On the Expedition
Help monitor Madagascar's mysterious predator, the fosa, and protect its fragile island habitat.
Up before the sun, you’ll experience the forests of Madagascar to reach the research areas, often hiking more than 20 kilometers a day. Throughout your expedition, you’ll rotate among a variety of tasks essential to the project’s success. You'll learn how to set fosa traps and use radio-tracking transmitters and receivers, be trained to check trap lines in the early morning and late afternoon, and help measure trapped and sedated carnivores. You’ll have a chance to spot Madagascar’s many lemur species. Midday is often free for informal lectures or hikes through the fosa's forest home. Your evenings may be spent at local village festivities or sharing stories with members of the nearby women's cooperative.
Earthwatch Team Facilitator
An Earthwatch Teen Team Facilitator will join your team to provide additional guidance, supervision, and activity organization for the expedition. Your facilitator will be there to help from the time you meet at the team rendezvous to the end of the expedition. He or she will encourage team spirit by planning events such as team building exercises, presentations, and recreational and cultural activities. If you have any questions or problems during your expedition, such as issues with another student volunteer, homesickness, or an emergency back at home, you should feel comfortable talking to your facilitator. You should also follow the advice and expectations set by your facilitator regarding safety and personal conduct. All Teen Team Facilitators have experience teaching and leading groups of teenagers and are familiar with the team dynamics necessary to make each expedition a success. Remember, your facilitator is there for you!
Meals and Accommodations
You’ll stay at a tented research station with showers and toilets in Ankarafantsika National Park, Mahajanga Province, in the northwest part of Madagascar’s main island. Staff cooks will prepare local fare, based on rice and beans, topped off occasionally with exquisite, locally produced chocolates.
About the Research Area
You’ll be based at Ampijoroa Research Station in Ankarafantsika, Mahajanga Province. The Station serves the 333,592-acre Ankarafantsika Protected Areas Complex, one of the last and largest tracts of dry deciduous forest in Madagascar. The area has more than 20 kilometers of well-marked trails that traverse through tall baobob trees, stands of precious woods such as palisandre, and many species of terrestrial and epiphytic orchids. Ankarafantsika boasts seven lemur species, including the acrobatic conquerel’s sifaka, the rare mongoose lemur, and the nocturnal woolly, sportive, and mouse lemurs. A variety of bird, reptile and amphibian species also inhabit the area.