Palmarium Reserve

One of the best locations for a close encounter with an aye-aye, Palmarium is a littoral forest reserve offering a great diversity of lemurs and reptiles.

Most well-known for its easily observed aye-ayes that live semi-wild on a small, forested island, a walk through the palm, orchid and pandanus rich Palmarium Reserve will also reveal many other wildlife treasures. Situated on the edge of the tranquil Lac Ampitabe, part of the extensive series of brackish lakes and channels that make up the Pangalanes Canal, the reserve protects 50 hectares of littoral forest. Lemurs here include the indri, black-and-white ruffed, common brown as well as introduced black and crowned lemurs. The highlight for many is a visit to the small, forested island, where aye-ayes frequently visit small forest clearings to feed on coconuts left out for them. This provides a rare opportunity to admire these fascinating nocturnal lemurs up close.

There's also an excellent range of reptiles including many colourful day geckos, a few leaf-tailed gecko species and the giant hog-nosed snake and unique looking leaf-nosed snake are both present too. The trails are flat and easy going and this is a great destination for those keen on photography, although many of the lemurs have been introduced from outside their natural range. 

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