Review of Madagascar’s wildfowl 15
©Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust
Wildfowl
(2013) 63: 5–23
Table 3.
Ramsar sites and important protected wetlands in Madagascar and endemic wildfowl present at site. Site numbers refer to
map (Fig 3).
Site Site name
Ramsar
Year
Size Madagascar
Endemic
Approx. duck
Site characteristics
no.
site no.
1
designated
1
(ha)
realm
2
wildfowl
numbers (* = breeds)
1 Lake
962
1998
45,604
Southern Madagascar Teal One record (Safford & A shallow lake with open water
Tsimanampetsotsa
Hawkins 2013)
and mudflats.
(24°07’S 043°45’E)
2 Manambolomaty
963
1998
7,491
Western
Madagascar Teal *20+
The complex consists of three
lakes complex
permanent freshwater lakes and
(19°01’S 044°24’E)
118 caught for ringing
one brackish lake; all four
at Lake Antsamaka in
lakes are surrounded by the
2000 (Razafindrajao
Tsimembo forest.
et al
. 2012).
Madagascar
*20+ (Durrell unpubl.
White-backed
data)
Duck
3 Lake Alaotra
1312
2003
722,500 Eastern
Meller’s Duck *200+ (
e.g
. 260 in
Large lake (
c
. 20,000 ha),
(17°28’S 048°31’E)
1989; Young & Smith
surrounded by 23,500 ha of
1989)
marsh, 117,000 ha of rice
plantations, and including
Madagascar
Not seen since 1960
> 500,000 ha of the surrounding
Pochard
(Young & Kear 2006)
catchment and water.
4 Torotorofotsy
1453
2005
1,100
Eastern
Meller’s Duck *10+ (Durrell unpubl.
A near-natural permanent marsh
Marsh
data)
and temporary marshes with
(18°52’S 048°22’E)
their catchments of primary
rainforest, fragmented by
agricultural zones and secondary
forest.
