Monte Alén National Park ( es, Parque nacional de Monte Alén) is located near the center of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea ( es, Guinea Ecuatorial; french: Guinée équatoriale; pt, Guiné Equatorial), officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea ( es, link=no, República de Guinea Ecuatorial, french: link=no, République de Guinée équatoria ...

. It was established in 1990. With an area of , it is the country's largest

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 ...

. The goliath frog ''(Conraua goliath)'', one of the prominent

amphibians Amphibians are four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terrestrial, fossorial, arbore ...

found in the park, is the biggest frog in the world; hunting it is prohibited.

Geography

The park has an area of and lies within the elevation range of . It was declared a national park under a presidential decree in 2000 in addition to 13 other areas. The highest mountain peaks of Monte Alen and Monte Mitra (the source of the major rivers in the area) lie within the limits of the park. Uoro River lies to the west of the park. The eastern part of the park is bounded by the Niefang-Gabon road. There are a few patches of rock outcrops. Lake Atoc has forest cover in its entire catchment. Trekking paths are well laid out in the park. Logging operation within the park is fully controlled. The climate is hot humid equatorial, with an average temperature of about in the lowland area and in the highlands. The mean annual rainfall is between .

Fauna

The park has recorded 265 species of birds. Some of the prominent species include three montane species, '' Coracina caesia,'' '' Dryoscopus angolensis'' and '' Phylloscopus herberti''; '' Phylloscopus budongoensis'', the only warblers species found in the park; ''

Picathartes oreas The grey-necked rockfowl (''Picathartes oreas'') is a medium-sized bird in the family Picathartidae with a long neck and tail. Also known as the grey-necked picathartes, this passerine is mainly found in rocky areas of close-canopied rainforest ...

''; '' Melignomon zenkeri''; '' Muscicapa tessmanni'' and ''

Batis minima The Gabon batis (''Batis minima'') or Verreaux's batis, is a species of small bird in the family Platysteiridae. It occurs in the humid forests of western Central Africa. Description The adult male has a velvety black head with a white loral spo ...

''; possibly '' Apus sladeniae.'' The park has 105

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 which includes 16 species of

primates Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...

. Some of the primate species recorded are ''

Colobus satanas The black colobus (''Colobus satanas''), or satanic black colobus, is a species of Old World monkey belonging to the genus '' Colobus''. The species is found in a small area of western central Africa. Black colobuses are large, completely covere ...

'', '' Cercocebus torquatus,'' mandrills ('' Mandrillus sphinx''), gorillas ('' Gorilla gorilla'') and

chimpanzee The chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes''), also known as simply the chimp, is a species of great ape native to the forest and savannah of tropical Africa. It has four confirmed subspecies and a fifth proposed subspecies. When its close relative th ...

s ('' Pan troglodytes''). Other mammal species include elephants (bush elephants, ''

Loxodonta africana The African bush elephant (''Loxodonta africana'') is one of two extant African elephant species and one of three extant elephant species. It is the largest living terrestrial animal, with bulls reaching a shoulder height of up to and a body ...

'', and forest elephants, ''

Loxodonta cyclotis The African forest elephant (''Loxodonta cyclotis'') is one of the two living African elephant species. It is native to humid forests in West Africa and the Congo Basin. It is the smallest of the three living elephant species, reaching a should ...

''), and shrews (''

Crocidura grassei The Grasse's shrew (''Crocidura grassei'') is a species of mammal in the family Soricidae. It is found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo The Republic of the Congo (french: République du Congo, ln, Republíki ya ...

''). Sixty-five species of reptiles are reported, including

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 ...

s. Amphibians reported include '' Petropedetes palmipes'' and ''

Leptodactylodon stevarti ''Leptodactylodon stevarti'' is a species of frog in the family Arthroleptidae. It is known with certainty only from the area of its type locality, Monts de Cristal in northwestern Gabon. Only two specimens are known. However, there is an uncer ...

'' which are in the IUCN Red List. Goliath frogs (''Conraura goliath'') are found in the southern part of the park.

Conservation

In 1989, conservation of the forest area of the park was zoned for purpose of awarding concessions for logging, and agroforestry activities were encouraged. A study conducted under USAID observed that hunting of mammals in the park was a serious issue which needed urgent remedial conservation action. By 2005, Caldecott reported that agriculture, hunting, and logging were not allowed in the park.

Bibliography

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Monte Alen National Park National parks of Equatorial Guinea Protected areas established in 1990