Kirindy Forest

Kirindy is a forest of contradictions: it is dry and dusty for most of the year, yet it supports one of the highest concentrations of endemic species in Madagascar, and the trees, which lose their leaves during the long dry season from May to October, create an entirely different landscape in January when the canopy is thick and green.

The forest is managed by a private concession and was formerly a logging concession before being acquired for conservation in the late 1980s, which means the infrastructure is basic and the paths are sometimes overgrown, but the absence of heavy tourist traffic means wildlife here is less habituated to vehicles and more wild.

The fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox) is the most sought-after sighting at Kirindy, and it is the largest endemic carnivore on Madagascar — an animal that looks like a small cougar crossed with a mongoose, with a long tail and a habit of hunting at night, making it one of the most difficult mammals in Madagascar to observe in the wild.

The fossa is currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, with population estimates of fewer than 2,500 mature individuals remaining in the wild, and Kirindy is one of the best places to see one because the research station here has conducted long-term studies on the species since the early 1990s.

Among the lemurs, the Verreaux's sifaka (Propithecus verreauxi) is the most commonly observed during the day, with its creamy-white fur and striking dark face, and it moves through the trees in a distinctive sideways hopping motion that has made it one of the most photographed lemur species in Madagascar.

The Coquerel's giant mouse lemur (Mirza coquereli) is the largest of the world's mouse lemurs and is found only in the Menabe region, and at Kirindy it can be observed at night by torchlight as it forages for insects, fruit and the sweet secretions of Homopteran insects in the upper canopy.

The forest floor is covered in red laterite soil and fallen leaves, and in the dry season the leaf litter is deep and crunchy underfoot, and the baobabs at the edge of the reserve are particularly impressive in the late afternoon light when their silhouettes stand out against an orange sky.

The biodiversity of Kirindy is internationally recognised: more than 50 species of birds, 20 species of reptiles, and 12 species of lemurs have been recorded in the reserve, and the undergrowth supports a diversity of insects that is still being catalogued by researchers at the field station.

The Kirindy field station has operated continuously since 1987 and is associated with the University of Antananarivo and various international research institutions, making it one of the most productive research sites for lemur biology in Madagascar and a place where new species have been discovered.

The fossa has a semi-retractile claw structure that is unusual among Malagasy carnivores and reflects its evolutionary relationship to the mongoose family (Herpestidae), and it is the apex predator of the Kirindy ecosystem, feeding primarily on lemurs and small mammals.

Kirindy is one of the best places in Madagascar to observe the fossa (Cryptoprocta ferox), the island's largest endemic carnivore, which is classified as Endangered and notoriously difficult to see elsewhere.

The forest is a working research station with over 30 years of continuous lemur studies, providing ecological context that general tourist sites cannot offer.

The dry deciduous forest landscape is dramatically different between wet and dry seasons, making a return visit rewarding.