Black River Gorges National Park 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 ...
in the hilly south-western part of
Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label=Mauritian Creole, Moris ), officially the Republic of Mauritius, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean about off the southeast coast of the African continent, east of Madagascar. It incl ...
.
It was proclaimed on June 15, 1994 and is managed by the National Parks and Conservation Service. It covers an area of 67.54 km² including humid upland
forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
, drier lowland forest and marshy
heath
A heath () is a shrubland habitat found mainly on free-draining infertile, acidic soils and characterised by open, low-growing woody vegetation. Moorland is generally related to high-ground heaths with—especially in Great Britain—a cooler ...
land. Facilities for visitors include two information centres, picnic areas and 60 kilometres of trails. There are four field stations in the park which are used for National Parks and Conservation Service and
Mauritian Wildlife Foundation
The Mauritian Wildlife Foundation (MWF) is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit conservation agency working in Mauritius to save threatened endemic local flora and fauna.
History
The Mauritian Wildlife Appeal Fund was established in 19 ...
research and conservation projects.
The park protects most of the island's remaining
rainforest
Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...
although much of this has been degraded by
introduced plants such as
Chinese guava and
privet
A privet is a flowering plant in the genus ''Ligustrum''. The genus contains about 50 species of erect, deciduous or evergreen shrubs, sometimes forming small or medium-sized trees, native species, native to Europe, north Africa, Asia, many in ...
and animals such as
rusa deer
The Javan rusa or Sunda sambar (''Rusa timorensis'') is a deer native to Indonesia and East Timor. Introduced populations exist in a wide variety of locations in the Southern Hemisphere.
Taxonomy
Seven subspecies of the Javan rusa are recognis ...
and
wild pigs. Several areas have been fenced off and invasive species have been eradicated from them to preserve native wildlife. Many
endemic
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 ...
plants and animals still occur in the park including the
Mauritian flying fox
The Mauritian flying fox (''Pteropus niger''), also known as Greater Mascarene flying fox or Mauritius fruit bat is a large megabat species endemic to Mauritius and La Réunion.
Description
The Mauritian flying fox can reach a wingspan of 80&nb ...
and all of the island's endemic birds:
Mauritius kestrel
The Mauritius kestrel (''Falco punctatus'') is a bird of prey from the family Falconidae endemic to the forests of Mauritius, where it is restricted to the southwestern plateau's forests, cliffs, and ravines.
It is the most distinct of the In ...
,
pink pigeon
The pink pigeon (''Nesoenas mayeri'') is a species of pigeon in the family Columbidae endemic to Mauritius. The pink pigeon nearly became extinct in the 1970s and the 1990s and is still very rare. It is the only Mascarene pigeon that has not beco ...
,
Mauritius parakeet
The echo parakeet (''Psittacula eques'') is a species of parrot endemic to the Mascarene Islands of Mauritius and formerly Réunion. It is the only living native parrot of the Mascarene Islands; all others have become extinct due to human activ ...
,
Mauritius cuckooshrike,
Mauritius bulbul,
Mauritius olive white-eye,
Mauritius grey white-eye
The Mauritius grey white-eye (''Zosterops mauritianus'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is one of two white-eye species endemic to the island of Mauritius
Mauritius ( ; french: Maurice, link=no ; mfe, label= Mauritian ...
and
Mauritius fody. The park has been designated an
Important Bird Area
An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations.
IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...
(IBA) by
BirdLife International
BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...
.
[ ]
References
External links
Lonelyplanet.com
National parks of Mauritius
Protected areas established in 1994
Biosphere reserves of Mauritius
Tourist attractions in Mauritius
Environment of Mauritius
Protected areas of Mauritius
Important Bird Areas of Mauritius
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