Amber Mountain National Park

Wildlife & Animals

Expert

Philip is the author of the Insight Guide to Madagascar.

Although Amber Mountain National Park (Parc National Montagne d’Ambre) is visited mostly for its scenic beauty, there is plenty of wildlife to be seen. The rainforest has an impressive list of chameleon species. A guide should be able to find the miniscule Mount d'Ambre leaf chameleon as well as the master of camouflage, the mossy leaf-tailed gecko.

Sanford's
brown lemur Common

Crowned lemur Occasional

Mount d'Ambre
leaf chameleon Common

Panther
chameleon Common

Amber Mountain
chameleon Occasional

Ring-tailed
mongoose Occasional

Madagascar
tree boa Occasional

Mouse lemurs Occasional

Leaf-tailed geckos Common

Frogs Occasional

Madagascar
giant day gecko Occasional

Fossa Very Rare

Falanouc Rare

Amber Mountain
fork-marked lemur Rare

Wildlife Highlights

Although Sanford's brown lemur and crowned lemur are quite common in the park, finding them is usually not the main focus. A standard visit is a hike, taking in some of the waterfalls and lakes, and looking for chameleons, frogs, leaf-tailed geckos and day geckos along the way. Lucky visitors might also see a beautiful Madagascar tree boa.

Best Time for Wildlife Viewing

Amber Mountain can be visited throughout the year. April to May and October to November are recommended for seeing reptiles without too much rain. Many reptiles and amphibians are harder to see in the drier months from June to September as they are less active. Around October to November many lemurs have babies. The wettest months are from mid-December to March and hiking in the forest can become more difficult.