The wildlife of Senegal consists of the flora and fauna of this nation in West Africa. Senegal has a long Atlantic coastline and a range of habitat types, with a corresponding diversity of plants and animals. Senegal has 188 species of mammals and 674 species of bird.
Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south. It has a long internal border with The Gambia which lies on either side of the Gambia River but is otherwise surrounded by Senegal. The four major rivers, the Senegal River, the Saloum River, the Gambia River and the Casamance River, drain westwards into the Atlantic Ocean. The Lac de Guiers is a large freshwater lake in the north of the country while Lake Retba, near Dakar, is saline. [1]
The northern half of the country has an arid or semi-arid climate and is largely desert while south of the Gambia River the rainfall is higher and the terrain consists of savannah grassland and forest. Much of the country is fairly flat and below the 500 m (1,640 ft) contour, but there are some low, rolling hills in the southeast, the foothills of the Fouta Djallon in Guinea. The northern half of the coast is sandy and flat, whereas south of Dakar it is muddy and swampy. [2]
The northern part of the country has a semi-arid climate, with precipitation increasing substantially further south to exceed 1,500 mm (60 in) in some areas. Winds blow from the southwest during the rainy season from May to November, and from the northeast during the rest of the year, resulting in well-defined humid and dry seasons. Dakar's maximum temperatures averages 30 °C (86 °F) in the wet and 26 °C (79 °F) in the dry season. [3]
With four main ecosystems (forest, savanna grassland, freshwater, marine and coastal), Senegal has a wide diversity of plants and animals. However, increases in human activities and changes in weather patterns which include increased deficits in rainfall, are impacting and degrading the natural habitats. This is particularly noticeable with regard to forests, which in the five years to 2010, were being lost at the rate of 40,000 ha (100,000 acres) per year. [4]
About 5,213 species, subspecies and varieties of vascular plants had been recorded in Senegal by the end of 2018, of which 515 were trees or woody plants. [5]
The Niokolo-Koba National Park is a World Heritage Site and large natural protected area in southeastern Senegal near the Guinea-Bissau border. The park is typical of the woodland savannah of the country. About thirty species of tree are found here, mainly from the families Fabaceae, Combretaceae and Anacardiaceae, and about one thousand species of vascular plant. The drier parts are dominated by the African kino tree and Combretum glutinosum , while the gallery forests beside rivers and streams (many of which dry up seasonally) are largely formed from Erythrophleum guineense and Pseudospondias microcarpa , interspersed with palms and bamboo clumps. Depressions in the ground fill with water in the rainy season and support a wide range of aquatic vegetation. [6] In the coastal zone of Niayes, a coastal strip of land between Dakar and Saint Louis where a line of lakes lie behind the coastal sand dunes, the predominant vegetation is the African oil-palm, along with the African mesquite and Cape fig. [7]
Many of the larger animals of Senegal that used to have a widespread distribution have suffered from loss of habitat, persecution by farmers, and hunting for bushmeat, and are now largely restricted to the national park. The Guinea baboon is one of these, as are the Senegal hartebeest, the western hartebeest, the scimitar oryx, the roan antelope and several species of gazelle. [8] Habitat degradation has caused populations of western red colobus, elephants, lions, and many other species to decrease heavily. [4] The western subspecies of the giant eland is critically endangered, the only remaining known population being in the Niokolo-Koba National Park; the rapid decline in numbers of this antelope has been attributed to poaching. [9]
Other mammals found in the country include the green monkey, the Guinean gerbil and the Senegal one-striped grass mouse. [10]
Some 674 species of bird had been recorded in Senegal by April 2019. [5] Some of the more spectacular include the red-billed tropicbird, the Arabian bustard, the Egyptian plover, the golden nightjar, the red-throated bee-eater, the chestnut-bellied starling, the cricket warbler, the Kordofan lark and the Sudan golden sparrow. [11]
The Djoudj National Bird Sanctuary on the south side of the Senegal River Delta is an important site for migrating and overwintering waterfowl. About three million migratory birds spend the winter here. [4] Birds that breed in the delta include the lesser flamingo, the marbled duck and the black crowned crane. [8] Further south is the Saloum Delta National Park which lies on the East Atlantic Flyway, along which about 90 million birds migrate annually. [12] Some birds that breed or winter in the park include the royal tern, the greater flamingo, the Eurasian spoonbill, the curlew sandpiper, the ruddy turnstone and the little stint. [13] Another important wetland area is the Niayes, which is an important centre for waterbirds and raptors; large numbers of black kites have been recorded here. [7]
Some 244 species of marine fish had been recorded off the coast of Senegal by April 2019. [5] Some freshwater species of fish have been impacted by the creation of dams in the Senegal River Delta and the proliferation of some plants such as the southern cattail. [4]
Senegal is a coastal West African nation located 14 degrees north of the equator and 14 degrees west of the Prime Meridian. The country's total area is 196,190 km2 of which 192,000 km2 is land and 4,190 km2 is water.
This article describes the system of transport in Senegal, both public and private.This system comprises roads, rail transport, water transport, and air transportation.
The Afrotropical realm is one of the Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, and the islands of the western Indian Ocean. It was formerly known as the Ethiopian Zone or Ethiopian Region.
Koba may refer to:
The giant eland, also known as the Lord Derby's eland and greater eland, is an open-forest and savanna antelope. A species of the family Bovidae and genus Taurotragus, it was described in 1847 by John Edward Gray. The giant eland is the largest species of antelope, with a body length ranging from 220–290 cm (87–114 in). There are two subspecies: T. d. derbianus and T. d. gigas.
The African palm civet, also known as the two-spotted palm civet, is a small feliform mammal widely distributed in sub-Saharan Africa. It is listed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.
The African manatee, 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 Old World.
The Niokolo-Koba National Park is a World Heritage Site and natural protected area in south eastern Senegal near the Guinea border. It is served by Niokolo-Koba Airport, an unpaved airstrip.
The wildlife of Ivory Coast consists of the flora and fauna of this nation in West Africa. The country has a long Atlantic coastline on the Gulf of Guinea and a range of habitat types. Once covered in tropical rainforest, much of this habitat has been cleared, the remaining terrain being gallery forests and savanna with scattered groups of trees, resulting in a decrease in biodiversity. As of 2016, 252 species of mammal had been recorded in Ivory Coast, 666 species of bird, 153 species of reptile, 80 species of amphibian, 671 species of fish and 3660 species of vascular plant.
The wildlife of Liberia consists of the flora and fauna of the Republic of Liberia. This West African nation has a long Atlantic coastline and a range of habitat types, with a corresponding diversity of plants and animals. Liberia is considered a biodiversity hotspot and has more intact forests characteristic of the Upper Guinea Massif than do neighbouring countries. There are 2000 species of vascular plants, approximately 140 species of mammals, and over 600 species of birds.
The wildlife of the Gambia is dictated by several habitat zones over the Gambia's land area of about 10,000 km2. It is bound in the south by the savanna and on the north by the Sudanian woodlands. The habitats host abundant indigenous plants and animals, in addition to migrant species and newly planted species. They vary widely and consist of the marine system, coastal zone, estuary with mangrove vegetation coupled with Banto Faros, river banks with brackish and fresh water zones, swamps covered with forests and many wetlands.
The red-legged sun squirrel is a species of rodent in the family Sciuridae, also commonly known as the isabelline red-legged sun squirrel. It is native to tropical western and central Africa where its range extends from Senegal in the west, through Nigeria and the Republic of Congo to Uganda and Tanzania in the east. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests and moist savanna. This species is thought to be common and has a very wide distribution, so the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".
The wildlife of Togo is composed of the flora and fauna of Togo, a country in West Africa. Despite its small size the country has a diversity of habitats; there are only remnants of the once more extensive rain forests in the south, there is Sudanian savanna in the north-western part of the country and larger areas of Guinean forest–savanna mosaic in the centre and north-east. The climate is tropical with distinct wet and dry seasons. There are estimated to be over 3000 species of vascular plants in the country, and 196 species of mammals and 676 species of birds have been recorded there.
Tourism in Senegal is a vital part of the West African nation's economy.
Sine-Saloum is a region in Senegal located north of the Gambia and south of the Petite Côte. It encompasses an area of 24,000 square kilometers, about 12% of Senegal, with a population in the 1990s of 1,060,000.
Saloum Delta National Park or Parc National du Delta du Saloum in Senegal, is a 760-square-kilometre (190,000-acre) national park. Established in 1976, it is situated within the Saloum Delta at the juncture of the Saloum River and the North Atlantic.
The Guinean mangroves are a coastal ecoregion of mangrove swamps in rivers and estuaries near the ocean of West Africa from Senegal to Sierra Leone.
Badiar National Park is a national park in Guinea, on the border with Senegal and contiguous with Senegal's much larger Niokolo-Koba National Park. It was established on 30 May 1985, partly in response to Senegal's concern about poaching in Niokolo-Koba National Park. Badiar is an International Union for Conservation of Nature Category II park.
The wildlife of Spain includes the diverse flora and fauna of Spain. The country located at the south of France has two long coastlines, one on the north on the Cantabrian Sea, another on the East and South East on the Mediterranean Sea, and a smaller one on the west and south west on the Atlantic Ocean, its territory includes a big part of the Iberian Peninsula, the Canary Islands, the Balearic Islands and two enclaves in North Africa, Ceuta and Melilla. and the different climate zones, Spain is one of the countries in Europe with the greatest biodiversity.
