The Bamingui-Bangoran National Park complex is a
national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
and
biosphere reserve
A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological or o ...
located in the northern region of the
Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan to the northeast, South Sudan to the southeast, the DR Congo to the south, the Republic of th ...
. It makes up part of the Guinea-Congo Forest biome.
The
Vassako Bolo Strict Nature Reserve
The Vassako Bolo Strict Nature Reserve (Réserve Intégrale de la Vassako-Bolo) is an nature reserve within Bamingui-Bangoran National Park and Biosphere Reserve in the northern region of the Central African Republic. It is located near the town o ...
is in the midst of the park.
Geography
The park and biosphere reserve complex is located in the country's centre-north, west of
N'Délé
N'Délé or Ndele is a market town and sub prefecture in the north eastern Central African Republic, lying east of the Bamingui-Bangoran National Park. Ndélé is the capital of Bamingui-Bangoran, one of the 14 prefectures of the Central African ...
and close to the border with
Chad
Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
.
Reachable from
Bangui
Bangui () (or Bangî in Sango, formerly written Bangi in English) is the capital and largest city of the Central African Republic. It was established as a French outpost in 1889 and named after its location on the northern bank of the Ubangi ...
, the capital city, it is situated to the west of
Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park
Manovo-Gounda St. Floris National Park is a national park and UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Central African Republic prefecture Bamingui-Bangoran, near the Chad border. It was inscribed to the list of World Heritage Sites in 1988 as a ...
,
and holds a higher density and a larger number of wild animals than Manovo-Gounda.
The national park is 1,070,000 ha in size, and lies within the mid-Sudanian phytogeographic domain of the Central African Republic.
The park is situated on a plateau at an elevation of to
above sea level
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
. Its waterways drain north-westwards to the
Chari River
The Chari River, or Shari River, is a long river, flowing in Central Africa. It is Lake Chad's main source of water.
Geography
The Chari River flows from the Central African Republic through Chad into Lake Chad, following the Cameroon border f ...
.
The left bank
floodplain
A floodplain or flood plain or bottomlands is an area of land adjacent to a river which stretches from the banks of its channel to the base of the enclosing valley walls, and which experiences flooding during periods of high discharge.Goudi ...
of the
Bamingui River is protected for as are of floodplain on the
Bangoran River
Bangoran is a town in the Bamingui-Bangoran Prefecture in the northern Central African Republic
The Central African Republic (CAR; ; , RCA; , or , ) is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Chad to the north, Sudan ...
. A relatively small section, approximately section on the Bangoran's right bank, is excluded from protection.
The climate includes a rainy season of May–October in the southern reaches while diminishing to June–September in the northern areas. It can be muggy all year.
History
It was established in 1993.
In 2012, the park was captured by
Séléka
Séléka CPSK-CPJP-UFDR was an alliance of rebel militia groups that subjugated the Central African Republic (CAR) on 24 March 2013. After its official dissolution in September 2013, the remaining rebel groups became known as Ex-Séléka. Sélà ...
rebels leading to its decline. In 2018, rangers employed by
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) is a non-governmental organization headquartered at the Bronx Zoo in New York City, that aims to conserve the world's largest wild places in 14 priority regions. Founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological ...
began patrolling the park. On 18 December 2018, park rangers clashed with rebels on hunting. One rebel was killed and the other three fled.
Central Africa’s Rangers Are as Threatened as the Animals They Guard
6 October 2019
Flora and fauna
Bamingui-Bangoran's major ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
is characterized as tropical dry or deciduous forest
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
s while the major habitats and land covers are dry forest
Dry or dryness most often refers to:
* Lack of rainfall, which may refer to
**Arid regions
**Drought
* Dry or dry area, relating to legal prohibition of selling, serving, or imbibing alcoholic beverages
* Dry humor, deadpan
* Dryness (medical)
...
s, wooded savanna
A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to ...
s, edaphic
Edaphology (from Greek , ''edaphos'', "ground",, ''-logia'') is concerned with the influence of soils on living beings, particularly plants.
It is one of two main divisions of soil science, the other being pedology. Edaphology includes the study ...
savannas, and gallery forest
A gallery forest is one formed as a corridor along rivers or wetlands, projecting into landscapes that are otherwise only sparsely treed such as savannas, grasslands, or deserts. The gallery forest maintains a more temperate microclimate above th ...
s. Trees include the ''Terminalia'', ''Isoberlinia doka'' and ''Anogeissus''.
The sub-specific endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...
seen in the large mammals appears to link to Chari-Logone River
The Logon or Logone River is a major tributary of the Chari River. The Logone's sources are located in the western Central African Republic, northern Cameroon, and southern Chad. It has two major tributaries: the Pendé River (Eastern Logone) in ...
system Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
isolation. One mammal is considered endangered
An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inva ...
, the Chadian wild dog
The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyc ...
, while the Sudan cheetah
The Northeast African cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii'') is a cheetah subspecies occurring in Northeast Africa. Contemporary records are known in South Sudan and Ethiopia, but population status in Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Sudan ...
, Central African lion
The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...
, and African manatee
The African manatee (''Trichechus senegalensis''), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of the western region of Africa – from Senegal to Angola. It is the only manatee species to be found in the ...
are classified as vulnerable. According to Spinage, antelope
The term antelope is used to refer to many species of even-toed ruminant that are indigenous to various regions in Africa and Eurasia.
Antelope comprise a wastebasket taxon defined as any of numerous Old World grazing and browsing hoofed mammals ...
populations have declined markedly since 1960 within the park.
The park reserve's amphibians include the Mascarene ridged frog, sharp-nosed ridged frog, Schilluk ridged frog, Galam white-lipped frog, cryptic sand frog, ornate frog, crowned bullfrog
The crowned bullfrog (''Hoplobatrachus occipitalis'') is a species of frog in the family Dicroglossidae.
It is found in the Sub-Saharan Africa (Algeria, Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of t ...
, flat-backed toad, shovelnose frog
The shovelnose frogs are the species of frogs in the genus, ''Hemisus'', the only genus in the family Hemisotidae. They are found in tropical and subtropical sub-Saharan Africa. The shovelnose frogs are moderate-sized frogs, reaching a length o ...
, Senegal kassina
''Kassina'' is a genus of hyperoliid frogs, commonly referred to as running frogs or kassinas. They are found throughout sub-Saharan Africa. They are characterized by preferring a distinctive "walking" with the back legs instead of the more trad ...
, and Natal puddle frog. The red faced lovebird is found here and in Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, NaìjÃrÃyà , yo, Nà ìjÃrÃà , pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
's Gashaka Gumti National Park
Gashaka-Gumti National Park (GGNP) is a national park in Nigeria, It was gazetted from two game reserves in 1991 and is Nigeria’s largest national park. It is located in the eastern provinces of Taraba and Adamawa to the border with Cameroon. T ...
.
Threats
Ecological threats to the park reserve include foreign timber and mining concessions, poaching, and agriculture land-clearance.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bamingui-Bangoran National Park And Biosphere Reserve
National parks of the Central African Republic
Protected areas established in 1993
Bamingui-Bangoran