Pendjari national park
PRESENTATION OF THE PARK
The reserve of biosphere of Pendjari, commonly called "national park of Pendjari" is located in the North-West of the Republic of Benign in Africa. This park extends on a surface from approximately 275 000 ha. It belongs to a set of protected areas of the extreme north of the republic of Benign, of almost 1 250 000 ha which understands the park "W", the zones huntings of Pendjari, Atacora and Djona.
The reserve of Pendjari belongs to the greatest whole of protected areas of West Africa, namely, the W-Arli-Pendjari ecosystem. This great unit gathers in addition to the reserve of biosphere of Pendjari, the Reserve of Transborder Biosphere "W", shared by the Benign one, Niger and Burkina Faso as well as the protected areas of various statutes in Burkina Faso (Swooned, Arli, Singou), even of Togo (Oti, Kéran, Mandouri). On the whole, these surfaces occupy a surface of approximately 50 000 km², including 12 500 km² with the Benign one. 1/10ème of this surface is approximately 5 000 km² is consisted the Reserve of biosphere of Pendjari. In West Africa, an ecosystem protected from comparable size exists only in Ivory Coast with the National park of Comoé.
GEOGRAPHY
The Pendjari Park is presented in the form of a peneplain from 150 to 200 meters of altitude, broadside in the south by the chain of Atacora (south-western/north-eastern) from 400 to 513 meters. A second channel parallel with the first is more reduced with an altitude from 170 to 400 meters. The Pendjari river is the only important waterway of the park. Of an overall length of approximately 300 kilometers of which 200 km in the park, its unevenness is low (40 meters). Pendjari has an important water flow in rain season and a low flow in dry season. At the end of the dry season, the river dries up on both sides.
HISTOIRY
Created as protected areas as from the years 1950 with the initial objective to be used as zone of hunting with the colonial administration, the national park of Pendjari is today the most intact part of this great whole of transborder reserves. The park was created on December 13th, 1954 in time that reserve partial of fauna. It receives the statute of national park on May 6th, 1961, obtains that of reserve of biosphere in June 1986 and site Ramsar in February 2007.
The relief of Benign facilitated since always the circulation of the men like that of the goods. Two North-South main roads cross the country right through. The cities of the littoral are connected by fast tracks and are prolonged towards the capitals of the countries bordering.
FLORA OF THE PARK
The flora of the park of Pendjari is composed of various kinds of savannas and forest. Grassy savanna, for example is composed only of grass without trees or shrubs. The covered shrubby savanna of shrubs of small sizes and graminaceous. Raised savanna where the shrubs are majority but the trees are more numerous and the graminaceous ones are always present. Wooded savanna is composed of underwood with trees high from 8 to 16 meters.
The formations of forests are composed mainly of the riparian forest, the clear forest thus that the forest gallery.
FAUNA OF THE PARK
The fauna of the park is a very varied fauna although constantly threatened by the sporting huntings organized within the park. The biomass draws up the report of the weight itself of the mammals on the surface which they occupy. It should be known that the density of large herbivores is, in Pendjari, lower than that which one knows in the large savanna of the East Africa. The interaction animal-vegetation is of course important, and varies according to their density and in particular that of the herbivores. It is established that the biomasses observed are incontestably lower in Pendjari than in the parks of the African east.
Mammals :
One can however observe marvellous animals there that in love ones with wild nature will not fail to photograph. One can meet in particular there the cheetah, which are also the emblem of the park, the lion of Africa, the african wild dog, the hyena, the jackal, the leopard, the elephant, the hippopotamus, the Bluebuck, the Alcelaphus, the kob, the topi, the buffalo or the waterbuck.
Avifauna :
The avifauna is not remains about it because for the amateurs of birds. More than 400 species of birds were listed in the national park of Pendjari, it is to say the avifauna is rich there. The birds are often difficult to identify because of their size and their hidden manners, but are extremely present in the landscape of the park. One could quote for example the African Fish Eagle, the hamerkop, the Saddle-billed Stork, the coracias and the gray geron.
Reptiles :
The Nile crocodile is present at a hundred specimens in the ponds of the park especially on banks of the Bali pond where they nourish especially fish and birds. The snakes of sands, the agama, the lizards, the skinks are the other species of reptiles which one easily crosses in Pendjari. The python Sebae, finally, is spectacular. There are a certain number of species of turtles in Pendjari. The majority live in water. The land turtle which seemed to have disappeared from the reserve was observed by researchers and tourists on several occasions during the rain season.
EXTERNAL LINKS
http://mcat.ongpeopleonline.net
http://pagesperso-orange.fr/pedagogie84
