1. Presentation
Madagascar declared its geological independence from Africa about 60 million years ago.
Since then, nature has put in place all the favorable elements to become the most improbable home for the creation of new species.
In fact, Madagascar is placed under the signs of archaism and endemism.
Located 400km from the South East African coast, Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world by area.
Indeed with its 587,295 km², it is placed after Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo. Physically detached from the African continent by the Mozambique Channel, it remains geographically attached to it. It integrates the group of islands of the Indian Ocean which are: Reunion, Mauritius, Seychelles, Mayotte, the Comorres archipelago and Rodrigue Island.
It is windswept land and as red as the ocean around it is blue. This soil, rich in iron oxide, has earned Madagascar its nickname of Ile Rouge.
Nature here is of rare generosity and has succeeded in generating an invaluable treasure!
Indeed, from these elements was born an invaluable and unique ecological sanctuary in the world.
2. Origins of Madagascar
University research like at INALCO is carried out by eminent ethno-paleontological researchers . Following these studies, the hypotheses of the beginning are confirmed on the origin of the history of Madagascar.
To know that the Indo-Malaysian traits of a large part of the Malagasy , in particular those of the highlands, is undeniable. Also, the Bantu and Sowali (African) origins of the coastal population are strikingly similar.
3. History of Madagascar
A cleavage traditionally opposes the Merina , living in the Highlands, and the "coastal" groups of African origin.
Since independence, research on the history of the settlement of Madagascar has been encouraged. Based on archaeological and ethnological data, the researchers highlight a simultaneous settlement of the island.
First by populations of Malayo-Indonesian and African origin. Then several successive waves of immigration over the centuries and since the beginning of our era.
4. Ethnic groups of Madagascar
More than nine-tenths of the population is Malagasy, which is divided into about 20 ethnic groups. The largest and most dominant of the groups is the Merina people, who are scattered throughout the island. The name Merina (Imerina) is said to mean Elevated People, deriving from the fact that they lived on the plateau.
The second largest group is the Betsimisaraka (The Inseparable Multitude), who live generally in the east. The third most numerous group is the Betsileo (The Invincible Multitude), who inhabit the plateau around Fianarantsoa.
Other important peoples are the Tsimihety (Those Who Do Not Cut Their Hair), the Sakalava (People of the Long Valley), the Antandroy (People of the Thorn Bush), the Tanala (People of the Forest), the Antaimoro (People of the Banks), and the Bara (a name of uncertain origin).
Smaller groups are the Antanosy (People of the Island), the Antaifasy (People of the Sand), the Sihanaka (People of the Lake), the Antakarana (People of the Rocks), the Betanimena (People of the Red Soil), who are now largely absorbed by the Merina, the Bezanozano (Those with Many-Braided Hair), and the Mahafaly (Those Who Make Taboos).
These ethnic names do not stand for clear-cut cultural boundaries, for in many cases one group shades imperceptibly into another. Moreover, the conventional translations are by no means reliable, and most of the names themselves are of somewhat recent origin, probably crystallized and rigidified by the exigencies of colonial administration more than by the realities of indigenous culture. In many cases these people represent endogamous and often non-unilinear descent groups.
5. Geological approach to Madagascar
The origin of Madagascar is therefore common with Africa but also with India , Australia, South America and Antarctica: explanatory video.
It is also this origin that explains the existence of a fauna and flora common to the Red Island and to the south of the African and American continents . According to experts, their geological profile would also be very close. The isolation of Madagascar has given its fauna and flora the possibility of evolving on a unique model over the last 150 million years! All the geological periods in the history of the planet are united on the Big Island.
The earth was formed about 4.5 billion years ago! In order to materialize this evolution, let us place the geological evolution of the earth on the time scale of one year:
The insularity of Madagascar has only been acquired for 65 million years ( Mesozoic ).
Therefore, it is easy to understand why there are no large mammals on the Big Island. Indeed, they appeared just after this period on the large continents from which Madagascar had already separated.
6. Biodiversity
Isolated from the African continent , Malagasy biodiversity could evolve out of all competition in the absence of large predators.
Forms of life unique in the world have developed in the different natural environments of the island. 350,000 species have been identified there, 3/4 of which live nowhere else.
85% of plant species, 100% of mammal species, 53% of bird species and 95% of amphibian species collect a very high rate of endemism. Of these species, 1251 are listed on the Red List of Threatened Species .
The list of endemic species continues to grow. Since the beginning of the 21st century, scientists have identified more than 600 as yet unlisted, including 40 mammals and 60 reptiles.
• The fauna of Madagascar
Madagascar's fauna is incredibly rich. The "8th continent" is really considered by all scientists as a nature sanctuary. Here live and grow unique species in the world, both in their form and in their number. About 260 species of birds are known in Madagascar, including the red-tailed straw-tail or the sea eagle.
The number of invertebrate species on the island of Madagascar is on the order of 100,000. Chameleons , resembling Lilliputian dinosaurs, evolved more species in Madagascar than anywhere else on the planet (2/ 3 of the world species).
Primates, on the other hand, are represented only by lemurs . No less than 110 species are present in Madagascar, 3/4 of which are in danger of extinction. The prosimians , of which the Indri-indri is a part, are the first primate ancestors of the signs and of humans.
• The flora of Madagascar
It is difficult to write an article on the flora of Madagascar as it is rich and diversified... but in danger! The few comments provided will nevertheless inform you about the richness of this flora.
The flora of Madagascar is home to nearly 12,000 species of plants, of which 70-80% are endemic (they are found nowhere else on the globe) and 10 Plant Families are uniquely Malagasy. This makes Malagasy flora one of the most diverse in the world (in comparison, tropical Africa has 30,000 to 35,000 species while it covers an area almost 35 times greater than that of Madagascar ).
In Madagascar , there are more medicinal plants than in the boreal forests because they have to secrete chemical defenses to fight against predators.
predators.
7. Dangers and threats
As evidenced by the many lavakas spread across the country, this erosion symbolizes the future of Madagascar . Indeed, the systematic destruction of its forest by slash and burn cultivation , timber trafficking and destitute peasants has weakened the thin clay substrate that covered its bedrock.
In many areas, torrential rains fall several times a year. They thus forever gully a soil of laterite that no vegetation can retain any longer.
Madagascar is thus emptied of its substance which flows directly into the ocean, retaining in passing some unusual structures such as the Red Tsingy . In many areas, the forest will no longer descend to the sea. In the short term, the entire island will be stripped of its shreds of forest cover. The latter, however, inhabited animal and plant species directly from prehistory.
As some scientists say so well, at this rate Madagascar will soon have the color and fertility of a brick. Since man arrived in Madagascar, the primary forests have lost 90% of their surface. This has created a vicious circle as cleared lands erode and soils become depleted.
8. Traveling to Madagascar
Sifaka Travel, incoming agency based in Antananarivo, offers different travel options in Madagascar. We advocate the concept of responsible and sustainable tourism . A new tourist orientation that we defend as a real vector of development in Madagascar.
