrika, tavolo powder, and ovy. Masikoro sell maize, manioc and rice from carts in Belo . Historically, Sakalava kings resided among
126-553: The habitat has started to disappear, the remaining populations appear to have become isolated. As of 2000, of the 27 threatened species of bird in Madagascar, only two ( Monias benschi and Uratelornis chimaera ) were not found in protected areas, but both were fairly common within the unprotected forests of Mikea. Monias benschi had an estimated population of 115,000, while the Uratelornis chimaera population
140-544: The introduced black rat ( Rattus rattus ); the tenrecs Tenrec ecaudatus , Setifer setosus , Echinops telfairi , Geogale aurita , and Microgale jenkinsae ; and the shrew Suncus madagascariensis . Macrotarsomys petteri and Microgale jenkinsae are unique to the forest and were only discovered in the 2000s. The popular ring-tailed lemur ( Lemur catta ) also occurs in Mikea Forest, though it seems to always have been present in very low densities. Since
154-422: The thumb base. Funerals may continue for weeks or even longer. Mikea Forest This transitional terrain is one of the least protected of Madagascar's habitats. This soil composition has resulted in a collection of plant and animal species, even distinct from adjacent vegetation on limestone. Small terrestrial mammals found here include the rodents Macrotarsomys bastardi , Macrotarsomys petteri , and
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#1732773370219168-425: Was estimated at fewer than 15,000. A survey published in 2005 reported that 59 species of reptile were identified near the eastern shore of Lake Ranobe in the southern Mikea Forest, five of which were vulnerable . Some of these species include Matoatoa brevipes , Oplurus fierinensis , Furcifer antimena , Furcifer belalandaensis , Phelsuma standingi , and Pyxis arachnoides . The flora includes
182-403: Was gallery forest but this has all been cleared and it is now found in the canopies of the non-indigenous trees that have been planted and in the few remaining mature trees. Its main threat is from the significant amount of logging occurring for the manufacture of charcoal in this area. It can be found at between 18 and 20 metres (60 and 65 feet) above sea level. Although the true population of
196-721: Was in the process of being finalized. 22°36′S 43°24′E / 22.6°S 43.4°E / -22.6; 43.4 Furcifer belalandaensis Furcifer belalandaensis , also commonly known as the Belalanda chameleon or the Sangoritan'i Belalanda , is a species of chameleon that is endemic to Madagascar . It was identified and described by Édouard-Raoul Brygoo and Charles Domergue in 1970. The International Union for Conservation of Nature rated this species as Critically Endangered on their Red List of Threatened Species . The World Wide Fund for Nature
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