Benara, or Mlima Bénara, is the highest peak of

Grande-Terre Grande-Terre Island (french: île de Grande-Terre / île de la Grande-Terre; gcf, label=Antillean Creole, Gwantè) is the name of the eastern-half of Guadeloupe proper, in the Lesser Antilles. It is separated from the other half of Guadeloupe ...

Mayotte Mayotte (; french: Mayotte, ; Shimaore: ''Maore'', ; Kibushi: ''Maori'', ), officially the Department of Mayotte (french: Département de Mayotte), is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. It is loc ...

, an

overseas collectivity The French overseas collectivities (''collectivité d'outre-mer'' or ''COM'') are first-order administrative divisions of France, like the French regions, but have a semi-autonomous status. The COMs include some former French overseas colonie ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in the western

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...

, with a height of .

Description

Benara forms part of the

massif In geology, a massif ( or ) is a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. The term also refers to a ...

that dominates south-central Mayotte. The upper slopes of the mountain rise steeply to a triangular peak. Ridges extend 4 km west to the subordinate peaks of Tchaourembo (581 m), Ngouni Maboungani (510 m), and 4 km east to Trambatsini (297 m). The area down to an elevation of about 200 m, which is typically the upper limit of cultivation on the island, contains what is probably the second largest expanse of forest on Mayotte. It has been identified as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

(IBA) by

BirdLife International BirdLife International is a global partnership of non-governmental organizations that strives to conserve birds and their habitats. BirdLife International's priorities include preventing extinction of bird species, identifying and safeguarding ...

because it supports populations of

Comoro olive-pigeon The Comoros olive pigeon (''Columba pollenii''), also known as the Comoro olive pigeon, is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is found in Comoros and Mayotte. It is becoming rare due to habitat loss. Description Easily distinguisha ...

Comoro blue-pigeon The Comoros blue pigeon (''Alectroenas sganzini'') is a species of bird in the family Columbidae. It is endemic to the Comoros and the coralline Seychelles. It is rated as a species of near threatened on the International Union f ...

Mayotte drongo The Mayotte drongo (''Dicrurus waldenii'') is a species of bird in the family Dicruridae. It is endemic to Mayotte. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical mangrove forest, subtropical or ...

Mayotte white-eye The Mayotte white-eye or chestnut-sided white-eye (''Zosterops mayottensis'') is a species of bird in the family Zosteropidae. It is now found only on Mayotte in the Comoro Islands. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical dry forests, su ...

s and

Mayotte sunbird The Mayotte sunbird (''Cinnyris coquerellii'') is a species of bird in the family Nectariniidae. It is endemic to Mayotte and surrounding islets in the southeastern Comoros. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest ...

s. It is also home to

Robert Mertens's day gecko Robert Mertens's day gecko (''Phelsuma robertmertensi'') is diurnal species of lizard in the family Gekkonidae. The species is endemic to the Comoros. Etymology The specific name, ''robertmertensi'', is in honour of German herpetologist Rob ...

island day gecko The Island day gecko (''Phelsuma nigristriata'') is a species of gecko. Distribution ''Phelsuma nigristriata'' is endemic to Mayotte. Description It is a diurnal and arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. ...

s and

Pasteur's day gecko Pasteur's day gecko (''Phelsuma v-nigra pasteuri'' ; synonym, ''Phelsuma pasteuri'' ) is a small diurnal subspecies of gecko. It lives in the Comoros and typically inhabits trees and bushes. Pasteur's day gecko feeds on insects and nectar. E ...

References

External links

* Benara Important Bird Areas of Mayotte {{mayotte-geo-stub