Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Ranomafana National Park is located 45 km north-east of Fianarantsoa. The forested terrain comprises a succession of hills and summits, separated by narrow valleys and lowlands. The Namorona river flows across the park. Three types of forest are present: the low- and mid-altitude, dense, humid evergreen forest and the sclerophyllous montane forest. Marshes have formed on the sites of former rice-fields; the IBA includes c.100 ha of marsh outside the park.
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. One hundred and thirteen species are known from the area of the site, of which 64 are endemic to Madagascar. The majority of species of mid- and high altitudes are present. Some lowland species known from elsewhere are absent; it is unclear if others occur within or just outside the park.
Xenopirostris polleni and
Mesitornis unicolor, scarce and patchy elsewhere in Madagascar, seem to be reasonably common. Several marshland species, including
Sarothrura watersi and
Anas melleri, occur just outside the National Park, and this area is included within the IBA.
Non-bird biodiversity: Lemurs: Eulemur rubriventer (VU), Hapalemur aureus (CR), H. simus (CR), Varecia variegata variegata (EN), Propithecus diadema edwardsi (EN), Daubentonia madagascariensis (EN). Carnivores: Cryptoprocta ferox (VU), Fossa fossana (VU), Galidictis fasciata (VU).
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Threats include itinerant slash-and-burn cultivation around the park, and cattle-grazing within the park.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Ranomafana National Park and extension (Madagascar). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/ranomafana-national-park-and-extension-iba-madagascar on 23/12/2024.
