Bicuari National Park (

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

: Parque Nacional do Bicuar; also called Bicuar National Park or Bikuar/Huila National Park) is a national park in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

. It is located in the south-west region of the country on the Huila Plateau, about 120 km SE of Lubango. The park is an area of sandy hills and shrub thicket character. The climate is tropical semi-arid. Bicuar was established as a hunting reserve in 1938, and reformed as a national park in 1964. Historically known for its large mammals, such as the black buffalo, the park suffered heavily in the

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War ( pt, Guerra Civil Angolana) was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war immediately began after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. The war was ...

(1975-2002). During this time the animals were mostly or entirely exterminated, but the Angolan Government is now undertaking efforts to rebuild the infrastructure and resettle the animals.

Natural features

The park is bordered on the east by the

Cunene River The Cunene (Portuguese spelling) or Kunene (common Namibian spelling) is a river in Southern Africa. It flows from the Angola highlands south to the border with Namibia. It then flows west along the border until it reaches the Atlantic Ocean. It ...

, one of the few perennial rivers in the region. The dominant vegetation is described as

Angolan miombo woodlands Angolan miombo woodlands cover most of central Angola and extend into the Democratic Republic of Congo. They are part of the larger miombo ecosystem that covers much of eastern and southern Africa. Location and description This area of savanna an ...

and

Angolan mopane woodlands Angolan mopane woodlands are situated in southwestern Angola, extending into northern Namibia. This ecosystem surrounds Etosha Pan, which is considered a separate ecoregion. The mopane trees are the main type of vegetation. Location and descript ...

, an area of savanna and woodlands on the plateau east of the coastal hills. Portions of the park are seasonally wet or wetland swamps and

dambo A dambo is a class of complex shallow wetlands in central, southern and eastern Africa, particularly in Zambia, Malawi and Zimbabwe. They are generally found in higher rainfall flat plateau areas and have river-like branching forms which in themsel ...

grasslands. The Bicuar stands at the northern end of a distinct ecoregion known as the Angolan mopane woodland. The area is known for high species richness, variable rainfall, and the importance of mopane trees to the animals and people of the region. The climate of Bicuari is described under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

system as ''Temperate highland tropical climate with dry winters'' (Cwb), and the warmest months temperatures averaging below 22 °C. Average rainfall is 600–800 mm/year.

Animal life

The area has historically been known for large herds of common antelopes, elephants, and other large mammals. All species populations are believed to have been severely reduced during the war (the park was reportedly used as a practice artillery range), poaching, and human encroachment. Since cessation of hostilities, work has begun by the Huila provincial government to rebuild the infrastructure of the park to attract and protect animals. As of 2013, it has been reported that some of the large mammals are returning to Bicuar. The park administrator noted that "We are happy with the return of herds of elephants into the municipalities of Quipungo, Matala and Gambos, as the animals are recognising their habitat and are reproducing inside the park.". Besides elephants, the park also reportedly supports

Spotted hyenas The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

Lions 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 ...

antelopes 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 mammal ...

, elands,

gnu GNU () is an extensive collection of free software (383 packages as of January 2022), which can be used as an operating system or can be used in parts with other operating systems. The use of the completed GNU tools led to the family of operat ...

s and

zebras Zebras (, ) (subgenus ''Hippotigris'') are African equines with distinctive black-and-white striped coats. There are three living species: the Grévy's zebra (''Equus grevyi''), plains zebra (''E. quagga''), and the mountain zebra (''E. zebr ...

References

External links

Topographic Map, Bicuari Region
''Army Map Service'', US Army, Washington DC, 1966

''www.triploc.com'' (Bicuari Park in lower left section) {{authority control National parks of Angola Protected areas established in 1964 1964 establishments in Angola Huíla Province