Nosy Mangabe is a small island reserve located in

Antongil Bay ''Helodranon' Antongila'' (Bay of Antongila), more commonly called Antongil Bay in English, is the largest bay in Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no ...

about 2 km offshore from the town of Maroantsetra in north-east

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

. it is accessible by small boat and is part of the larger Masoala National Park complex. It is a tropical rainforest national park for a species of

lemur Lemurs ( ) (from Latin ''lemures'' – ghosts or spirits) are wet-nosed primates of the superfamily Lemuroidea (), divided into 8 families and consisting of 15 genera and around 100 existing species. They are endemic to the island of Madagas ...

, the

aye-aye The aye-aye (''Daubentonia madagascariensis'') is a long-fingered lemur, a strepsirrhine primate native to Madagascar with rodent-like teeth that perpetually grow and a special thin middle finger. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate. ...

(''Daubentonia madagascariensis''). It lies close enough to Maroantsetra for a day trip, although an overnight stay is recommended for seeing the nocturnal aye-aye.

History

The island has a rich history of trading and piracy and on the west side of the island are rock carvings by Dutch sailors from the 16th-century. In the 17th-century the area was invaded by the French who established a trading post. British

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

writer

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), BBC radio comedy, ''The H ...

visited the island searching for the aye-aye, for a radio programme and in one of his lesser known books, '' Last Chance to See''.

Geography

Nosy Mangabe is a island national park in Antongil Bay in the north-east of Madagasgar. The island is covered in dense forest, has an altitude of and the annual rainfall is . There are no permanent settlements on the island; a campsite with bathroom and kitchen facilities serves as a base camp for biologists, researchers and eco-tourists. The best way to see the island is by boat from Maroansetra, which takes about 45 minutes.

Flora and fauna

The island is covered in dense humid forest and was established as a reserve for the aye-aye which were introduced to the island in the 1960s. They were in danger of extinction, having been hunted, for centuries, by local people who consider them to be a symbol of death and harbinger of evil. They are categorised as

endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and in ...

by the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN). There are a further four species of lemur on the island; the eastern woolly lemur (''Avahi laniger''), white-fronted lemur (''Eulemur albifrons''), black-and-white ruffed lemur (''Varecia variegata'') and

gray mouse-lemur The gray mouse lemur (''Microcebus murinus''), grey mouse lemur or lesser mouse lemur, is a small lemur, a type of strepsirrhine primate, found only on the island of Madagascar. Weighing , it is the largest of the mouse lemurs ( genus ''Mic ...

(''Microcebus murinus''). Baron’s climbing rosewood (''

Dalbergia baronii ''Dalbergia baronii'' is a species of flowering plant in the legume family Fabaceae. It is endemic to Madagascar. It is named after the English missionary and botanist Rev. Richard Baron. Description Vegetative characters ''Dalbergia baron ...

'') is a vulnerable tree found on the island.

References

List of islands of Madagascar This is a tentative List of islands of Madagascar. This list is incomplete. Inhabited islands *Ankify * Barren Isles (Nosy Barren) *Juan de Nova Island * Île aux Nattes (Nosy Nato) (separated by 200m from Nosy Boraha (Analanjirofo) * Île Sai ...

{{authority control Analanjirofo National parks of Madagascar Protected areas established in 1965 Mangabe 1965 establishments in Madagascar Madagascar lowland forests