We will start with the Madagascar Pochard.
The gray-eyed muted brown diving duck was thought to be completely extinct in 1990.
Surprise.
Making an appearance in 2006...it is making a precarious comeback with only 20 adults known in existence in 2020.
All on a single lake in Madagascar.
It holds the distinction of being the rarest duck in the world .
Baby Pochard
The Fellow at the opening of the page is another Madagarcar Oddity.
The Giraffe Weevil.
The Giraffe Weevil is named for its long long neck. They are found exclusively on Madagascar.
It is easy to tell the male from the female...as the male's neck is usually 2-3 times longer than the famale's.
They cannot bite or sting...but do fly.
They are big for a weevil...some males are 80-90 millimeters in length.
The elongated neck assists with nest-building and fighting.
"Hey Babe!"
An idea of the size.
Another bird only found in Madagasar is the Blue Coua.
A member of the Cuckoo family it is a bright blue and eats bugs and small reptiles on the island.
Chick.
The amazing part with these chicks is the oral "fingerprint" that is distinct from any other baby Coua.
Our next fellow is a favorite of mine.
The Panther Chameleon.
In the chameleon world these guys are HUGE...sometimes 8-12 inches.
They are the original mood ring.
And you an find them in a variety of colors...on the same day!
And sometimes all the colors at once!
They are docile, easy to breed in captivity laying large clutches of eggs, and therefore often bought and sold as pets.
Baby Panther Chameleon
They have a long sticky tongue they use to catch insects.
And eyes that can literally see 360 degrees around them and independent of each other.
"I see EVERYTHING"
Great...now I WANT one.
A hopping denizen of Madagascar is the Tomato Frog.
Bright red with a perpetually pissed-off face...a little like if your Persian Cat came back as a frog. But was tomato red...and hopped.
"Whatchoo Lookin' At, Buddy???"
"You Wanna Piece of Dis???
Moving on to something more cuddly...
The Sifaka Lemur.
There are an abundance of lemurs on Madagascar...but this type is found no where else in the wild.
Shy, cute and charming.
Staying mainly in the trees they tote their young on their backs.
Another Madagascar-Only lemur is the Indiri
Sporting a black face and teddy bear fuzzy ears...
Perhaps the reason that these lemurs stay on high is because of our next
Only Found in Madagascar animal...
The Fossa (pronounced Foo-Sah)
Long, slinky, fast, and sharp canines...Fossa look a little like a cat and a weasel combined.
Oh...and they love lemurs...
To Eat.
"Arrrruuuggghhh!!!"
Skillful and agile hunters with a keen sense of smell they consume birds, reptiles, small and medium sized mammals.
In short...whatever they can catch.
Mom and baby.
The Madagascar inhabitant that gets a bad rap (and the short stick) is the Aye-Aye.
A lemur so ugly it has stories and myths surrounding it.
The Aye Aye have long middle fingers.
Local legend is that if the Aye Aye pokes its middle finger in your direction it is a hex of sorts and you will die.
Often they are killed on sight.
(...see the unfortunate elongated middle toe...)
and lastly
The Satanic Leaf Tailed Gecko.
(yes...that is really what he is called...I checked...twice...and no explanation as to why...)
Who can also change color and blend in.
"See...I'm now a bunch of dried leaves"
"And I can look a little satanic, too..."
"Are you terrified yet????"
"How about now???"
"What if I clean my eye with my tongue...terrifying, no???"
"Damn it...you people are getting harder and harder to scare...I blame Trump."
So there you have it...ten critters you can never find in the wild unless you are on Madagascar!
More Anon...
No...I am STILL not frightened...and you can't lick my eyeball...because that is nasty...that's why!!!
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