The special reserve Nosy Mangabe is composed of a group of islands in Antongil Bay. With an area of just over five square kilometers, the reserve is one of the smallest in Madagascar and is at the same time the ideal destination for a comfortable and at the same time impressive day trip close to nature. Nosy Mangabe is located just over four kilometers from the town of Maroantsetra and can be reached by a small motorboat. in a good hour Reach journey. In the 17th century, many Dutchmen came to Nosy Mangabe, who lived on the land covered with wet and exceedingly dense forests covered islands found a place of refuge. When the French colonial powers subsequently took over Madagascar, Nosy Mangabe functioned as a trading post. In the meantime, hardly anything can be seen of these developments, because already in the 1960s Nosy Mangabe turned into a special nature reserve. From the very beginning, this reserve was not only about protecting the precious forest resources, but also to give the extraordinary Aye-Aye, a specific species of lemur, a safe and secure home. In the course of this intention, people introduced the fingered animal to the islands in order to save it from extinction in this way. After all, the somewhat strange-looking animal had been through quite a stressful time: many factions of the local population associated negative characteristics with the fingered animal, treating it as a harbinger of evil or a bad omen. For this very reason, the Finger animals hunted mercilessly in many placesuntil they were threatened with extinction.

In the Nosy Mangabe reserve they have now found a new and safe home. Who would like to observe these small, sensational little animals in the nature reserve, should for this however at least one or two nights plan. The fingered animals are nocturnal and only come out of their hiding places to wait for the Hunting for insects or coconut fruit to go. With their enlarged middle finger, which they can even warm by a few degrees Celsius, they can perfectly reach food hidden behind small holes and openings. In addition to the fingered animals, Nosy Mangabe still has Various other highlights to offer: Various species of lemurs, which are also active during the day and are much easier to observe than the fingered animals, are just as much a part of it as birds, reptiles, amphibians and sometimes even Humpback whaleswhich frequently pass the coast off Nosy Mangabe with their young in the months from June to September.