River Gambia National Park is a national park in

the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within mainland AfricaHoare, Ben. (2002) ''The Kingfisher A-Z Encyclopedia'', Kingfisher Publicatio ...

Topography

Established in 1978, River Gambia National Park is located in

Niamina East Niamina East is one of the ten districts of the Central River Division of the Gambia The Gambia,, ff, Gammbi, ar, غامبيا officially the Republic of The Gambia, is a country in West Africa. It is the smallest country within main ...

district A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

of Central River Division. It lies on the left bank of the

Gambia River The Gambia River (formerly known as the River Gambra) is a major river in West Africa, running from the Fouta Djallon plateau in north Guinea westward through Senegal and The Gambia to the Atlantic Ocean at the city of Banjul. It is navigabl ...

. The park includes the Baboon Islands archipelago, which consists of one large and four small islands. The national park is not open to the public. River Gambia National Park is adjacent to Nyassang Forest Park. On some maps, the two parks are represented together as one area.

Flora

The vegetation on the flat Baboon Islands is typical of a

tropical rainforest Tropical rainforests are rainforests that occur in areas of tropical rainforest climate in which there is no dry season – all months have an average precipitation of at least 60 mm – and may also be referred to as ''lowland equa ...

in the form of a

riparian forest A riparian forest or riparian woodland is a forested or wooded area of land adjacent to a body of water such as a river, stream, pond, lake, marshland, estuary, canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered chann ...

Fauna

Since 1979, River Gambia National Park is site of a chimpanzee- reintroduction project, conducted by the ''Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Project'' (CRP) under the direction of Stella Marsden (daughter of Eddie Brewer). Chimpanzees confiscated from the illegal animal trade are reintroduced into the wild in the park. Marsden was appointed as Officer of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

for her work. Prior to 1979, the primates were raised in Abuko Nature Reserve. Today, several chimpanzee groups live unmolested by humans on the three largest river islands (435 ha, 77 ha und 53 ha). As of July 2006, there are 77 specimens. In the wild, chimpanzees became extinct in the Gambia in the early 20th century. For the protection of the animals and visitors, entry onto the islands is not permitted, as chimpanzees can be highly aggressive towards humans. Exceptions are possible only with governmental approval. Even travel by boat around the islands was drastically reduced in 1998. In the past, some attempted to steal chimpanzees from the park. Apart from the common chimpanzee (''Pan troglodytes verus''), River Gambia National Park is also home to the

Guinea baboon The Guinea baboon (''Papio papio'') is a baboon from the Old World monkey family. Some (older) classifications list only two species in the genus '' Papio'', this one and the hamadryas baboon. In those classifications, all other ''Papio'' specie ...

(''Papio papio''),

green monkey The green monkey (''Chlorocebus sabaeus''), also known as the sabaeus monkey, is an Old World monkey with golden-green fur and pale hands and feet. The tip of the tail is golden yellow as are the backs of the thighs and cheek whiskers. It does n ...

(''Chlorocebus sabaeus''), western red colobus (''Piliocolobus badius''), and

marmoset The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are 22 New World monkey species of the genera '' Callithrix'', '' Cebuella'', '' Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term "marmoset" ...

s (''Callithrix''). Other mammals include the prolific

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 co ...

(''Phacochoerus africanus'') and some

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 ...

es (''Hippopotamus amphibius''), which have become rare in the Gambia. In addition, the park is home to the

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 ...

(''Orycteropus afer senegalensis''),

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 ...

(''Mellivora capensis''),

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 ...

(''Leptailurus serval brachyura''), Hausa genet (''Genetta thierryi''),

African clawless otter The African clawless otter (''Aonyx capensis''), also known as the Cape clawless otter or groot otter, is the second-largest freshwater otter species. It inhabits permanent water bodies in savannah and lowland forest areas through most of sub- ...

(''Aonyx capensis''), and

West African manatee The African manatee (''Trichechus senegalensis''), also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee that inhabits much of the western region of Africa – from Senegal to Angola. It is the only manatee species to be found in the ...

(''Trichechus senegalensis''). Of the antelopes, there is 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 ...

(''Tragelaphus scriptus''),

Maxwell's duiker The Maxwell's duiker (''Philantomba maxwellii'') is a small antelope found in western Africa. Taxonomy The scientific name of Maxwell's duiker is ''Philantomba maxwelli''. It is classified in the genus ''Philantomba'' along with the blue duiker ...

(''Cephalophus maxwellii''), and

common duiker The common duiker (''Sylvicapra grimmia''), also known as the grey or bush duiker, is a small antelope and the only member of the genus ''Sylvicapra''. This species is found everywhere in Africa south of the Sahara, excluding the Horn of Africa ...

(''Sylvicapra grimmia''). Reptiles are likewise plentiful, and include the

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, ...

(''Crocodylus niloticus''), snakes, and lizards. The bird life is equally species-rich.

References

External links

Chimpanzee Rehabilitation Trust Gambia

Momodou Camara

{{authority control National parks of the Gambia Protected areas established in 1978

Topography

Flora

Fauna

References

Further reading

External links