Namoroka National Park, formerly known as Tsingy de Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve, is a national park located in the northwestern part of

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 Africa ...

in the

Mahajanga Province Mahajanga was a former province of Madagascar that had an area of 150,023 km². It had a population of 1,896,000 (2004). Its capital was Mahajanga, the second largest city in Madagascar. Except for Fianarantsoa, Mahajanga Province bordere ...

, specifically, the

Soalala District Soalala is a district in western Madagascar. It is a part of Boeny Region and borders the districts of Mitsinjo in northeast, Ambato-Boeni in east, Kandreho in south and Besalampy in west. The area is and the population was estimated to be 27, ...

History

Namoroka Strict Nature Reserve was established in 1927The Tsingy de Namoroka National Park Sitesheet
. World Database on Protected Areas. and became a special reserve in 1966. It forms a complex with the neighboring

Baie de Baly National Park Baie de Baly National Park is a National Park in Madagascar. Geography Baie de Baly National Park or Baly Bay National Park is situated in the region of Boeny, District of Soalala, close to Soalala and Ambohipaky, approximately to the next major ...

Climate and geography

Located in the northwestern part of Madagascar about south of Soalala, Namoroka has a dry season lasting about seven months with a rainy season lasting only five months. The resulting precipitation is about per year, while the average temperature hovers around . The park is known for its

tsingy Karst is a topography formed from the dissolution of soluble rocks such as limestone, dolomite, and gypsum. It is characterized by underground drainage systems with sinkholes and caves. It has also been documented for more weathering-resistan ...

walls, caves, canyons, and natural swimming pools. The Marosakabe cave system is long and is the longest cave in Africa.

Fauna

Like much of Madagascar, Namoroka is known for its abundant and diverse wildlife. Of its over 81 species of birds, 31 are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to Madagascar with 23 other species endemic to Madagascar and other neighboring islands.Tsingy de Namoroka
Madagascar National Parks. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. Namoroka is also home to over 30 species of reptiles, five types of frogs, and 16 mammals, including eight lemurs.
Wild Madagascar. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. Specifically, Namoroka is home to the following lemur species: *

Von der Decken's sifaka Von der Decken's sifaka (''Propithecus deckenii'') is a sifaka endemic to Madagascar. It has a length of 92 to 107 centimeters, of which 42-48 centimeters are tail. Von der Decken's Sifaka lives in western Madagascar. It lives in dry deciduous ...

Red lemur The red lemur (''Eulemur rufus''), also known as the rufous brown lemur or northern red-fronted lemur, is a species of lemur from Madagascar. Until 2001, the species ''E. rufus'' was considered a subspecies of the common brown lemur, ''E. fulvu ...

Eastern lesser bamboo lemur The eastern lesser bamboo lemur (''Hapalemur griseus''), also known as the gray bamboo lemur, the gray gentle lemur, and the Mahajanga lemur is a small lemur endemic to Madagascar, with three known subspecies. As its name suggests, the eastern le ...

Masoala fork-crowned lemur The Masoala fork-marked lemur (''Phaner furcifer''), also known as the eastern fork-marked lemur or Masoala fork-crowned lemur, is a species of lemur found in the coastal forests of northeastern Madagascar. It is a small nocturnal animal with lar ...

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 ''Micro ...

* Milne-Edwards' sportive lemur *

Fat-tailed dwarf lemur The fat-tailed dwarf lemur (''Cheirogaleus medius''), also known as the lesser dwarf lemur, western fat-tailed dwarf lemur, or spiny forest dwarf lemur, is endemic to Madagascar. Hibernation Recent research has shown that ''C. medius'' hibernat ...

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. ...

References

External links

World Database on Protected Areas entry

{{authority control Mahajanga Province National parks of Madagascar Protected areas established in 1927 IUCN Category II Boeny Madagascar dry deciduous forests Important Bird Areas of Madagascar

History

Climate and geography

Fauna

See also

References

External links