My Madagascar Memoir

This summer I had the incredible opportunity to visit Madagascar as a Research Assistant with Operation Wallacaea.

As a recent biology graduate with an interest in all things ecology, I wanted to get a feel for as many types of fieldwork as I could, and combining that with a place like Madagascar seemed brilliant. I chose to divide my month as half terrestrial and half marine.

It all began with two weeks in the dry forest of the Mahamavo region in the north-west of the country. Our time here was split between the bigger and busier base camp Mariarano, and the smaller lakeside camp, Matesedroy. Camping at these sites was a truly rural experience with no electricity or running water. But the bucket showers and bug spray were a small price to pay to be surrounded by such a stunning environment and wildlife.

From handling snakes in the morning to spotting lemurs by night, the surveys are an experience I will never forget. My personal favourite was the early morning mist netting at Matesedroy camp where I held birds for the first time whilst watching the sun come up over the lakes.

Photo by Coral Chell

Beyond the surveys, the downtime at camp was just as memorable. We enjoyed movie nights, astrophotography workshops, campfires and a LOT of bananagrams! Even during these moments, the wildlife was ever present with the critically endangered Coquerel’s sifaka commonly perching on the nearby tables and trees.

My two weeks in the Mahamavo forest went all too quickly and before I knew it I was on my way to the far less rural marine site, Nosy Be. This small island off the coast of Madagascar was my first introduction to marine biology.

Photo by Peter Herbst

Through the lectures I became familiar with fish identification and reef ecosystems, and through the open water course I progressed from someone who had never scuba dived before to a qualified diver! It is hard to choose a favourite memory from diving as they were all so fantastic, but spotting a group of small stingrays along the sea floor for the first time was definitely up there.

In-between lectures and surveys, we visited some amazing islands and enjoyed countless beach sunsets. I have a particular fondness for Nosy Tanikely, the marine protected area we visited each Friday. We spent our time here snorkelling and frequently saw huge green sea turtles grazing the seagrass.

The one thing all my experiences at the terrestrial and the marine site shared was their uniqueness. Every day felt like a once in a lifetime experience. I hope I will be lucky enough to visit this amazing country again and luckier still, to have the opportunity to contribute to the protection of such valuable environments.

Title photo by Roger Poland