There I am stranded for 5 days in the Rainforest of

Madagascar!

I was on my way to a fantastic holiday to the rainforest in Madagascar, South Africa. But then my boat crashed and capsized. I could not do anything. The next day I landed on shore in the rainforest. I tried to get some help, but the rescue team will not come for another 5 days.So I have to get use to it and make it as home for now. I feel a bit like Tarzan!

Brazil – South America

Zaire - A

frica

Indonesia

Info: rainforest represents a small part of the world but more than half of all the species of plants and animals live there.

The one where I landed, the rainforest of Madagascar is not the biggest (Amazonia in Brazil is the biggest) but it is still amazing.80% of the plants and tree found in Madagascar cannot be found anywhere else.

90% of the animals found in Madagascar cannot be found anywhere else.

World Map of the Rainforests

Madagascar

There are several rainforests in the world, the one from Madagascar is very fantastic.

• Rainforest are located around the Equator.• The climate in all the rainforests is very humid, a lot of rain and hot with some sunshine• The rain is useful to give drinking water• Because it is a forest and it rains a lot, it was called the rainforest.• In the rainforest you can so many different types of animals, plants and insects. When you stand and turn 360° you can see a lot of different species.

The first thing I had to do was to set a camp.Luckily I was able to save my bag that had all the equipment that I needed.

I first set up my tent and went on looking for wood. On my way to collect wood I found some animals and insects I will talk about them later on but here are some pictures.

I also need to find some food and water.

Day 1

For the water, I waited until it rained and put a big bucket I had in my bag, so the rain drops could go into the bucket. Then I can have some fresh drinking water. I only had to wait for a few hours until it started to rain. While I was waiting I went to explore the place and see if I could find anything new.

For food that day, I had fish that I caught in the sea. I tried to catch a big yummy one to eat. I was successful and caught about 10 of them. I made a type of pan with 2 sticks and a rock on it and stick it together with vines. I then put the fish on and waited for it to cook. Yummy yummy it’s good, delicious, fabulous.

After that exhausting day where so much happened I fell asleep in my tent. I did not bother to put on my sleeping bag I just laid down in my tent and tried to make myself cosy. I was not scared but very excited for the next day. I kept on hearing fruit bat making noises, but luckily I fell asleep.

Day 2

The next day I was hoping to have the left over of fish. It was there but I left it outside. And all the ants and other bugs ate all the left over of the fish . So I had to look for some bananas, I

hoped a monkey would give me some!

So then while I was back from getting bananas and eating them I was trying

to find some tribes. And here are some pictures of some tribes. It is

getting dark so I have to go back to the camp. Luckily I have put the bananas

in a safe place in the tent. Then I went to sleep .

People living there are very poor . Look at their houses it is very different from

our houses.

Women are painting there faces they think

it looks very good.

The next day I woke up. I went back to the tribe. There I went to the market and had breakfast with them. The kids were so nice that I played with them. They

give me some fish and fruits. It was a great day and it went very fast. I was

wondering if I could be invited to sleep, to see how it was like.

I did. They don’t sleep in beds as we do. There is only 1 room in the house and at night everyone sleeps on the

floor with a blanket.There is no shower or bathroom and if you need a

wee, you need to go outside.

Day 3

Day 4When I woke up I had breakfast. I tried

what they had. It looked like worms thing, so ate fruits instead.

Then I decided to stay a bit longer and after lunch I say good bye to everyone and went back to the camp. I was hoping the rescue

might come in early.On my way back, I found so many different

type of plants and animals.

My favourite plant is a carnivore plant called the fly trap. It is very interesting to watch it. Spent some times observing flies being caught. I even touched it. It did not

bite me but closed its mouth.

At some point I was tired so I amde my own bench with sticks.

Aye-aye

Bamboo lemur

Black lemur

Dwarf lemur

Indri Lepilemur, Sportive or Weasel lemurRing-tailed lemur

Verreaux's sifaka

Found a lot of LemursThey can be very different

Fossa Mantella frogTomato frog

Found the smallest Chameleon in the world The Chameleon it a funny animal, changes colours all the time

My favourite frogs ... Careful they are poisonous

My Favourite mammal is: Golden lion Tamarin

I like the Golden Lion Tamarin because it looks cool

Golden lion Tamarin are the rarest animal! It is a small monkeyAnd is an endangered species.

There is fewer then 40,000 left in the wild.

Tarantula . It is a hairy spider with itchy hair. It belongs to the family of Theraphosidae. They eat insect and the biggest ones can even eat lizard, mice or birds. They hunt on trees or on the ground. They can produce silk. If it bites you it is ok because Tarantula are harmless to human. Most of them are not poisonous.

Day 5

The next morning I woke up and start to undo my tent and pack my stuff.

I go to the beach and say goodbye to some of the kids that stayed with me in my camp.

There I wait and soon I hear the noise of a boat. I say : “It’s the rescue team!”

I am so happy, I am coming back to civilization

My references:

Rainforest information:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Rainforesthttp://www.rainforestweb.org

Wikipedia: for Tarantual and Golden Lion Tamarinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Lion_Tamarinhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TarantulaFly Trap: http://www.botany.org/bsa/misc/carn.html

Madagascar information: http://www.wildmadagascar.org/wildlife/animals.html#insectshttp://www.wildmadagascar.org/overview/rainforests.htmlhttp://images.wildmadagascar.org/maps/madagascar_all.jpg

Books:Cool Facts. Jungle Animals

My own trip to MadagascarSpecial book made by my aunt.