Rainforests of the Atsinanana, Madagascar Essay - 1608 Words

Rainforests of the Atsinanana, Madagascar Christy Haakenson SCI230 Introduction to Life Science Paula Roberts March 27, 2011 The Rainforests of the Atsinanana is a place like no other. The continent of Madagascar can be found 200 miles off the east coast of Africa and completed full separation from all other land masses more than 60 million years ago (Staff W., 2001). The island of Madagascar has lived in isolation and with isolation gives the Rainforests of Atsinanana an abundance of plants and animals found nowhere else in the world. This unique place is made up of six national parks and was approved by UNESCO committee in New Zealand (WWF, n.d.). The Rainforests of Atsinanana is currently on the list of world heritage sites in†¦show more content†¦One type of lemur is nocturnal and is only active in the night and the other type is diurnal and spends the days eating, mating, and playing (2005). Some are large in size like the indri, and others such as the Berthe’s mouse lemur is the smallest in the world (2005). Although these creatures are different in characteristics, they have one sim ilarity and that is there home in Madagascar. Aside from many types of lemurs, there are many other unique creatures found in the Rainforests of the Atsinanana in Madagascar. Other species include the Flying fox bats, Fossa, Fanaloka, Tenrece, spear-nosed snake, and more than 3,000 endemic butterflies (Ward M, 2008). The isolation of this island and history has made primate extinction real. At this time there are at least 15 species of lemur that have gone extinct (2005). The main cause of these primates going extinct is because of the habitat loss from deforestation only leaving 8.5% of the original forests. The Rainforests of the Atsinanana Madagascar is not only unique for many types of species it is home to, but also for the unique plant life. Atsinanana has more than 12,000 plant species known in Madagascar, which are also endemic. Six of eight baobab trees that are endemic to Madagascar. Baobabs are bottle-shaped trees with large bases and branches that make a flat appearance to the top. The different types of baobab trees include