The Kidepo Game Reserve is a

protected area Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

located in Ikotos & Budi County, Eastern Equatoria State,

South Sudan South Sudan (; din, Paguot Thudän), officially the Republic of South Sudan ( din, Paankɔc Cuëny Thudän), is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Ethiopia, Sudan, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the C ...

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

. With an area of 1200 km², this reserve is located 4° 04'N and 33° 28'E on the South Sudan/Uganda border, where it forms a contiguous ecosystem with Uganda's Kidepo Valley National Park. Three quarters of the Kidepo Game Reserve is in Bira Payam of Ikotos County and also part of Budi County, which is inhabited by the Ketebo, Didinga and Buya and the word "Kidepo" come from the Ketebo word "Kidebo", which mean "Help us". Sudan deployed some game rangers in Bira from 1976 to 1983, until

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

broke out in 1983.

Flora and fauna

The reserve includes

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 ...

grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...

, and

woodland A woodland () is, in the broad sense, land covered with trees, or in a narrow sense, synonymous with wood (or in the U.S., the ''plurale tantum'' woods), a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade (see ...

habitats. Acacia short-grass savanna predominates in the plains. Low ranges of rocky hills are covered in scrub. The Ibakany -Toomodo and Narus plains, Lonyili Mountains, Akorou-Bira Mountain, Dongatona Mountains and Didinga Hills have areas of montane forest and shrubland.BirdLife International (2022) Important Bird Areas factsheet: Kidepo. Accessed 5 March 2022

/ref> Mammal species in the reserve include

African bush elephant 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 ...

, African wild dog,

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 ...

, cheetah,

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 ...

spotted hyena The spotted hyena (''Crocuta crocuta''), also known as the laughing hyena, is a hyena species, currently classed as the sole extant member of the genus ''Crocuta'', native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as being of least concern by the IUC ...

lesser kudu The lesser kudu (''Tragelaphus imberbis'') is a bushland antelope found in East Africa. It is placed in the genus ''Tragelaphus'' and family Bovidae. It was first scientifically described by the English zoologist Edward Blyth in 1869. The head- ...

, African buffalo, and

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

. The present conservation status of these and many other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians is not known. It is likely that due to the protracted war and many other conservation challenges listed below the numbers of wildlife have been reduced in a similar way as those in

Nimule Nimule is a city in the southern part of South Sudan in Magwi County, Eastern Equatoria. It lies approximately , by road, southeast of Juba, the capital of South Sudan and largest city in the country. The town also lies approximately , by road, no ...

and

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

national parks. The reserve is 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 ...

. Native birds include

Heuglin's spurfowl Heuglin's spurfowl (''Pternistis icterorhynchus'') is a species of bird in the family Phasianidae. It is found in Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan, and Uganda. The German explorer Theodor von Heuglin first de ...

(''Pternistis icterorhynchus''), yellow-necked spurfowl (''Pternistis leucoscepus''), and dusky turtle dove (''Streptopelia lugens'').

References

Game reserves of South Sudan Important Bird Areas of South Sudan {{Africa-protected-area-stub