Month: January 2019

Our local guide who lives near the site of a rare and interesting little frog that scientists call Mantella cowani said we would have to get up early to hike to the location where it could be found. We had to eat breakfast and be ready to go by 4 a.m. It was still dark when we set off in the direction of a granite mountain top we had seen the day before near the place where the van had a flat. We could not see it then but our guide knew the way. By the time it got to be light enough to turn off our headlamps we could see three granite round peaks. Of course, the one we were going to was the farthest away. I had already taken a misstep trying to cross an irrigation channel and wound up with one leg knee-deep in the mud of a rice paddy.

The hike was strenuous, but the trail was pretty well established. It passed by a small Catholic church with a school consisting of a few white buildings. It was closed today, but our guide said it was still a functioning institution. Our group was pretty spread out by the time we got to a fork in the trail. Because our guide was a frail-looking man, who looked older than me, I did my best to keep up. Honestly, it was not as hard as the Vohimana hike, and I was starting to get in shape. Devin, who had never been to this site, was staying in the sweeper position, making sure no one was left behind. The fork we took was the smaller path, which quickly put us out of sight of the main path. The people lagging behind remained on the main path and began wandered the hills. Eventually they ran into a local person approaching from the opposite direction and asked if he had seen any foreigners. He said no, so they began backtracking. It wasn’t until about an hour later that we saw them preparing to cross the stream. I felt bad, because as soon as we crossed the stream, we started seeing cool stuff in this unusual habitat, and it never dawned on me that everyone was not there.

Back to the frogs . . . Cowani, as we call it, is a critically endangered frog that probably never was very common and has not done well in captivity. It is a bold little frog that seems at home on the dark large exposed granite. The rock stays wet, it seems, at least at this time of the year, as there is a ribbon of water that runs down the face. Where the water comes from is hard to imagine as it is the highest point around and it wasn’t raining. The rock was covered with white lichen and the frogs seemed to be searching through the folds of the lichen looking for the tiniest of bugs. Occasionally, you would see small flying termites get stuck to the moisture and quickly get gobbled up. The abundance of food made for some healthy looking little frogs. The better photographers must have gotten some great photographs as the lighting was ideal. I hope they will share. I mostly took pictures of people and scenery.

The frogs were not the only things worthy of photographs. It was a unique habitat filled with orchids, sundews and other plants I had never seen. Even our plant experts in the group were amazed at the number of species they had never seen. And Mike took the opportunity to fly the drone again. I got some interesting photos.

See more photos from the Cowani Site here.

The way to what our group called the Cowani site was a long travel day. Travel by road is slow in Madagascar. Our group had a great bus and bus driver. I was able to do a lot of photo editing while on the road but sometimes I had to look up and enjoy the view or get involved in lively conversation.

To get to the lodge where we stayed required a smaller vehicle. The road was narrow, the bridges looked like they were made out of sticks that definitely would not have supported our larger bus and the path usually was traveled only by foot, bicycle, or Zebu cart. So we squeezed into a tiny old transport van and made our way up to the Sous le Soleil Lodge, expecting to be packed like sardines for about an hour. The fully loaded vehicle started to bottom out every time we hit a small dip. Our driver was starting to look a little worried and eventually we came to a stop. The left rear tire was nearly flat. We all got out and the driver quickly went to work changing the tire in the mud.

Some of us took the chance to meet local people walking down the road. Mike, our tour operator, had a better idea and not wanting to waste time, he unpacked his drone. It was not the first time he flew it–I had heard it before. It sounds a lot like an angry swarm of bees on the move. It was, however, the first time I had seen the local people’s reaction to a really cool technology they probably had never seen. Mike worked on aircraft while he was in the U. S. Air Force and he is a skilled technician. He is mild mannered and kind. The joy you could see on Mike’s face when people were surrounding him to see what the drone was seeing was the highlight of the journey to the lodge. I hope to collaborate with Mike at the end of my adventure to edit together some of his video with some of mine to tell a visual story. Mike was making the most of his time, as we all should.

Not far from Andasibe, in the same region, is a reserve called Vohimana. It was set up by a group called Man and the Environment (L’Homme et L’Environnment), whose goals are consistent with this website. We stayed at the ecolodge there for two nights and it was here that we had some of the most challenging hikes of the trip. At night it was raining and the trail went next to sheer dropoffs to a raging river 20 to 30 feet below. I think it was Sean Harrington who said that without realizing it (it was dark and raining) he did some of the most dangerous hiking of his life. And if we were in the U.S. we would have had to sign many waivers. He said it better than that and with his signature grin, but that is the kid-friendly version.

In Madagascar things are different.

The day hike was hot, humid, long, up and down, up and down, and with no clear trail once you left the old mining road. I fell three times. Fortunately, I did not break my camera or any body parts. My group’s hike wound up being about seven miles total and we passed a waterfall where Devin and Scott found my favorite mantella, the Painted Mantella, Mantella baroni  (pictured above). This is a mantella I still had in my collection when I gave it to The Roanoke Science Center. I hope people can see it there now, but seeing it here in Vohimana Reserve certainly made the hike worth the effort.

See more photos from Vohimana here.

I really like Mantella frogs. I remember as a child in the 1960s seeing some of the first Golden Mantella to be imported at a local pet store I used to ride my bike to as soon as I was old enough to set out on my own. So it was a tough choice when I opted out of this hike in favor of seeing lemurs (see previous post). As I stated before, no one person can see it all.

One of my friends noted you really are trying to remain anonymous. This is true. I am the oldest person in the tour group here in Madagascar, and I would rather bring attention to the things I see, not to myself. Call me old-fashioned, but I am not a fan of the Kardashian world we live in today. Everyone seems to use social media to focus attention on how well they over-exploit the resources of the planet. Too many people want to have the biggest slice of the pie. Maybe it is human nature, but it is a selfishness that we need to think about.

One of the reasons I am so pleased to be traveling with my nephew is that he gets it. I would like to bring attention to people like him who understand the crisis that we face and yet still have a positive outlook. It is people like him who will make the difference.

Maybe one of my new friends will be able to provide a story or two and a few photos that will give you a better picture of what this little frog and the people who care about it are up against. This website is a work in progress, but I hope I can get it to be a shared work, not just one grandpa doing his thing.

While most of our group went to see one of the last places in the world where you can see Golden Mantella frogs in the wild (a species I kept in captivity many years ago), my nephew Scott and I headed back to Mitsinjo to see the largest of all living lemurs while we were in the only region of Madagascar where they exist in the wild today. We heard their loud eerie calls the day before, but they were far away deep in the forest. It was on the list of creatures Scott was hoping to see. It is critically endangered and neither of us can be sure if we’ll make it back to this part of the country.

So we met our skilled guide and spotter early in the morning and headed off to see a group of habituated, but wild, Indri. We heard them again, and in a rush, we headed in the direction of their calls. Though some of the trail was good, when we got close, we had to make our way through thick undergrowth, and steep, slippery terrain. Oh, one other thing, the trails were full of terrestrial leeches. Not to be deterred, we pressed on and before long we could see them. They were high in the canopy and difficult to photograph even with my super-telephoto lens. But, eventually things got better. So good, I started using my GoPro and though I have not looked through any of the footage, I just might have gotten the baby in the group reaching down like he was going to take it out of my hand. It was an amazing moment and even if I didn’t get it on video, seeing my nephew’s eyes light up when it happened was priceless.

Not surprisingly, I wound up feeding at least six leeches, but it was worth it.

We also saw Brown Lemurs and a bunch of other things….

To see more photos from Andasibe, click here

Most of the people who know me think I know a lot about the critters of the world. I have been able to get quite a few creatures to thrive in captivity and have used them to help get high school students interested in biology, the subject I taught for 38 years. Devin Edmonds, our tour leader, told me that in our group we had some of the top captive breeders of reptiles and amphibians in the USA. I am not in that elite group, but I can tell you, they are my kind of people. Even those, like me, who are not in the business of providing captive bred, exotic reptiles and amphibians to the pet trade, added something to the group because of their passion for conservation.

Let me introduce you to my new friends.

Brad Wilson is a veterinarian from the Atlanta area who has traveled much of the world in his spare time searching for the rare and exotic. He has connections with the Atlanta Botanical Gardens and he has invited me there to tour one of the premiere attractions of its kind in the world. I will surely take advantage of his offer and post about it in the future. His love of nature photography led Mike Wallitis to tell me he has produced some of the world’s best images of certain species of plants and animals in their natural environment. I hope he got some on this trip, and will allow me to share them on this website along with some commentary. He is one who surely could contribute to the try2seeitall goal.

Shawn Harrington is a Mayo Clinic trained doctor now living in New Hampshire. He is a busy guy with his day job, but in his spare time he started a business called the Frog Whisperer supplying captive bred animals to the pet trade. He is a fun-loving guy who likes to tell what he calls Dad jokes. His enthusiasm for the critters would occasionally put his hand or the back of his head in the photographs of others, but his ear-to-ear grin and his knowledge of how to safely handle the animals would more than make up for this minor inconvenience. Sean’s stories on the long bus rides and his insights and sense of humor at meals made for some interesting conversation.

Matthew Mirabella works for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, providing teacher education and training. His kindness and consideration of others will be remembered. He is especially good at spotting animals, so I often found myself staying close to him so I would be one of the first to take a photo. Because photography was something that most of the members of the group were interested in, we would often get in line to get a shot of a new animal. Matt was an asset to the group. We saw things that would have gone unnoticed if it were not for him.

Sean Betti is a California native who started a business in the rapidly growing technology sector of data storage and communication. He is an amazing young man who has done quite well marching to his own beat. Like many on the trip, he spent at least some of his youth working at a pet store and is one of the elite group successful at the captive care and breeding of cold-blooded exotics. Sean was an expert snake handler, and like Matt, one I wanted to remain close to when on our hikes. He was a bit more reserved than some on the trip, but he could also summon a boyish grin in an instant when he discovered something new. He impressed me with his ability to calmly try2seeitall while still able to carry on business and family life while in a remote location. He has mastered technology, but has not become a slave to it. He also has taken some great photographs that I hope he will share.

Julio Rodrigues calls New York City home, though he was born in Spain to a Spanish father and a Dominican Republic mother. Julio played linebacker for the Syracuse football team in the late ’90s and now manages a swimming instruction program that works at many locations in the “Big Apple.” He is another busy guy with diverse interests and keen perception who is a positive example of how to live life to its fullest. He would make Devin’s list of top breeders of reptiles and amphibians but he might not admit to it. He is funny, generous and easy to like. I hope he will add some thoughts and photos to this website when he gets the chance. I really hope to travel with him again.

Ray is a transplant from New Jersey who now lives in Massachusetts. He is probably the most energetic in the group. I am pretty sure he wins the award for most Instagram posts while in Madagascar. When he returns home he will be teaching courses at Harvard and MIT as well as other duties in the realm of science teacher education. He has vast knowledge and experience from traveling to remote areas where fascinating creatures live. He is skilled at being in the right place at the right time to take photos or make videos. He is also able to convey enthusiasm to the local children, which I think might be his most valuable personality trait.

Last but not least, Anne Carpenter, a Rhode Island native and daughter of a Brown University professor. Anne works as an inspector for the FDA. She was the only female member of the tour and helped keep the group on its best behavior. Passionate about nature and kind beyond the ordinary, she was truly an asset to the group. She was surprisingly good, despite her small stature, at keeping up with the boys. I admire her courage and her generosity.

One of the things that takes some getting used to in Madagascar is the limited access to WiFi and internet speeds that allow for efficient uploading of photos. Consequently I have fallen way behind on my posts.

Our group met in Tana and I quickly learned that the tour was going to be exceptional. The people had a common interest and were all intrepid travelers. I personally knew three of the eleven members before the trip started. I was excited to get to know the rest. I am hoping to get some to contribute to the website. First I will introduce the three I knew before the trip started.

Devin Edmonds is the tour leader and an author of several books on the care of amphibians. He started his own website when he was a teenager and still makes an effort to keep it up today. Because of his interest in the creatures of Madagascar, he came here when he was 20 years old and made many connections that have become a big part of his life. I heard him lecture about a dozen years ago at a gathering of interested people after his first trip.

Mike Wallitis, co-founder of Black Jungle Exotics, a company that specializes in the sale of items used in making terrariums and vivariums, asked Devin to lead the group for Rainforest Adventure Tours, a second business Mike started. I have been doing business with Mike for many years, but this is the first trip I have taken with him. Others in the group have traveled with him several times to exotic locations.

Finally, my nephew Scott, who like me, has been interested in traveling to Madagascar since he was a boy. Scott is a Princeton graduate who is currently working in Kenya on a conservation ecology research project. He hopes someday to get a doctorate in some aspect of conservation biology. He wants to make a difference.

Andasibe (pronounced An DAH see bay), a small village a few hours west of Tana, was a good place to get started. It was here that Devin helped provide advice on a captive breeding program for endangered frogs that are struggling because of habitat loss. The breeding project is part of a larger community project called Mitsinjo. We were introduced to several people associated with Mitsinjo and we learned about the good work they do. We took several hikes on the private reserve they manage. We saw many species. Scott and I were very lucky to see the largest member of the lemur family called the Indri.



At home I consider myself adventurous when it comes to food. I would like to be adventurous while traveling too. So far, I have tried to be conservative, sticking to foods that are thoroughly cooked or fruits I have peeled myself. It might be the stories of people getting violently ill with what in Madagascar is called “Hotely Belly.” A hotely is a place where locals eat and my driver, Lala, said it is wise to stay away. So far so good. I haven’t had any digestive issues. As in most developing countries, the health issue is probably more about the water than the food, so foreigners are advised to stick to bottled water which I have. Access to clean water is a problem for many here in Madagascar.

Last night I found myself with a bit of a conflict. I was raised to eat what was put on my plate and be thankful. I was pretty hungry. I had only one choice for dinner–Zebu steak served with a side of pomme de terre frite, or what we would call French fries. Zebu is a type of cow common in Madagascar. You see them all around the rice paddies, walking along the side of the road, pulling carts, and as pictured above, being herded by children. I don’t know whether it was that image or the image of the street side butcher shops with hanging meat and no refrigeration, but I could not bring myself to eat steak for the first time in my life.

I was thankful the side of fries was big and hot.

For photos around Antananarivo from my first few days in Madagascar, click here.