Mole National Park is

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

's largest

wildlife refuge 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 ...

. The park is located in the Savannah region of Ghana on

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 ...

and

riparian A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the terrestrial biomes of the Earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks ar ...

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 ...

s at an elevation of 50 m, with a sharp

escarpment An escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that forms as a result of faulting or erosion and separates two relatively level areas having different elevations. The terms ''scarp'' and ''scarp face'' are often used interchangeably with ''escar ...

forming the southern boundary of the park. The park's entrance is reached through the nearby town of

Larabanga Larabanga ( ar, لارابانجا) is a village in West Gonja district, a district in northwestern Northern Region of Ghana. It is known for its whitewashed adobe Sahelian mosque, said to date from 1421, and which, having been built at the heig ...

. The Levi and Mole Rivers are ephemeral rivers flowing through the park, leaving behind only drinking holes during the long dry season. This area of

receives over 10 mm per year of rainfall. A long-term study has been done on Mole National Park to understand the impact of human hunters on the animals in the preserve.

History

The park's lands were set aside as a wildlife refuge in 1958. In 1971, the small human population of the area was relocated and the lands were designated a national park. The park has not seen major development as a tourist location since its original designation. The park as a protective area is underfunded and national and international concerns exist about

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 sustainability in the park, but its protection of important resident antelope species has improved since its initial founding as a preserve. The park is an important study area for scientists because of the removal of the human population from within the park allowing for some long-term studies, in particular, of relatively undisturbed sites compared to similar areas of densely populated equatorial West Africa. One study on the resident population of 800 elephants, for example, indicates that elephant damage to large trees varies with species. In Mole, elephants have a greater tendency to seriously injure economically important species such as ''

Burkea africana ''Burkea africana'', the wild syringa ( bm, siri), is a deciduous, medium-sized, spreading, flat-topped tree belonging to the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the family Fabaceae. The genus was named in honour of Joseph Burke, the botanist and col ...

'', an important tropical hardwood, and ''Butyrospermum paradoxum'', the source of '' shea butter'', over the less important ''Terminalia'' spp. Recently, honey made from flowers in the Molé National Forest has become the region's first fair-trade commodity. Nearby, villagers harvest the honey using traditional, non-invasive methods, and have partnered with a Utah-based company to sell the honey as a health and wellness supplement in the US. The program was co-founded by Ashanti Chief Nana Kwasi Agyemang, who hopes to re-ignite local interest in the honey and eventually export it to other countries in Africa.

Flora

Tree species of the park include ''

'', ''

Isoberlinia doka ''Isoberlinia doka'' is a hardwood tree native to African tropical savannas and Guinean forest-savanna mosaic dry forests where it can form single species stands. The tree is exploited for its economic value as a commercial timber. The leaves ...

'', and ''

Terminalia macroptera ''Terminalia macroptera'' is a species of flowering plant in the Combretaceae known by the Hausa common name ''kwandari''. It is native to Africa, where it can be found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Senegal, Sudan, Uganda, and Nigeria. This sp ...

''. The savanna grasses are somewhat low in diversity but known species include a spikesedge, '' Kyllinga echinata'', an '' Aneilema'', ''Aneilema setiferum'' var. ''pallidiciliatum'', and two

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 ...

members of the Asclepiadaceae subfamily, the vine '' Gongronema obscurum'', and the edible

geophyte A storage organ is a part of a plant specifically modified for storage of energy (generally in the form of carbohydrates) or water. Storage organs often grow underground, where they are better protected from attack by herbivores. Plants that have ...

, ''

Raphionacme vignei ''Raphionacme'' is a plant genus in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1842. The genus is found primarily in Africa, with one species on the Arabian Peninsula.Miller, Anthony G. & Biagi, J. A. 1988. Notes from the Royal Botani ...

''. Trees: * ''

Adansonia digitata ''Adansonia digitata'', the African baobab, is the most widespread tree species of the genus '' Adansonia'', the baobabs, and is native to the African continent and the southern Arabian Peninsula (Yemen, Oman). These are long-lived pachycauls; ...

'' * ''

Afzelia africana ''Afzelia africana'', the African mahogany, afzelia, lenke, lengue, apa, or doussi, is a tree species in the family Fabaceae. Range It occurs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, DRCongo, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Gui ...

'' * ''

Anogeissus leiocarpus ''Anogeissus leiocarpa'' (African birch; bm, ngálǎma) is a tall deciduous tree native to the savannas of tropical Africa. It is the sole West African species of the genus ''Anogeissus'', a genus otherwise distributed from tropical central a ...

'' * ''

Afraegle paniculata ''Afraegle'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Rutaceae. Its native range is Western and Western Central Tropical Africa Although tropical Africa is mostly familiar to the West for its rainforests, this biogeographic re ...

'' * ''

Butyrospermum paradoxum ''Vitellaria paradoxa'' (formerly ''Butyrospermum parkii''), commonly known as shea tree, shi tree (), or vitellaria, is a tree of the family Sapotaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Vitellaria'',Cassia sieberana Cassia typically refers to cassia bark, the spice made from the bark of East Asian evergreen trees. Cassia may also refer to: Plants ;Cinnamon trees * ''Cinnamomum cassia'' (, ''ròuguì''), the cassia or Chinese cinnamon, found in southern Chin ...

'' * '' Celastrus senegalensis'' * '' Combretum ghasalense'' * '' Detarium microcarpum'' * '' Grewia lasiodiscus'' * '' Grewia mollis'' * '' Lannea acida'' * ''

Maytenus senegalensis ''Maytenus'' ''Sunset Western Garden Book,'' 1995:606–607 is a genus of flowering plants in the family Celastraceae. Members of the genus are distributed throughout Central and South America, Southeast Asia, Micronesia and Australasia, the Indi ...

'' * ''

Piliostigma thonningii ''Piliostigma thonningii'' is a species of flowering plants in the legume family, Fabaceae. It belongs to the subfamily Cercidoideae. Common names of this tree include camel's foot tree, monkey bread, monkey biscuit tree, Rhodesian bauhinia and ...

'' * ''

Pterocarpus erinaceus ''Pterocarpus erinaceus'' is an endangered species of tree that is native to the Sahelian region of West Africa. It is listed in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. It is used for fu ...

'' * ''

Sterculia setigera ''Sterculia setigera'' is a deciduous tree species within the Malvaceae family. It commonly occurs in the Sahelo-Sudan and Guinea savannah zones of Tropical Africa. Among the Hausa people it is known as Kukkuki. It is an important tree crop in S ...

'' * ''

Tamarindus indica Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is probably indigenous to tropical Africa. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic, meaning that it contains only this species. It belongs to the family Fabaceae. ...

'' * ''

Terminalia Terminalia may refer to: * Terminalia (festival), a Roman festival to the god of boundaries Terminus * ''Terminalia'' (plant), a tree genus * Terminalia (insect anatomy), the terminal region of the abdomen in insects * ''Polyscias terminalia'', a ...

'' spp., including '' T. avicennioides'' * ''

Ximenia americana ''Ximenia americana'', commonly known as tallow wood, hog plum, yellow plum, sea lemon, or pi'ut (Chamorro), is bush-forming shrub/small tree; a species from the Ximenia genus in the Olacaceae family. It is commonly found in woodlands native to ...

'' Shrubs: * '' Diospyros mespiliformis'' * '' Feretia apodanthera'' * ''

Flueggea virosa ''Flueggea'', the bushweeds, is a genus of shrubs and trees in the family Phyllanthaceae first described as a genus in 1806. It is widespread across much of Asia, Africa, and various oceanic islands, with a few species in South America and on th ...

'' * '' Tinnsea'' spp. * '' Urginea'' spp. Herbaceous plants: * '' Abutilon ramosum'' * '' Aneilema umbrosum'' * '' Atylosia scarabaeoides'' * '' Blepharis maderaspatensis'' * '' Desmodium velutinum'' * '' Mariscus alternifolius'' * ''

Ruellia ''Ruellia'' is a genus of flowering plants commonly known as ruellias or wild petunias. They are not closely related to petunias (''Petunia'') although both genera belong to the same euasterid clade. The genus was named in honor of Jean Ruelle ( ...

'' * '' Sida urens'' * '' Triumfetta pentandra'' * ''

Wissadula amplissima ''Wissadula'' is a genus of flowering plants in the Malva, mallow family, Malvaceae. It contains 25 to 30 species of Herbaceous plant, herbs and subshrubs that are mostly native to the Neotropical realm, Neotropics, with several in tropical Asia ...

'' Grasslands: * ''

Andropogon ''Andropogon'' ( common names: beard grass, bluestem grass, broomsedge) is a widespread genus of plants in the grass family, native to much of Asia, Africa, and the Americas, as well as southern Europe and various oceanic islands. Over 100 spec ...

'' spp., including '' Andropogon gayanus var. squamulatus'' (a tall grass) * ''

Brachiaria ''Brachiaria'', or signalgrass, is a genus of plants in the grass family native to tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, Australia, southern Europe, the Americas, and various islands.Loudetiopsis kerstingii'' * ''

Sporobolus pyramidalis ''Sporobolus pyramidalis'', commonly known as giant rat's tail grass, is a species of grass Poaceae () or Gramineae () is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses. It includes the ...

'' (only in protected areas) * ''

Setaria barbata Setaria barbata, with common names bristly foxtail grass, corn grass, Mary grass, and East Indian bristlegrass, is a species of grass in the family Poaceae native to tropical Africa and tropical Asia. References barbata Barbata (Berga ...

'' (only in protected areas)

Fauna

The park is home to over 93

mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...

species, and the large mammals of the park include an

elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...

population,

hippo 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 extant ...

s, buffalo, and

warthog ''Phacochoerus'' is a genus in the family Suidae, commonly known as warthogs (pronounced ''wart-hog''). They are pigs who live in open and semi-open habitats, even in quite arid regions, in sub-Saharan Africa. The two species were formerly cons ...

s. The park is considered a primary African preserve for antelope species including

kob The kob (''Kobus kob'') is an antelope found across Central Africa and parts of West Africa and East Africa. Together with the closely related reedbucks, waterbucks, lechwe, Nile lechwe, and puku, it forms the Reduncinae tribe. Found along ...

defassa waterbuck The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus '' Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies ...

, roan,

hartebeest The hartebeest (; ''Alcelaphus buselaphus''), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an African antelope. It is the only member of the genus ''Alcelaphus''. Eight subspecies have been described, including two sometimes considered to be indepen ...

oribi The oribi (; ''Ourebia ourebi'') is a small antelope found in eastern, southern and western Africa. The sole member of its genus, it was described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1783. While this is the only ...

, the

bushbuck The Cape bushbuck (''Tragelaphus sylvaticus'') is a common and a widespread species of antelope in sub-Saharan Africa.Wronski T, Moodley Y. (2009)Bushbuck, harnessed antelope or both? ''Gnusletter'', 28(1):18-19. Bushbuck are found in a wide ra ...

, and two

duiker A duiker is a small to medium-sized brown antelope native to sub-Saharan Africa, found in heavily wooded areas. The 22 extant species, including three sometimes considered to be subspecies of the other species, form the subfamily Cephalophina ...

s, the

red duiker The red forest duiker, Natal duiker, or Natal red duiker (''Cephalophus natalensis'') is a small antelope found in central to southern Africa. It is one of 22 extant species form the subfamily Cephalophinae. While the red forest duiker is very s ...

and

yellow-backed duiker The yellow-backed duiker (''Cephalophus silvicultor'') is a forest dwelling antelope in the order Artiodactyla from the family Bovidae. Yellow-backed duikers are the most widely distributed of all duikers. They are found mainly in Central and West ...

Olive baboon The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending fr ...

s, black-and-white colobus monkeys, the green vervet, and

patas monkey The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the wadi monkey or hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa. Taxonomy There is some confusion surrounding ...

s are the known species of monkeys resident in the park. Of the 33 known species of reptiles slender-snouted and dwarf crocodile are found in the park. Sightings of hyenas,

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 ...

s and

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 ...

s are unusual, but these

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

s were once more common in the park. Among the 344 listed bird species are the

martial eagle The martial eagle (''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa.Ferguson-Lees & Christie, ''Raptors of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Company (2001), . It is the only member of the genus ''Polemaetus''. A species of t ...

, the white-headed and

palm-nut vulture The palm-nut vulture (''Gypohierax angolensis'') or vulturine fish eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae (which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, buzzards and harriers, vultures, and eagles). It is the o ...

saddle-billed stork The saddle-billed stork or saddlebill (''Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis'') is a large wading bird in the stork family, Ciconiidae. It is a widespread species which is a resident breeder in sub-Saharan Africa from Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya south to ...

heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

s, the Abyssinian roller, the violet turaco, various shrikes and the red-throated bee-eater. Mole National Park, like other Ghanaian game preserves, is poorly funded for prevention of

. Nevertheless, the fauna of the park is guarded by professional rangers, and the poachers are at real risk to be put under arrest. Poachers tend to live within 50 km of the boundaries of the park. This distance of 50 km is the reported greatest distance hunters were willing to travel with poached game. The remnant human population of the park was removed in 1961, leaving all game hunters outside the reserve, meaning that mammal populations on the edges of the park are impacted more by hunting than interior populations.

Tourism

After improvements to the roads leading to the park, the number of visitors to the park increased from 14,600 in 2014 to 17,800 in 2015. Depending on the year, 20-40% of visitors are foreign. Farouk Umaru Dubiure, the Park Manager, says, “though we received many visitors, the funds generated were very low because 70 percent of the visitors were Ghanaian students who pay little to visit the park. These students also visit the Park on the same day and return, compared to the foreigners who spend more days to view the Park well.” The new road was also blamed for facilitating illegal rosewood logging bound for China.

References

External links

{{authority control National parks of Ghana Savannah Region (Ghana) Protected areas established in 1958 1958 establishments in Ghana

History

Flora

Fauna

Tourism

See also

References

External links