Kafta Sheraro 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 Tigray. Kafta Sheraro National Park is the only national park in Tigrai and one of the few high bio-diversified parks in East Africa. It was established more than 50 years ago by Raesi Mengesha Seyoum, the then ruler of Tigray province as Shire Wildlife. But it was only in 2007 that it get formal recognition as a national park. It was governed by Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority.

Geography

Kafta Sheraro National Park is specifically located in western Tigray, between Qafta, Humera, and Tahtay Adiabo. It borders Eritrea’s

Gash-Setit Gash-Setit is a designated national wildlife reserve and historical area of western Eritrea where its considered to be the northern most point of Africa for elephant habitat. It is located in much of Omhajer District and Haykota District betw ...

to the north and is traversed by the river Tekeze. While the main river is the Tekeze, it is fed by a number of rivers that originate in the highlands of Wolqait, Qafta, Asgede, Tsimbla, Tselemti, Tsegede, and the widely stretched lowlands of Adiabo. Elevation ranges from 550 meters above sea level. Situated initially on 500,000 hectares, it has been downsized to 2,800 hectares. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Ethiopia.

Flora and Fauna

Vegetation communities in the park include Acacia-Commiphora, Combretum-Terminalia, dry evergreen montane woodlands, and riparian types. A total of 167 mammal species, 95 bird species, and 9 reptile species have been recorded at the site. The park is home to a transboundary African elephant population of about 500 individuals, which it shares with Eritrea's Gash-Setit, and which constitutes the northernmost elephant population in

Eastern Africa East Africa, Eastern Africa, or East of Africa, is the eastern subregion of the African continent. In the United Nations Statistics Division scheme of geographic regions, 10-11-(16*) territories make up Eastern Africa: Due to the historical ...

. The Elephant population in Qafta migrates seasonally between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Kafta-Sheraro is also an important wintering site for demoiselle cranes. Kafta-Sheraro is also an important wintering site for

demoiselle crane The demoiselle crane (''Grus virgo'') is a species of crane found in central Eurosiberia, ranging from the Black Sea to Mongolia and North Eastern China. There is also a small breeding population in Turkey. These cranes are migratory birds. Bir ...

s. During a certain expedition to Kafta-Sheraro National Park from 26 March to 16 April 2009, more than 21,500 Demoiselle Cranes Anthropoides Virgo were recorded, or 9% of the world population of the species. This constitutes the first evidence of a large concentration of Demoiselle Cranes in East Africa. It appears to confirm that the Kafta-Sheraro area serves as a wintering site for the species, and identifies this part of the Tekeze Valley as a wetland of international significance. Other notable wildlife species include

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, 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 dimorphi ...

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...

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 ...

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. Unlike ...

greater kudu The greater kudu (''Tragelaphus strepsiceros'') is a woodland antelope found throughout eastern and southern Africa. Despite occupying such widespread territory, they are sparsely populated in most areas due to declining habitat, deforestation, ...

, roan antelope,

red-fronted gazelle The red-fronted gazelle (''Eudorcas rufifrons'') is widely but unevenly distributed gazelle across the middle of Africa from Senegal to northeastern Ethiopia. It is mainly resident in the Sahel zone, a narrow cross-Africa band south of the Sahara ...

hyena Hyenas, or hyaenas (from Ancient Greek , ), are feliform carnivoran mammals of the family Hyaenidae . With only four extant species (each in its own genus), it is the fifth-smallest family in the Carnivora and one of the smallest in the clas ...

crocodile Crocodiles (family (biology), family Crocodylidae) or true crocodiles are large semiaquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. The term crocodile is sometimes used even more loosely to inclu ...

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 ...

and

red-necked ostrich The North African ostrich, red-necked ostrich, or Barbary ostrich (''Struthio camelus camelus'') is the nominate subspecies of the common ostrich from West and North Africa. It is the largest subspecies, making it the largest living bird. Evolu ...

References

https://hadgi.com/destination/kafta-sheraro-national-park/ National parks of Ethiopia Tigray Region Protected areas established in 2007 2007 establishments in Ethiopia {{Africa-protected-area-stub