Kalambatritra Special Reserve is a

wildlife reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, funga, or features of geologi ...

in southern

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 ...

. It is to the north of

Andohahela National Park The Andohahela National Park is situated in Anosy in the south-east of Madagascar. It is remarkable for the extremes of habitats that are represented within it. The park covers of the Anosy mountain range, the southernmost spur of the Malagasy H ...

, south-west of the

Manombo Special Reserve Manombo Special Reserve is a wildlife reserve of Madagascar. It is situated at the village Manombo, 27 km south from Farafangana from where it can be reached by the National road 12. It covers 5320 ha and is situated along the coastline. ...

and contains many

endemic species Endemism is the state of a species being found only 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 foun ...

, including forty-five endemic bird species.

Geography

This reserve is within the commune of Begogo, in

Anosy Region Anosy is one of the 23 regions of Madagascar. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the eastern side of what was once the Toliara Province. The name ''Anosy'' means "island(s)" in Malagasy language, Malagasy. Due to a strategic sea r ...

and east of

Betroka Betroka is a hilly city (commune urbaine) in the Anosy Region in southern Madagascar, and is the source of the Onilahy River. It is situated at the Route nationale 13 (Madagascar), Route nationale 13, Ihosy to Tolagnaro, at 118 km from Ihosy, ...

. The Kalambatritra massif is a series of undulating hills and steep summits and is part of the Antaivondro-Kalambatritra mountain chain. The many small streams feed the Ionaivo, Mananara and Mandrare rivers. The dominant ethnic group in the area is the

Bara people The Bara people are a Malagasy ethnic group living in the southern part of the central plateaus of Madagascar, in the Toliara Province, concentrated around their historic capital at Ihosy. The Bara are the largest of the island's zebu-herdi ...

Flora and fauna

The humid, evergreen forest is relatively undisturbed and divided into blocks with

savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) biome and ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach th ...

s of the coarse grass ('' Aristida imperata'') inbetween. Among the 699 species of plants so far recorded on the reserve, two

families Family (from ) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictability, structure, and safety as ...

are endemic; the

Torricelliaceae The Torricelliaceae are a family of trees native to Madagascar and southwest Asia. It contains three genera, '' Aralidium'', '' Melanophylla'' and '' Torricellia''. Under the APG II system, each of these genera was placed in its own family, but w ...

, including '' Melanophylla alnifolia'' and the

Sarcolaenaceae The Sarcolaenaceae are a family of flowering plants endemic to Madagascar. The family includes 79 species of mostly evergreen trees and shrubs in ten genera. Recent DNA studies indicate that the Sarcolaenaceae are a sibling taxon to the family ...

including '' Leptolaena pauciflora'', which, according to the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

(IUCN) is an

endangered species 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, inv ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

. Seventy-four species of birds are known from the reserve, of which forty-five are endemic. They are all listed as of

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

except

Meller's duck Meller's duck (''Anas melleri'') is a species of the dabbling duck genus ''Anas''. It is endemic to eastern Madagascar. Although a population was established on Mauritius in the mid-18th century, this is on the verge of extinction due to habitat ...

(''Anas melleri''), which is listed 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, inv ...

and the

wedge-tailed jery The wedge-tailed jery (''Hartertula flavoviridis'') is a small bird endemic to the east of Madagascar. The species has been the cause of some taxonomic confusion, it was originally placed with the jeries in the genus ''Neomixis'' (Cisticolidae) b ...

(''Neomixis flavoviridis''),

Madagascar yellowbrow The Madagascan yellowbrow (''Crossleyia xanthophrys''), also known as the yellow-browed oxylabes, is a species of Malagasy warbler, formerly placed in the family Sylviidae. Found only in Madagascar, it is the sole member of the genus ''Crossleyi ...

(''Crossleyia xanthophrys''), Grey-crowned Tetraka (''Bernieria cinereiceps''),

Pollen's Vanga Pollen's vanga (''Xenopirostris polleni'') is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is endemic to eastern Madagascar. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. ...

(''Xenopirostris polleni'') and Rufous-headed ground roller (''Atelornis crossleyi'') which are all listed as

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

Lemurs Lemurs ( ; from Latin ) 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 Madagascar. Most existing lemurs are s ...

found on the reserve are listed below.

Threats

Growing rice and cutting wood for construction and cooking are the main threats to the area.

References

External links

Kalambatritra Special Reserve
ex {{authority control 1959 establishments in Madagascar Anosy Special reserves of Madagascar Protected areas established in 1959 Madagascar subhumid forests Important Bird Areas of Madagascar Ihorombe

Geography

Flora and fauna

Threats

See also

References

External links