Anjajavy Forest
The Anjajavy's Protected Area is located on a peninsula of the town of Antonibe, in the district of Analalava and in the north-west region of Madagascar.
It is part of the Sofia region of the independent province of Mahajanga and its position is between 47°13’ at 44°22’ of longitude east and 14°58 at 15°07’ of latitude south..It can be accessed by an unpaved provincial road from Antonibe and Anjiamangirana I (RN 6).
[1] It covers roughly fifty square kilometres, and occupies a continuous portion of the peninsula upon which Anjajavy village lies.
For example, the central highland plateau, readily accessible from the population center, has been decimated by decades of slash-and-burn farming by indigenous peoples, leading to massive desertification and erosion.
Like most of Madagascar's dry deciduous forests, the upper canopy is composed of trees which shed their leaves in the winter months (May through September), including at least two species of baobabs endemic to the western part of the island.
Trees here have adapted to the warm arid climate by shedding leaves in the dry season to reduce evapotranspiration, and some species such as the baobab store large amounts of water in their bulbous trunks.
A critically endangered habitat, Anjajavy's Protected Area is a rare and precious dry deciduous forest.
[2] For naturalists and amateurs of plants, there is a lot to see: aloes, euphorbias, bottle-creepers, giant vanilla beans growing on the sharp limestone formations of the Tsingy.
The baobab trees clinging to the Tsingy islands in the turquoise waters of Moramba Bay shape one of Madagascar's most spectacular and magical landscapes.
These trees are true survivors, withstanding terrible droughts and fierce storms, and they can grow on bare rock on sea isles.
People make offerings at the base of the baobab, such as zebu horns, coins, rum or honey in the hope of receiving protection from the ancestors.
The mangrove rivers flanking the Anjajavy Forest form excellent natural borders to the Protected Area and convenient transportation routes to visit.
This biotope simultaneously serves as a curtain of protection against strong and salty winds, a fire-wall, a damp buffer useful to the forest during the dry season and as filter against the turbidity of the coastal waters.
The two rivers of mangroves on both sides of the Anjajavy forest constitute excellent natural borders for the Protected Area as well as practical transportation routes which allow for better exploration.
In general, the mangroves also provide human beings with vital services; the pneumatophore roots help to stabilise the soft soils and to protect the coast line against erosion and natural catastrophes.
The most frequently seen diurnal species[3] are Coquerel's sifaka and the common brown lemur both of which are completely wild but show no fear of humans[4] gardens.
Lemurs of the Anjajavy Forest are: The tsingy caves provide special habitat for the bats of this region, offering cool shelter.
Also seen in the Anjajavy Forest area is the endangered Fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), the largest mammalian carnivore is endemic to the island.
Anjajavy le Lodge is pursuing a project of conservation of this turtle through monitoring of reproduction sites and through community awareness-raising campaigns.
