This is a bit of an unusual post for me because there are no animals, and the hand of man is in the landscape. Even so, I always liked this one from my Madagascar trip. The tree in the background is a baobab. In the foreground are young sisal plants, part of a sisal plantation. Unfortunately, many of the original baobabs (and other native forests) were cleared for crops, cattle and other farming. At least a few of the old trees still remain. There are eight species of baobabs in the world — six occur on Madagascar, one on mainland Africa, and the other in Australia. I’ve often said that Madagascar is my favorite exotic location and I vow to get back some day. When I do, I’d like to visit the southwestern coast where most of the baobabs can be found.
Nikon D40x with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 35mm) ISO 100, f/6.3 at 1/100th of a second

This lemur is called a Verreaux’s sifaka. Of all the different lemur species, I always thought that these guys looked the most like stuffed animals moving through the trees. On the ground, they perform a ballet-like dance as they quickly move from the safety of one tree to the next.
Nikon D40X with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 26mm) ISO 100, f/9 at 1/30th of a second

I came across this fine looking young lady one afternoon in Maroantsetra, Madagascar. She was in a tree just outside my bungalow. Always nice to make such an acquaintance before even heading into the woods. Not only do chameleons change color based on location, state of alertness and other factors, they also exhibit different colors based on sex.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 100, f/22 at 1/60th of a second, 2 Nikon SB-800 flash units

This is an old one from my trip to Madagascar back in 2007. Sometimes you have your best sightings on your way into national parks. Thus was the case with this little tree frog that I saw along the side of the road in the town of Perinet on my way into Andasibe-Mantadia National Park. It’s called an Elena’s tree frog. Not sure who Elena was but she discovered a rather dashing frog.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 145mm) ISO 100, f/22 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units on a Really Right Stuff bracket

Leaf tailed geckos are pretty crazy looking creatures. From the expression on this guy’s face, it’s hard tell if he was pleased to see me or if he wanted to eat me. He was actually displaying his bright red mouth as a warning sign to stay away. My guide and I were heading back to camp late one afternoon on the island of Nosy Mangabe, just off the east coast of Madagascar.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 80mm) ISO 100, f/22 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash

This handsome little guy is a red-fronted brown lemur. And like all lemurs, he lives in Madagascar. If there’s one country I need to get back to some day, it’s Madagascar — my favorite exotic place (so far) on earth.
Nikon D40X with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 26mm) f/4 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash

In addition to lemurs and chameleons, Madagascar is also full of interesting tree frogs, like this little white guy with gold flecks and yellow belly. I’m not sure of the common name but the latin name is Heterixalus Betsileo. I was on a night hike in Ranomafana National Park which is in the central part of the country.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 200mm), Canon 500D close up filter, ISO 100, f/22 at 1/60th of second, two Nikon SB-800 flash units on an off camera bracket

Brown mouse lemurs are among the smallest primates in the world. I came across this one on a night walk in Nosy Mangabe, an island off the east coast of Madagascar. The island has no human inhabitants and you must camp on the beach in order to spend the night. This guy was about ten inches tall.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 185mm) ISO 200, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, 2 SB-800 flash units

Hope everyone had a nice long weekend. Thought I’d start out the work week with a creature that hasn’t been seen on the blog in over four years. This is a fanaloka (also known as the Malagasy civet), and it was photographed in a rain forest in central Madagascar in Ranomafana National Park. Fanalokas are nocturnal and usually very secretive. This one was looking for scraps near a picnic area. These guys are about the size of a house cat, but are a bit more fox like in appearance. They are neither a feline or a canine, however, and are more closely related to the mongoose.
Nikon D200 with Nikkor 80-200mm lens (at 92mm) ISO 200, f/5 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-800 flash unit

I once saw a show on Discover, or one of those networks, and they were counting down the most stealth animals on the planet. Coming in at number one was the chameleon. They have it all — eyes that have a 360 degree field of vision and can look in two directions at once, a tongue that can lash out at record speed and distance, colors that can change to camouflage or attract, and tong-like feet that are specialized for gripping just about any kind of branch. Half of all the world’s chameleons live in Madagascar, where I photographed this guy late one afternoon while traveling upriver in a small boat.
Nikon D40X with Nikkor 18-55mm lens (at 19mm), ISO 200, f/4.5 at 1/160th of a second