Loky-Manambato is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural or cultural values. Protected areas are those areas in which human presence or the exploitation of natural resources (e.g. firewood ...

near

Daraina Daraina is a town and commune () in northern Madagascar. It belongs to the district of Vohemar, which is a part of Sava Region. The city is located at the unpaved part of the Route Nationale 5a between Vohemar and Ambilobe. The population of the ...

in northern

Madagascar Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, is an island country that includes the island of Madagascar and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Lying off the southeastern coast of Africa, it is the world's List of islands by area, f ...

, in the northern part of the

Vohemar District Vohemar District (also Vohimarina District) is a Districts of Madagascar, district in northern Madagascar. It is a part of Sava Region and borders the districts of Sambava District, Sambava to the south, Ambilobe District, Ambilobe to the west a ...

. It is located in northern

Sava Region Sava is a Regions of Madagascar, region in northern Madagascar. Its capital is Sambava. Until 2009 Sava belonged to Antsiranana Province. The region is situated at the northern part of the east coast of Madagascar. It is bordered by the region Dian ...

, bounded on the north by the Loky River, on the south by the Manambato River, and on the east by the

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. In its center flows the Manankolana river. The protected area covers 2484.09 km²,UNEP-WCMC (2022)
Protected Area Profile for Loky Manambato
from the World Database on Protected Areas. Accessed 18 September 2022. and includes a block of dry deciduous forests,

mangroves A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen and remove sal ...

, and a large lake, the Sahaka Lake.

Flora and fauna

Loky-Manambato is in the dry deciduous forests of northern Madagascar, near the transition to the moist evergreen forests of eastern Madagascar and the

montane forests Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

of Madagascar's central highlands. Plant communities in the protected area include montane moist evergreen forest, moist semideciduous rainforest, dry deciduous forest, riparian forest, rupicolous vegetation, littoral forest, swamp forest, humid grassland, marsh, lake, mangrove, secondary grassland, secondary thicket, and secondary forest. Propithecus tattersalli 001b

8 species of lemurs, 5 species of carnivorous mammals (including the

Malagasy civet The Malagasy or striped civet (''Fossa fossana''), also known as the fanaloka (Malagasy, ) or jabady, is an euplerid endemic to Madagascar. It is the only species in genus ''Fossa''. The Malagasy civet is a small mammal, about long excluding ...

(''Fossa fossana'') and the fossa (''Cryptoprocta ferox'')) 10 species of bats, 152 species of birds, 27 species of amphibians, and 71 species of reptiles live in the reserve. The

golden-crowned sifaka The golden-crowned sifaka or Tattersall's sifaka (''Propithecus tattersalli'') is a medium-sized lemur characterized by mostly white fur, prominent furry ears, and a golden-orange Crown (anatomy), crown. It is one of the smallest sifakas (genus ...

or Tattersall's sifaka ''(Propithecus tattersalli)'' and the largest

scorpion Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

of Madagascar ''

Heteroscorpion magnus ''Heteroscorpion'' is a genus of scorpions belonging to the monotypic family Heteroscorpionidae. The species of this genus are found in Madagascar. Species: *''Heteroscorpion goodmani'' *''Heteroscorpion kaii'' *''Heteroscorpion kraepelini ...

'' were described from specimens collected in this reserve.SYNOPSIS OF THE SCORPION FAUNA OF THE LOKY-MANAMBATO (DARAINA) REGION IN MADAGASCAR
/ref>

References

{{reflist Protected areas of Madagascar Madagascar dry deciduous forests Sava Region