Kirindy Reserve

Spot the Giant Jumping Rat

Kirindy is situated 50 kilometres northeast of the town of Morondava, it is a privately managed forest by a Swiss NGO dedicated to selective and sustainable logging (Centre de Formation Professionelle Forestière). Observe the wildlife at Kirindy Reserve where they become more active during dawn and dusk. Also, you can take a walk to spot the nocturnal wildlife as Kirindy offers the best wildlife spotting experience including Giant jumping rat, lemurs, chameleons and Fossa.
Kirindy Reserve comprises of one of the most outstanding and threatened wildlife habitats in Madagascar: the dry deciduous forest, whose extension has been reduced to 3 percent of their original extent. Dominated by majestic baobab trees and a forest canopy of 14 m altitude, this protected area of approximately 100 square kilometres is the only place where the world’s smallest known primate, the giant jumping rat, occurs. This animal can hop like a miniature kangaroo but is also seen walking on all four limbs.

Kirindy is the best place in Madagascar to observe the Fossa, especially during the mating time between October and December. It is also home to seven species of lemur. The most common are the common brown lemurs and the Verreaux’s sifakas. The remaining species are nocturnal: the rare Coquerel’s giant mouse lemur and pygmy mouse-lemur, fork-crowned lemur, Gray mouse lemur, western fat-tailed dwarf lemur and red-tailed sportive lemur. Several bats, tenrecs, mongooses and rodents complete the mammal population. 40 birds, 50 reptile and 15 amphibian species are also found in this magnificent forest.

In the evening, a guided night walk is available to spot nocturnal animals.

The best time for photography is in the twilight hours.