Gambella National Park, also spelled Gambela National Park, is a large
national park in
Ethiopia
Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...
.
It is the nation's largest national park and is located several hundred kilometers from
Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa (; am, አዲስ አበባ, , new flower ; also known as , lit. "natural spring" in Oromo), is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is also served as major administrative center of the Oromia Region. In the 2007 census, t ...
.
It was established in 1974, but is not fully protected and has not been effectively managed for much of its history.
History
Gambella was established during 1974–1975 to protect habitat and wildlife, especially the Nile lechwe and white-eared kob, two antelope species thought to be endangered at the time.
[ Animal populations in the park have declined because of ]agriculture
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people t ...
, cotton farming, hunting, 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 ...
, and the creation of refugee camps, especially following the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia
A widespread famine affected Ethiopia from 1983 to 1985. The worst famine to hit the country in a century, it affected 7.75 million people (out of Ethiopia's 38–40 million) and left approximately 300,000 to 1.2 million dead. 2.5 ...
and by displaced Sudanese.[ The park management organization African Parks and Addis Ababa University's Horn of Africa Research Centre worked with park officials to draft plans to improve Gambella's security and structure.]
Fauna and flora
Gambella National Park has one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Ethiopia. Sixty-nine mammal species are found in the protected area, including African elephant, African buffalo, bushpig
:''"Bush pig" may also refer to the red river hog.
The bushpig (''Potamochoerus larvatus'') is a member of the pig family that inhabits forests, woodland, riverine vegetation and cultivated areas in East and Southern Africa. Probably introduce ...
, common warthog
The common warthog (''Phacochoerus africanus'') is a wild member of the pig family (Suidae) found in grassland, savanna, and woodland in sub-Saharan Africa. In the past, it was commonly treated as a subspecies of ''P. aethiopicus'', but today t ...
, Nubian giraffe, 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 ...
, Nile lechwe
The Nile lechwe or Mrs Gray's lechwe (''Kobus megaceros'') is an endangered species of antelope found in swamps and grasslands in Sudan and Ethiopia.
Description
Males are an average of long and tall at the shoulders, and weigh between , wh ...
, tiang, waterbuck
The waterbuck (''Kobus ellipsiprymnus'') is a large antelope found widely in sub-Saharan Africa. It is placed in the genus '' Kobus'' of the family Bovidae. It was first described by Irish naturalist William Ogilby in 1833. Its 13 subspecies ar ...
, 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 ...
, leopard, lion, mantled guereza
The mantled guereza (''Colobus guereza''), also known simply as the guereza, the eastern black-and-white colobus, or the Abyssinian black-and-white colobus, is a black-and-white colobus, a type of Old World monkey. It is native to much of west ...
, olive baboon
The olive baboon (''Papio anubis''), also called the Anubis baboon, is a member of the family Cercopithecidae Old World monkeys. The species is the most wide-ranging of all baboons, being native to 25 countries throughout Africa, extending fr ...
, patas monkey
The common patas monkey (''Erythrocebus patas''), also known as the wadi monkey or hussar monkey, is a ground-dwelling monkey distributed over semi-arid areas of West Africa, and into East Africa.
Taxonomy
There is some confusion surrounding ...
and spotted hyena.Bohor reedbuck
The bohor reedbuck (''Redunca redunca'') is an antelope native to central Africa. The animal is placed under the genus '' Redunca'' and in the family Bovidae. It was first described by German zoologist and botanist Peter Simon Pallas in 1767. ...
, 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 ...
, Lelwel hartebeest, oribi
The oribi (; ''Ourebia ourebi'') is a small antelope found in eastern, southern and western Africa. The sole member of its genus, it was described by the German zoologist Eberhard August Wilhelm von Zimmermann in 1783. While this is the only ...
, reedbuck
Reedbuck is a common name for 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 ...
, roan antelope, and white-eared kob.[ The white-eared kob migration is Africa's second largest mammal migration.]Nubian
Nubian may refer to:
*Something of, from, or related to Nubia, a region along the Nile river in Southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
*Nubian people
*Nubian languages
*Anglo-Nubian goat, a breed of goat
* Nubian ibex
* , several ships of the Britis ...
subspecies.black-faced firefinch
The black-faced firefinch (''Lagonosticta larvata'') is a common species of estrildid finch found in Africa. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 2,100,000 km2.
It is found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Rep ...
, Carmine bee-eater, cisticola
__NOTOC__
Cisticolas (pronounced ''sis-TIC-olas'') are a genus of very small insectivorous birds formerly classified in the Old World warbler family Sylviidae, but now usually considered to be in the separate family Cisticolidae, along with other ...
s, crowned cranes, Egyptian plover, exclamatory paradise whydah
The exclamatory paradise whydah or Uelle paradise whydah (''Vidua interjecta'') is a species of bird in the family Viduidae. It is also known as the long-tailed paradise whydah, a name which may also refer to the related species '' Vidua paradisa ...
, African green bee-eater
The African green bee-eater (''Merops viridissimus'') is a species of bird in the family Meropidae.
It is found throughout arid regions of Africa from Senegal east to Ethiopia, and has expanded its range north to Egypt over the past few decades. ...
, pelicans, approximately 40 species of raptors, red-necked buzzard
The red-necked buzzard (''Buteo auguralis''), also known as the African red-tailed buzzard, is a species of buzzard in the family Accipitridae which is found in western and northern central Africa.
Description
The red-necked buzzard is a medium ...
, red-throated bee-eater, storks, warbler
Various Passeriformes (perching birds) are commonly referred to as warblers. They are not necessarily closely related to one another, but share some characteristics, such as being fairly small, vocal, and insectivorous.
Sylvioid warblers
Th ...
s, and vultures.[
Plant species along the Akobo and Baro rivers include: '']Acacia victoriae
''Acacia victoriae'', commonly known as gundabluie or bardi bush, is a shrub-like tree native to Australia.
Subspecies:
''A. victoriae'' subsp. ''arida'' Pedley
Distribution and ecology
Found in arid and semi-arid areas, the ''Acacia victoria ...
'', ''Arundo donax
''Arundo donax'' is a tall perennial cane. It is one of several so-called reed species. It has several common names including giant cane, elephant grass, carrizo, arundo, Spanish cane, Colorado river reed, wild cane, and giant reed. ''Arundo'' a ...
'' and ''temba'' ('' Pennisetum petiolare''). The invasive ''Eichhornia crassipes
''Pontederia crassipes'' (formerly ''Eichhornia crassipes''), commonly known as common water hyacinth is an aquatic plant native to South America, naturalized throughout the world, and often invasive outside its native range.[Saccharum officinarum
''Saccharum officinarum'' is a large, strong-growing species of grass in the genus '' Saccharum''. Its stout stalks are rich in sucrose, a simple sugar which accumulates in the stalk internodes. It originated in New Guinea, and is now cultivated ...]
'') have also been reported.[
]
Conservation
Efforts to reduce poaching doubled the number of wild animals in the park between 2008 and 2012.[
]
See also
* List of national parks of Ethiopia
References
Further reading
*
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*
*
External links
*
{{authority control
1974 establishments in Ethiopia
National parks of Ethiopia
Protected areas established in 1974
Gambela Region
Important Bird Areas of Ethiopia