Jilib National Park (JNP) is the largest national park in the

Middle Juba Middle Juba ( so, Jubbada Dhexe, Maay: ''Jubithy Dhahy'', ar, جوبا الأوسط, it, Medio Giuba) is an administrative region ('' gobol'') in southern Somalia. With its capital at Bu'aale, it is located in the autonomous Jubaland region. ...

region of

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...

. It is around 950km square kilometres in area. It lies in the south of the country, just off the main road between

Mogadishu Mogadishu (, also ; so, Muqdisho or ; ar, مقديشو ; it, Mogadiscio ), locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Oc ...

and

Jilib Jilib (other names: Gilib, Gelib, Jillib, Jillio; ) is a city in Somalia, It is north of Kismaayo. History During the Middle Ages, Jilib and its surrounding area was part of the Ajuran Empire that governed much of southern Somalia and eastern Eth ...

. The nearest towns are Haranka, Makaso, Geesguud., Galshiq-Abiikar, Arbo Abdi, Dhay-Tubako.

History Of The Park

Jilib National Park was the first national park to be established in the country. During 1970s, the Ministry of Tourism under the Siad Barre administration sought to center the tourist industry in the vicinity of the park, By 1989, newer legislation was drafted governing the establishment of national parks, game reserves and special reserves. The conservation of wildlife resources was at this time overseen by the Ministry of Livestock, Forestry and Range's National Range Agency. Its Department of Wildlife also operated an independent law-enforcement unit, which had been created through presidential decree. Following the outbreak of the civil war in 1991, development of the national park came to a halt. After the collapse of the central government of Somalia, a group of diaspora from the

sheekhaal The Sheekhaal (var. Sheikhaal ( ar, شيخال), also known as Fiqi Omar, is a Somali clan. They inhabit Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti and with considerable numbers also found in the Northern Frontier District (NFD) in Kenya. Overview Sheekh ...

community tried to restore wildlife tourism in their region

, and they held various conference meetings in many places outside of the country they agreed to build the park with contribution fund.

Wildlife

African bush elephant population low in the 1980s caused by

poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...

, and numbered over 100 before begin Somali Civil War 1991. The African buffalo in the 1950s and 1980s increased to 1500 individuals . The

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

population was small number to about 30 individuals in the 1980s . Other mammal carnivores include the

Cheetah The cheetah (''Acinonyx jubatus'') is a large cat native to Africa and central Iran. It is the fastest land animal, estimated to be capable of running at with the fastest reliably recorded speeds being , and as such has evolved specialized ...

, spotted hyena, black-backed jackal,

honey badger The honey badger (''Mellivora capensis''), also known as the ratel ( or ), is a mammal widely distributed in Africa, Southwest Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. Because of its wide range and occurrence in a variety of habitats, it is liste ...

caracal The caracal (''Caracal caracal'') () is a medium-sized wild cat native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and arid areas of Pakistan and northwestern India. It is characterised by a robust build, long legs, a short face, long tufted e ...

serval The serval (''Leptailurus serval'') is a wild cat native to Africa. It is widespread in sub-Saharan countries, except rainforest regions. Across its range, it occurs in protected areas, and hunting it is either prohibited or regulated in ran ...

banded mongoose The banded mongoose (''Mungos mungo'') is a mongoose species native from the Sahel to Southern Africa. It lives in savannas, open forests and grasslands and feeds primarily on beetles and millipedes. Mongooses use various types of dens for shelt ...

. The

African 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 '' Lyca ...

was reintroduced to the area in 1980s after disappearing in 1991 when the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War ( so, Dagaalkii Sokeeye ee Soomaaliya; ar, الحرب الأهلية الصومالية ) is an ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Bar ...

begun. Other mammals include

hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...

common warthog The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today t ...

aardvark The aardvark ( ; ''Orycteropus afer'') is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. It is the only living species of the order Tubulidentata, although other prehistoric species and genera of Tubulidentata are known. Unlik ...

aardwolf The aardwolf (''Proteles cristata'') is an insectivorous species of hyena, native to East and Southern Africa. Its name means "earth-wolf" in Afrikaans and Dutch. It is also called maanhaar-jackal (Afrikaans for " mane-jackal"), termite-eat ...

African wildcat The African wildcat (''Felis lybica'') is a small wildcat species native to Africa, West and Central Asia up to Rajasthan in India and Xinjiang in China. It has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List in 2022. In Cyprus, an African wil ...

African civet The African civet (''Civettictis civetta'') is a large viverrid native to sub-Saharan Africa, where it is considered common and widely distributed in woodlands and secondary forests. It is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List since 200 ...

common genet The common genet (''Genetta genetta'') is a small viverrid indigenous to Africa that was introduced to southwestern Europe. It is widely distributed north of the Sahara, in savanna zones south of the Sahara to southern Africa and along the coa ...

, striped weasel, bat-eared fox, ground pangolin,

crested porcupine The crested porcupine (''Hystrix cristata''), also known as the African crested porcupine, is a species of rodent in the family Hystricidae native to Italy, North Africa and sub-Saharan Africa. Characteristics The adult crested porcupine h ...

. Reptiles include

Nile crocodile The Nile crocodile (''Crocodylus niloticus'') is a large crocodilian native to freshwater habitats in Africa, where it is present in 26 countries. It is widely distributed throughout sub-Saharan Africa, occurring mostly in the central, eastern, ...

Nile monitor The Nile monitor (''Varanus niloticus'') is a large member of the monitor family (Varanidae) found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile, with invasive populations in North America. The population in West African forests and ...

Jackson's chameleon Jackson's chameleon (''Trioceros jacksonii''), also known as Jackson's horned chameleon, three-horned chameleon or Kikuyu three-horned chameleon, is a species of chameleon (family Chamaeleonidae) native to East Africa, but also introduced to Haw ...

, African python, black mamba, black-necked spitting cobra, and

puff adder The puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') is a viper species found in savannahs and grasslands from Morocco and western Arabia throughout Africa except for the Sahara and rainforest regions.U.S. Navy. 1991. ''Venomous Snakes of the World''. US Govt. ...

References

* National parks of Somalia {{Somalia-geo-stub