In Madagascar There are no penguins, except maybe at the zoo. However on this island of Africa we can find many animals that are endemic to it like the indri-indri wave pelican spider . Join us to know 20 Curiosities of Madagascar . Landscapes and unique nature.
20 Curiosities of Madagascar
Madagascar is an island country that is located off the southeast coast of Africa with a population of around 24.5 million inhabitants, most of which subsist on less than 2 euros a day. The natives of Madagascar They are called "Malagasy". Its capital is Antananarivo, where more than 2.5 million people live. We have divided the curiosities of Madagascar into sections for easy reading. We hope you like them!
Madagascar's geographical and political curiosities
1. Madagascar It is known as "the Eighth Continent of the World" because of the singularity of the island's biodiversity.
2. Madagascar is an island of 587,041 km2. It is the fourth largest in the world behind Greenland, New Guinea and Borneo.
3. Another of the curiosities of Madagascar is that 88 million years ago it was linked to India. It is separated when the rupture of the supercontinent Gondwana. It is believed that the first human settlers of Madagascar arrived in canoes from Borneo around 350 a.C.
4. Due to its isolation, more than 80% of the plants and animal species found in Madagascar are not found anywhere else on Earth.
5. In Madagascar there is a kind of endemic Baobab. It is the "Adansonia grandidieri". You can see them in The avenue of the Baobabs and they have become a distinctive element not only of the country, but of all of Africa.
6. Although vanilla originated in Mexico, Madagascar is the second vanilla producer in the world after Indonesia.
7. On the island you can see a "stone Forest" . It is Tsingy forest and has large stone blocks lined with trees. It is in the integral Natural Reserve of Tsingy de Bemaraha that was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. In it you can see in addition to these geological formations, mangrove forests and animals such as lemurs, chameleons or birds.
8. Despite all the natural wealth that its immense biodiversity represents, Madagascar is one of the poorest countries in Africa. 90% of the population survives on less than 2 euros a day.
9. This poverty is reflected in the country's road network. Although the island is almost twice the size of the United Kingdom, it only has 1% of the roads that cover the latter.
10. Another of the curiosities of Madagascar is that his name is due to Marco Polo, who was the first European to arrive on its shores and explain it. When the Portuguese arrived in the sixteenth century they gave it the name of the island-kingdom of Africa that the 13th century traveler had quoted in his book.
Capital of Madagascar
11. The capital of Madagascar It is Antananarivo. Its name means "the city of the thousand" and takes the name of the garrison composed of a thousand soldiers who defended it.
12. Until 1869, the buildings of the capital of Madagascar They were made of wood or rushes. From that date the stone and brick were introduced in the construction and Antananarivo was completely rebuilt.
Language of Madagascar
13. The language of Madagascar It's Malagasy. It is a language of Malay-Polynesian origin and is spoken throughout the island divided into numerous intelligible dialects among themselves. French, due to the years of domination of France, has remained as the second language of Madagascar and is used by elites, official communications and international relations.
Customs of Madagascar
Some customs of Madagascar They are really curious. Among them are:
14. The ceremony called Famadihana, of which we speak to you in Supercurios in the post: Famadihana, the funerary tradition of dancing with the dead . It is one of the customs of Madagascar more surprising: remove the dead from their graves, dance with them and return them to their place with their renovated shrouds.
15. Among the curiosities of Madagascar There is the traditional clothing that both men and women use and which is called "lamba". There are lambas for all occasions: for work, for wedding, for burials ... and although they also wear western clothes, Malagasy people like to wear their lambas on numerous occasions.
16. The "Hainteny" is another of the customs of Madagascar and it is a traditional oral form of Malagasy literature and poetry. Among other particularities implies the continued use of the metaphor.
Animals of Madagascar
Even if you do not find penguins in Madagascar, you can find on the island many Other animals that come out in the movie. Here you have some curious facts about the animals of Madagascar.
17. Among the curiosities of Madagascar He points out that more than 90% of his wildlife could not be found anywhere else on Earth.
18. The lemur is sacred among the animals of Madagascar. Malagasy people believe that they carry the soul of their ancestors and therefore venerate them. 90% of the lemur species live on the island.
19. Among the Madagascar animals there is one especially curious: the hissing cockroach or giant cockroach of Madagascar. They measure more than 5 cm., Eat wood and produce a curious whistle when breathing.
20. The "Bark Spider of Darwin" or "Caerostris darwini", endemic to the island, is the spider that makes the strongest silk in the world. It is ten times stronger than Kevlar and its fabrics can go from one side of a river to the other, being the largest on the planet.
Did you know these curiosities of Madagascar ? Do you know any more? Share it with us!
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