Old Oyo National Park is one of the

national parks of Nigeria National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, c ...

, located across northern

Oyo State Oyo State is an inland States of Nigeria, state in southwestern Nigeria. Its capital is Ibadan, the List of Nigerian cities by population, third most populous city in the country and formerly the second most populous city in Africa. Oyo State is b ...

and southern 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 ...

. The park is 2,512 km² of land in northern Oyo state, south west Nigeria, at latitude 8° 15’ and 9° 00’N and longitude 3° 35’ and 4° 42’ E. The location has inevitably placed the park at a vantage position of abundance land area as well as diverse wildlife and cultural/historical settings. Eleven local government areas out of which ten fall within Oyo State and one in Kwara State surround it. The Administrative Head Office is located in Oyo, Isokun area along Oyo-Iseyin road, where necessary information and booking could be made. The landscaping and organized space within the large yard has made the facility very endearing to the public. It is rich in plant and animal resources including buffaloes,

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 ...

and a variety of birds. The park is easily accessible from southwestern and northwestern Nigeria. The nearest cities and towns adjoining Old Oyo National Park include

Saki Hector Hugh Munro (18 December 1870 – 14 November 1916), better known by the pen name Saki and also frequently as H. H. Munro, was a British writer whose witty, mischievous and sometimes macabre stories satirize Edwardian society and cultu ...

Iseyin Iseyin is a town located in Oyo, Nigeria. It is approximately north of Ibadan. The city was estimated to have a population of 236,000, according to United Nations 2005 estimate, which increased to 362,990 in 2011, and has a total land mass of . ...

Igboho Oyo Igboho is a large town in Oyo State, Nigeria. It is the headquarters of the Orelope Local Government Area. It has an estimated population of 200,000. The town has a post office and a radio station. History Igboho was founded by Alaafin ...

Sepeteri Sepeteri is the biggest town in the Saki East Local Government Area of Oke-Ogun Oyo State, Nigeria. The Yoruba people of Sepeteri are related with fon of dahomey and Ifon in Osun State their crownship is Obatala, Obalufon lineage under Oyo Empire. ...

, Tede, Kishi and

Igbeti Igbeti-Okeogun is a town located in the northern part of Oyo State, Nigeria. The town's population was approximately 81,000 at the 2006 census. Igbeti is also known as "Marble City" for its rich marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed ...

which have their own commercial and cultural attractions for tourism.

History

The park takes its name from Oyo-lle (Old Oyo), the ancient political capital of

Oyo Empire The Oyo Empire was a powerful Yoruba empire of West Africa made up of parts of present-day eastern Benin and western Nigeria (including Southwest zone and the western half of Northcentral zone). It grew to become the largest Yoruba-speaking s ...

of the

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...

, and contains the ruins of this city. The national park originated in two earlier native administrative forest reserves, Upper Ogun established in 1936 and Oyo-lle established in 1941. These were converted to game reserves in 1952, then combined and upgraded to the present status of a national park.

Environment

The park covers 2,512 km², mostly of lowland plains at a height of 330 m and 508 m above sea level. The southern part is drained by the Owu, Owe and

Ogun River The Ogun River is a waterway in Nigeria that discharges into the Lagos Lagoon. Course and usage The river rises in Sepeteri Oyo State near Shaki at coordinates and flows through Ogun State into Lagos State. The river is crossed by the Ikere ...

s, while the northern sector is drained by the Tessi River. Outcrops of granite are typical of the north eastern zone of the park, including at Oyo-lle, with caves and rock shelters in the extreme north. The central part of the park has scattered hills, ridges and rock outcrops that are suitable for mountaineering. The Ikere Gorge Dam on the Ogun river provides water recreation facilities for tourists.

Flora and fauna

The Old Oyo National Park was previously habitat for the endangered West African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus manguensis''). However none now exist in the park due to hunting pressure and the expanding human population in the region.

References

{{authority control National parks of Nigeria Oyo State Kwara State World Heritage Sites in Nigeria 1936 establishments in the British Empire