Antananarivo zoo and botanical gardens

A Visit to the Zoo

(Sunday 16th February, 2014)

Monument aux Morts in Lake Anosy, Antananarivo.

Woke up, had some breakfast and then met up with Mani. At first we walked down to the larger lake in the city, the one with the monument in the middle. We walked through a tunnel on the way there and some locals were wolf whistling and yelling something I didn’t understand at me. I think maybe because I was walking around with a local.. Happened some more throughout the day.

We walked around the lake and down to the part of the city that houses the governmental buildings. He wanted to show me where the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building was, which I would need to visit to have my VISA for the country prolonged. On the way there we walked past a building with shattered windows and huge satellite dishes in front. This building used to be a radio station, which Mani said was a sort of symbol of culture, music and art; political changes got this radio station closed down and protests ensued, leaving the building in shambles.

The governmental buildings are rather small and are not located in the nicest neighbourhood. The green areas right next to them was used as a recreational area and was used by a lot of people. Right behind the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building is the “ghetto”. We went there through a small side way. There was garbage everywhere, roads filled with potholes, chickens running crazy, tin houses and tiny shops offering different small items, filthy little children on the side of the road. Not a very cosy place. Mani claimed that the business taking place here was largely illegal and run by a mafia-like organisation and he suggested I never buy anything here. I would not feel safe around here by myself, admittedly, or even if I was walking around with a group of other foreigners. Little children ran after me with their hands outstretched and I didn’t feel like the gazes my presence apparently invited were decidedly friendly.

Close to the “ghetto” we found the flower market. Shops filled with orchids, medicinal plants and endemic flowers and plants. It smelled wonderful here and people seemed significantly more friendly and smiley. Right next to the flower market is the food market. Here you could find various Malagasy snacks, rice, fruits and vegetables, and it smelled delicious here, too. We tried some fig and brown sugar compressed with something white rolled around it and then wrapped in leaves. It was tasty.

The birds perching in the large trees at Antananarivo Zoo.

From here we walked on smaller and windy roads towards the botanical gardens and the zoo. Very quaint roads, up and down hill. It was quite a long walk but we finally arrived at the park. There were quite a lot of people there on this Sunday. It costed 10.000 Ariary for me to get in but for locals the fee would be only 500 Ariary. You can get a guide with you as you enter, for more money I guess, but Mani said he’d just function as guide. It turns out that I knew more about the animals than he did, though.

At first I was terrified on behalf of the animals. There were eagles in cages so small that they would never be able to fly anywhere. That hurt my heart. Two fozzas were also in tiny, unnatural cages. Sucks. It got a bit better the further into the park we got. The camels, the warthogs, the lemurs, one fozza and the parrots had decent living arrangements. Also the giant turtles.

The park was very green and the trees had white birds perched all over the tops. There were also a lot of spiders on large webs between the trees; a bit gross but some very pretty colours on them. I was allowed to go ‘behind the scenes’ into the lemurs, for a tip to the zookeeper, of course. The zookeeper applied some honey on my hands and cheeks and the lemurs were coming to me and crawling all over me. Some different kinds of lemurs. They are small and cute and the noises that they make most of all remind me of the noise of a pig.

Hanging out with some Common Brown Lemurs.

After my experience with the lemurs we went to the botanical garden part of the park – there were a lot of interesting plants. I was also lucky enough to spot a (pregnant?) chameleon in the ‘wild’. There were a lot of beautiful butterflies and I also saw a kingfisher. Despite a tough beginning in the park, it was an okay experience in the end.

Following the visit in the park we went down to the river/the lake where the drinking water for Antananarivo comes from. On the way there we talked about French doctors working in Madagascar. According to Mani, a French doctor earns a lot more (think 10x more) than a Malagasy doctor (even one who went to France to study), plus they get benefits such as a car and a house. He said that in a way it feels like Madagascar is still a colony.

The walk was long but nice with smiling and friendly people. We also passed a bridge with a fruit/vegetable market taking place on it. On the way we ate a baguette with some paté on it for lunch and sat down by the river bed. This was on the outskirts of Tana and it was relaxed and quiet compared to the busyness of the centre. Mani taught me some Malagasy words and we observed a family washing their laundry in the somewhat clean river water.

After a bit we took a bus back home. The driver drove a little crazily and I did get a little bit nervous at times – though I made it back to Karthala safe and sound. Today I’ve noticed that there are a few pizza places, and I’ve also noted that their street food also consists of pig heads, intestines from pig and chicken feet; yummy! It’s also quite amusing to me to see how some people just walk around with a chicken or a duck under one arm as if there is nothing weird about it. Which there isn’t, unless you’re a westerner like myself.