Cyclone Chido not only impacted the island’s population, it left behind a destroyed environment for animals.
Disoriented lemurs in the middle of an urban environment, making their way between barbed wire or into houses in search of food……
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©DR
Many of you share these unusual scenes on social networks.
Forced to move, others struggle to survive and end up crushed by cars…
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©Ilona Youssouffa
Cyclone Chido destroyed the animals’ natural habitat just as tangled trees everywhere on the island were home to thriving wildlife just three weeks ago.
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©Youssrah Mahadali
The only bird that remains is the sad martin, we also had bats, there not at all anymore, as you can see all the trees are down so the lemurs don’t move around much anymore, there is no more fruit . (…) It will take a year or even two years before the fruit returns.
Issimainla Mari – Wetland project manager at FMAE, the Mahoran federation of environmental associations
In the meantime, it is difficult at the moment to assess the losses.
The birds are more in terms of regeneration, in terms of survival, there were the nests with the eggs, I think that we have a big loss at this level but in terms of species which were active in the sector I would say that it is on the maki side that there is the most loss.
Issimainla Mari – Wetland project manager at FMAE, the Mahoran federation of environmental associations
A study and diagnosis phase is underway on the FMAE side; we will have to wait a few weeks to have the first data. In the meantime, the Mahorese federation of environmental associations calls for everyone to be careful, animals should not be systematically fed so as not to make them dependent on humans. Also be careful on the roads so as not to run over animals.
