Kob - Kainji Lake National Park (4894084728)

Kainji National Park is a national park in

Niger State Niger is a state in the North Central region of Nigeria and the largest state in the country. Niger state has three political zones, zone A,B and C. The state's capital is at Minna. Other major cities are Bida, Kontagora and Suleja. It was ...

and Kwara State,

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

. Established in 1978, it covers an area of about . The park includes three distinct sectors: a part of the

Kainji Lake Kainji Lake, in North Central Nigeria, is a reservoir on the Niger River, formed by the Kainji Dam. It was formed in 1968 and is a part of Niger State and Kebbi State. Kainji Lake National Park (KNLP), situated around the lake, is Nigeria's oldes ...

in which fishing is restricted, the

Borgu Game Reserve The Borgu Game Reserve is a section of the Kainji National Park, in the Borgu Local Government Area of Niger State and Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, Nigeria. It is bordered on the east by Kainji Lake and reaches almost to the bor ...

to the west of the lake, and the

Zugurma Game Reserve The Zugurma Game Reserve is a section of the Kainji National Park, in the Mariga Local Government Area of Niger State, Nigeria. It is bordered by the Kontagora River to the northwest and the Manyara River to the north, and covers an area of 138,50 ...

to the southeast. Due to insecurity in the region, the National Parks Service temporarily suspended operations and research in the Kainji National Park in 2021; operations were also suspended in the

Chad Basin National Park The Chad Basin National Park is a national park A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a s ...

and the Kamuku National Park.

History

Kainji National Park was established in 1978 and is divided into three distinct sectors, the

, the

and Kainji Lake. Since 2005, the protected area is considered a Lion Conservation Unit together with Yankari National Park. The park is owned by the state and managed by the Federal National Park Service (FNPS), receiving direct government funding. This means that enforcement actions against poachers can be pursued under national park law and not in the local courts.

Geography

The Borgu Game Reserve is mostly made up of

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 ...

forest and has an area of , while the Zugurma Game Reserve is smaller, at . The two main parts of the park are separated by the

, a long reservoir. The Zugurma sector has no access roads and only the Borgu sector is used for tourism. The southern and western parts of the Borgu Game Reserve drain into the

Oli River The Oli River is a river of Nigeria and Benin, tributary of the Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern ...

, a tributary of the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through ...

, while the other parts drain directly into the lake via four small rivers. The Zugurma Game Reserve has little drainage; the smaller watercourses dry up during the dry season, but there are a number of permanent waterholes along the Oli River and elsewhere in the park. The Borgu sector consists of undulating hills with some

quartzite Quartzite is a hard, non- foliated metamorphic rock which was originally pure quartz sandstone.Essentials of Geology, 3rd Edition, Stephen Marshak, p 182 Sandstone is converted into quartzite through heating and pressure usually related to tec ...

ridges and

ironstone Ironstone is a sedimentary rock, either deposited directly as a ferruginous sediment or created by chemical replacement, that contains a substantial proportion of an iron ore compound from which iron (Fe) can be smelted commercially. Not to be con ...

pans, while the Zugurma sector consists of a low plateau, with soils derived from

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

, much eroded in places. The mean annual rainfall is about , with the wet season lasting from May to November and the dry season from December to April.

Flora

The savanna woodland of the Borgu sector is dominated by '' Burkea africana'', ''

Terminalia avicennioides ''Terminalia avicennioides'' ( bm, Wolobugun) is a tree species in the genus '' Terminalia'' found in West Africa. Castalagin and flavogallonic acid dilactoneThe use of microfluorometric method for activity-guided isolation of antiplasmodial co ...

'' and '' Detarium microcarpum''. Below the quartzite ridges '' Isoberlinia tomentosa'' predominates, and further down the hillsides on the relatively dry lower slopes are stands of '' Diospyros mespiliformis'', with an understory of '' Polysphaeria orbuscula''. '' Terminalia macroptera'' occurs on moist savannas and '' Isoberlinia doka'' is found on higher ground in ironstone areas. In the Zugurma sector the tree cover is typical of the

Guinean forest-savanna mosaic Guinea ( ),, fuf, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫, italic=no, Gine, wo, Gine, nqo, ߖߌ߬ߣߍ߫, bm, Gine officially the Republic of Guinea (french: République de Guinée), is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the we ...

although this area is overgrazed and eroded, and the main woodland is besides the watercourses and waterholes. Common trees here include '' Afzelia africana'', '' Daniella oliveri'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

Terminalia schimperiana ''Terminalia schimperiana'' is a species of '' Terminalia'', native to tropical Africa from Guinea and Sierra Leone east to Uganda and Ethiopia.African Plants Database''Terminalia schimperiana'' Growth It is a broadleaved small tree that can rea ...

'', '' Parkia clappertoniana'', ''

Vitellaria paradoxa ''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'',Detarium microcarpum'', '' Isoberlinia doka'', '' Uapaca togoensis'' and ''

Khaya senegalensis ''Khaya senegalensis'' is a species of tree in the Meliaceae family that is native to Africa. Common names include African mahogany, dry zone mahogany, Gambia mahogany, khaya wood, Senegal mahogany, ''cailcedrat'', ''acajou'', ''djalla'', and '' ...

''.

Fauna

65 mammal species, 350 species of birds, and 30 species of reptiles and amphibians have been recorded in the park.https://www.researchgate.net/publication/241681961_Kainji_Lake_National_Park_of_Nigeria_Assets_and_Implications_for_Sustainable_Development These include lion, leopard,

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 ...

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 ...

and African manatee, numerous species of antelope,

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 ...

African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Lyca ...

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 ...

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 ...

Senegal bushbaby The Senegal bushbaby (''Galago senegalensis''), also known as the Senegal galago, the lesser galago or the lesser bush baby, is a small, nocturnal primate, a member of the galago family Galagidae. The name "bush baby" may come either from the a ...

, many species of monkey, and African clawless otter. Reptiles 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, ...

West African slender-snouted crocodile The West African slender-snouted crocodile (''Mecistops cataphractus''), or slender-snouted crocodile, is a critically endangered species of African crocodile. It is one of five species of crocodile in Africa, the other four being the Central A ...

, four

turtle Turtles are an order of reptiles known as Testudines, characterized by a special shell developed mainly from their ribs. Modern turtles are divided into two major groups, the Pleurodira (side necked turtles) and Cryptodira (hidden necked t ...

species,

Nile monitor The Nile monitor (''Varanus niloticus'') is a large member of the monitor family (Varanidae) found throughout most of Sub-Saharan Africa and along the Nile, with invasive populations in North America. The population in West African forests and ...

savannah monitor The savannah monitor (''Varanus exanthematicus'') is a medium-sized species of monitor lizard native to Africa. The species is known as Bosc's monitor in Europe, since French scientist Louis Bosc first described the species. It belongs to the su ...

, other lizards and

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s, and 12 amphibian species. There are 82 species of fish in Lake Kainji. The fauna of the Zugurma sector is less varied than of the Borgu sector because of poor drainage,

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature res ...

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult ma ...

, poor quality vegetation and extensive

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 ...

References

{{authority control National parks of Nigeria Kainji Lake Niger State 1978 establishments in Nigeria