matadornetwork.com Web excerpt · 2026
“From the coast, we went to Lokobe National Park where we saw this male black lemur.”
Ankarana National Park
🇲🇬 Madagascar
Africa, Madagascar 391 spp. recorded
Ankarana Special Reserve is a protected area in northern Madagascar created in 1956. It is a small, partially vegetated plateau composed of 150-million-year-old middle Jurassic limestone. With an average annual rainfall of about 2,000 millimetres, the underlying rocks have been eroded to produce caves and feed subterranean rivers—a karst topography. The rugged relief and the dense vegetation have helped protect the region from human intrusion and exploitation. The Ankarana Massif is the setting for a wildlife rich adventure story for children.
The southern entrance of what is now designated the Ankarana National Park is in Mahamasina on the Route nationale 6 some 108 km south-west of Antsiranana and 29 km north-east of Ambilobe.
-12.878° S 49.155° E
🦜 Nature
139 Species sighted
1,382 Verified sightings From 2019 to 2026
Oct Best month
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
⭐ Iconic Species
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
📊 Most Spotted
🌙 Most active after dark
Recent sightings in Ankarana National Park
LIVEiNaturalistSighting Calendar
How many species you'd see in a dayavg 9.5 year-round
1.2
No data
Jan1.3
No data
Feb—
No data
Mar8.4
No data
Apr7.9
No data
May9.7
No data
Jun10
No data
Jul8.6
No data
Aug11
No data
Sep23
No data
Oct20
No data
Nov8.9
No data
DecSighting Zones
Warmer areas are where all species together are recorded most often.
-
Mahamasina
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Madagascar Giant Day Gecko~80%≈
Panther Chameleon~80%≈
Madagascar Magpie-Robin~70%+10%
Oustalet's Giant Chameleon~70%-10%
Madagascar Bulbul~60%+10%
Crested Drongo~60%+10%
Abbott's Day Gecko~60%-10%
Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher~60%+10%
Uroplatus garamaso~50%-10%
Souimanga Sunbird~50%≈
Giant Madagascan Hognose Snake~50%≈
Plated Leaf Chameleon~50%-10%
-
12.915° S, 49.135° E
Daily sight. prob.vs avg
Ankarana Sportive Lemur~80%≈- Madagascar Giant Day Gecko~70%-10%
- Panther Chameleon~70%-20%
- Uroplatus garamaso~70%+10%
- Plated Leaf Chameleon~60%+10%
- Madagascar Magpie-Robin~60%≈
- Madagascar Bulbul~60%≈
Crowned Lemur~50%-20%- Crested Drongo~50%≈
- Souimanga Sunbird~50%+10%
- Madagascar Paradise-Flycatcher~50%≈
Tavaratra Mouse Lemur~40%≈
-
West park edge
🏕️ Experience
Essentials
Entrance
Paid
Tourism
Low
Typical stay
1–2
daysTrails
Moderate
World Heritage
No
Climate
Temp °C Rain mm
-20°
0° 0
20° 300
40° 600 mm
Jan457Feb342Mar385Apr78May22Jun17Jul12Aug7Sep11Oct18Nov110Dec268
0.0 Good
Wallace's Line Score
How good is this park for seeing wildlife? 🦜
Biodiversity
GoodHow rich is the wildlife?
3.5
Species by taxon
🦅 Birds 185
🐒 Mammals 69
🦎 Reptiles 116
🐸 Amphibians 21
391 Total Species
810 Global average across 340 parks
66 Threatened 170 Endemic
🔭
Sighting
Very goodHow likely to see animals?
3.1
🎯
Top-12 Avg Probability
67% 📊
Coverage (112 species at ≥5% of 391 in the inventory)
29% 🔀
Taxon variety in top 12 (6 reptile, 4 bird, 2 mammal)
81% 🔭
Species per 10 outings (distinct species a visitor would meet over 10 outings — effort held equal across parks)
61 🌟
Iconic-group species (≥15%) (every species from the 19 iconic groups — monkeys, cats, toucans, macaws, sloths, crocodilians… — not just the 4 highlighted above)
15 ⭐
High-prob species (>40%)
19 🏕️
Experience
Very goodHow easy and pleasant is the visit?
4.0
Climate Pleasant High
Entrance Paid Low
Tourism Low High
Trails Moderate Medium
World Heritage No —
What visitors say
Your review
madagascartravel.com Web excerpt · 2026
“To build a custom itinerary incorporating Ankarana, explore our Madagascar journeys.”
roadtripafrica.com Web excerpt · 2026
“The park offers many hiking trails ranging from one hour to a long day hike: You can visit Ankarana National Park during our Northern Madagascar itinerary.”
Before you go
What animals can you see in Ankarana National Park?
391 species
Ankarana National Park has 391 recorded vertebrate species. The ones wildlife watchers report most often on a given day are Madagascar Giant Day Gecko (about 80%), Panther Chameleon (about 80%), Ankarana Sportive Lemur (about 80%), Oustalet's Giant Chameleon (about 80%) and Crowned Lemur (about 70%). Among birds, the most-seen is Madagascar Magpie-Robin (about 60%).
When is the best time to visit Ankarana National Park for wildlife?
April, July and September–October
In those months the park's 12 most-seen species average about 70% on a given day, against about 60% in May–June, August and November–December. Those are among Ankarana National Park's driest months, with about 30 mm of rain a month against 460 mm in January.
Can you see an Ankarana Sportive Lemur in Ankarana National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report an Ankarana Sportive Lemur sighting in Ankarana National Park on a given day, based on 53 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is October (about 90%).
Can you see a Crowned Lemur in Ankarana National Park?
Yes
About 70% of wildlife watchers report a Crowned Lemur sighting in Ankarana National Park on a given day, based on 57 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is September and October (about 80%).
Can you see a Madagascar Giant Day Gecko in Ankarana National Park?
Yes
About 80% of wildlife watchers report a Madagascar Giant Day Gecko sighting in Ankarana National Park on a given day, based on 63 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is August to October (about 90%).
Can you see a Perrier’s Sifaka in Ankarana National Park?
Yes
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Perrier’s Sifaka sighting in Ankarana National Park on a given day, based on 5 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. The best time is May (about 60%).
Where in Ankarana National Park is wildlife easiest to see?
Around Mahamasina
The richest sighting zone is around Mahamasina, followed by West park edge, ranked by how many of the park's headline animals visitors can expect to see in each. See the zones on the map.
Is Ankarana National Park good for wildlife watching?
3.3 out of 5
On the Wallace's Line Score, Ankarana National Park rates 3.3/5: 266th of 340 parks worldwide and 70th in Africa. 25 of its species are reported by about 40% or more of wildlife watchers on a given day.
_male_Montagne_d%E2%80%99Ambre.jpg/330px-Blue-nosed_chameleon_(Calumma_linotum)_male_Montagne_d%E2%80%99Ambre.jpg)
.jpg/330px-Indri_(Indri_indri).jpg)
