Welcome to Madagascar's rainforest. We hope that you will join our long-term study of the Milne-Edwards sifaka, the largest lemur living in Ranomafana National Park. You will be following these animals from dawn to dusk, sometimes over steep hills in search of fruit trees and young leaves. The whole group may come to the ground a few meters from you to search for mushrooms, eat dirt, or play-wrestle. The long days are hard work, but we will be well taken care of at our new research station!

Several lemur groups have territories that include the area of the research station, so lemurs, including the brown lemur, are frequently seen at meal times. A gorgeous waterfall is also located near the station; one of the researchers’ favorite things to do is sit along the stream just below the waterfall and look up at lemurs in the trees, and then look down at small brightly colored frogs on the rocks below. The wonderful thing about the Malagasy rainforest is that it has no venomous snakes, few poisonous plants, and no large carnivores.

The Malagasy people are generally very friendly. The town of Ranomafana (population 1,500) is four miles/seven kilometers from the Centre ValBio, on the eastern border of the park. Given the strong research and tourism presence in the region, the people of Ranomafana and the surrounding villages are accustomed to visiting foreigners. In fact half of the entrance fees to the park go back to village projects, a benefit the local people appreciate. Local Malagasy who have attended school speak French, and many locals speak some English as well. Both men and women are allowed to attend ceremonies and foreigners are rarely excluded from any event.