The wildlife of Sudan is composed of its flora and fauna. A variety of climate types in Sudan results in a wide range of habitats and the range of wildlife is diverse. Some 287 species of mammal have been recorded in the country and some 634 species of bird.
Sudan is located in northeastern Africa, with an 853 km (530 mi) coastline bordering on the Red Sea. The terrain is generally flat, with low-lying plains broken by a few mountain ranges. In the west, the Marrah Mountains are the highest part of Sudan, while in the east lie the Red Sea Hills. The Blue Nile and the White Nile converge at Khartoum to form the Nile, which flows northwards to the Mediterranean Sea. [1] The climate ranges from hyper-arid in the north of the country to tropical wet-and-dry in the south. Variations in the length of the wet and dry seasons depend on which of two air flows predominates: dry northern winds from the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula or moist southwesterly winds from the Congo River basin and southeasterly winds from the Indian Ocean. The wet season in the north occurs between June and September while it arrives earlier and lasts longer in the south. The temperature is high all year round, with the hottest weather occurring at the end of the dry season. [2]
The northern part of the country is largely desert with very little vegetation except beside watercourses. In more central parts, the semidesert receives rather more precipitation and supports Acacia scrub and various grasses. With the increased rainfall further south this merges into savannah with grasses, thorny trees and larger baobab trees. These are dominated by Acacia trees, including the Sudan gum (Acacia senegal) which yields gum arabic, historically one of the mainstays of the country's export trade. [3] The Nile basin in the south receives more rainfall, and the grass is lush, providing grazing for herds of cattle. There are also patches of woodland here. [3]
A characteristic tree which grows in woodland and beside seasonal water-courses in the Marrah Mountains is the winter thorn ( Faidherbia albida ). Cattle stand in its shade in the dry season eating shed leaves and fruits, and sorghum crops do well underneath it in the rainy season. [4] An important species in arid and semi-arid regions is the umbrella thorn acacia ( Vachellia tortilis ). [5]
The Sudd wetlands are a vast area of swamp in the south beside the White Nile. Here beds of reeds are interspersed by areas of aquatic vegetation including water hyacinth and papyrus, grasses and scrub. [6]
Most of the 287 or so species of mammal found in Sudan are small and nocturnal, being rodents, bats and insectivores. Elephant shrews also occur, and among the larger mammals are the crested porcupine and the rock hyrax. [7] Big cats found in Sudan include lions, leopards and cheetahs. [3] There are many species of antelope as well as giraffes, rhinoceroses and elephants, and monkeys are found in forested areas. [3]
Reptiles are abundant but mostly small and inconspicuous. Snakes are numerous and include the African rock python, the black mamba, the Egyptian cobra, the forest cobra, the black-necked spitting cobra, the boomslang and the puff adder. [7] Crocodiles are found near the Nile and other water bodies and there are many species of lizard, the largest being the Nile monitor. The African spurred tortoise and the leopard tortoise occur in arid areas and several aquatic species of terrapin, such as the African helmeted turtle, occur in swamps and marshes. [7]
Among the 19 genera of amphibians found in Sudan there is one endemic species of frog. [8]
634 species of bird have been recorded in Sudan. [9] These include waterfowl and wading birds, raptors, game birds, seabirds, songbirds, swifts, cuckoos and nighthawks. Some are resident species, present all year round, or breeding birds that rear their young in the country. Others are over-wintering birds, avoiding harsher weather conditions elsewhere, or migrant species that are just passing through. [10] The Kordofan sparrow (Passer cordofanicus) is endemic to Sudan and South Sudan. [9]
Insects are abundant in great variety and tsetse flies occur south of latitude 12° north. [3]
The main legislation governing wildlife is the Preservation of Wild Animals Act of 1935. This regulates hunting and trade and lists protected species. [11] Game and wildlife tourism includes hunting for Eritrean gazelles, Nubian ibex and baboons in the area between the Nubian Desert and the Red Sea Hills. In the Western Desert, Barbary sheep, Arabian oryx, ostriches and red-fronted gazelles are also hunted, as well as ducks, guineafowl, bustards and doves. Overhunting, loss of habitat, and a lack of enforcement of regulations has led to a decline in populations and biodiversity. In 2015, the United Nations reported that 123 species in the country were listed as "threatened". [12]
Among several protected areas in Sudan are Radom National Park in South Darfur, in the southwest of the country, and Dinder National Park in the southeast, both of which are UNESCO biosphere reserves. There are also a number of game reserves. [3] The Suakin Archipelago National Park is a cluster of islands off the coast in the Red Sea and is a marine protected area of 579 square miles. [6] These islets are fringed by coral reefs, being visited by four species of turtle and home to five species of breeding bird. [12]
Sudan is located in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest. Sudan is the third largest country in Africa, after Algeria and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It had been the largest country on the continent until the 2011 independence of South Sudan.
The Sahel is a region in Africa. It is defined as the ecoclimatic and biogeographic realm of transition between the Sahara to the north and the Sudanian savanna to the south. Having a hot semi-arid climate, it stretches across the south-central latitudes of Northern Africa between the Atlantic Ocean and the Red Sea.
The Eastern Desert is the part of the Sahara desert that is located east of the Nile river. It spans 223,000 square kilometres (86,000 sq mi) of North-Eastern Africa and is bordered by the Nile river to the west and the Red Sea and Gulf of Suez to the east. It extends through Egypt, Eritrea, Sudan and Ethiopia. The Eastern Desert is also known as the Red Sea Hills. The Desert consists of a mountain range which runs parallel to the coast, wide sedimentary plateaus extending from either side of the mountains and the Red Sea coast. The rainfall, climate, vegetation and animal life sustained in the desert varies between these different regions.The Desert has been a mining site for building materials, and precious and semi-precious metals throughout history. It has historically contained many trade routes leading to and from the Red Sea, including the Suez Canal.
Waza National Park is a national park in the Department of Logone-et-Chari, in Far North Region, Cameroon. It was founded in 1934 as a hunting reserve, and covers a total of 1,700 km2 (660 sq mi). Waza achieved national park status in 1968, and became a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1979.
Lake Manyara National Park is a protected area in Tanzania's Arusha and Manyara Regions, situated between Lake Manyara and the Great Rift Valley. It is administered by the Tanzania National Parks Authority, and covers an area of 325 km2 (125 sq mi) including about 230 km2 (89 sq mi) lake surface. More than 350 bird species have been observed on the lake.
Vachellia tortilis, widely known as Acacia tortilis but now attributed to the genus Vachellia, is the umbrella thorn acacia, also known as umbrella thorn and Israeli babool, a medium to large canopied tree native to most of Africa, primarily to the savanna and Sahel of Africa, but also occurring in the Middle East.
Burkina Faso is largely wild bush country with a mixture of grass and small trees in varying proportions. The savanna region is mainly grassland in the rainy season and semi desert during the harmattan period. Fauna, one of the most diverse in West Africa, includes the elephant, hippopotamus, buffalo, monkey, lions, crocodile, giraffe, various types of antelope, and a vast variety of bird and insect life. The country has 147 mammal species, 330 aquatic species including 121 species of fish and 2067 different plant species. Of the plant species, the dominant endemic species are shea tree and the baobab, the former plant species has immense economic value to the country.
The wildlife of Chad is composed of its flora and fauna. Bush elephants, West African lions, buffalo, hippopotamuses, Kordofan giraffes, antelopes, African leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and many species of snakes are found there, although most large carnivore populations have been drastically reduced since the early 20th century. Elephant poaching, particularly in the south of the country in areas such as Zakouma National Park, is a severe problem.
Benin has varied resources of wildlife comprising flora and fauna, which are primarily protected in its two contiguous protected areas of the Pendjari National Park and W National Park. The former is known for many species of avifauna and the latter park is rich in mammals and predators. In addition, many other forest reserves are noted in the country but are not easily accessible, well protected or adequately surveyed for its wildlife resources. The protected area of Benin which is defined as a National Protected Area System is in northern Benin, mostly with a woody savanna ecosystem. It covers 10.3% of the nation and is part of the three-nation W-Arly-Pendjari Complex (WAP).
Wildlife of the Gambia is dictated by several habitat zones over its total 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 Wildlife of Djibouti, consisting of flora and fauna, is in a harsh landscape with forest accounting for less than one percent of the total area of the country. The flora and fauna species are most found in the northern part of the country in the ecosystem of the Day Forest National Park at an average altitude 1,500 metres (4,900 ft), including the massif Goda, with a peak of 1,783 metres (5,850 ft). It covers an area of 3.5 square kilometres (1.4 sq mi) of Juniperus procera forest, with many of the trees rising to 20 metres (66 ft) height. This forest area is the main habitat of critically endangered and endemic Djibouti spurfowl, and another recently noted vertebrate, Platyceps afarensis. The area also contains many species of woody and herbaceous plants, including boxwood and olive trees, which account for sixty percent of the total identified species in the country.
The wildlife of Egypt is composed of the flora and fauna of this country in northeastern Africa and southwestern Asia, and is substantial and varied. Apart from the fertile Nile Valley, which bisects the country from south to north, the majority of Egypt's landscape is desert, with a few scattered oases. It has long coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea, the Gulf of Suez, the Gulf of Aqaba and the Red Sea. Each geographic region has a diversity of plants and animals each adapted to its own particular habitat.
The wildlife of Uganda is composed of its flora and fauna. Uganda has a wide variety of different habitats, including mountains, hills, tropical rainforest, woodland, freshwater lakes, swamps and savanna with scattered clumps of trees. The country has a biodiverse flora and fauna reflecting this range of habitats and is known for its primates, including gorillas and chimpanzees. There are ten national parks and thirteen wildlife reserves; some 345 species of mammal and 1020 species of bird have been recorded in the country.
The wildlife of South Africa consists of the flora and fauna of this country in southern Africa. The country has a range of different habitat types and an ecologically rich and diverse wildlife, vascular plants being particularly abundant, many of them endemic to the country. There are few forested areas, much savanna grassland, semi-arid Karoo vegetation and the fynbos of the Cape Floristic Region. Famed for its national parks and big game, 297 species of mammal have been recorded in South Africa, as well as 849 species of bird and over 20,000 species of vascular plants.
The wildlife of Mali, composed of its flora and fauna, is widely varying from the Saharan desert zone to the Sahelian east–west zone, to Mali, a landlocked francophone country in North Africa; large swathes of Mali remain unpopulated but has three sub-equal vegetation zones; the country has Sahara Desert in the north, the Niger River Basin at its center and the Senegal River on the south.
Mapungubwe National Park is a national park in Limpopo Province, South Africa. It is located by the Kolope River, south of the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe rivers and about 15 kilometres (9.3 mi) to the NE of the Venetia Diamond Mine. The National Park borders Mapesu Private Game Reserve to the south. It abuts on the border with Botswana and Zimbabwe, and forms part of the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area. It was established in 1995 and covers an area of over 28,000 hectares. The park protects the historical site of Mapungubwe Hill, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Mapungubwe, as well as the wildlife and riverine forests along the Limpopo River. The Mapungubwe Hill was the site of a community dating back to the Iron Age. Evidences have shown that it was a prosperous community. Archaeologists also uncovered the famous golden rhino figurine from the site. It is one of the few places in Africa that has both meerkats and Nile crocodiles.
Kiang West National Park is one of the largest and most important wildlife reserves in the Gambia. It was declared a national park in 1987 and is managed by the Gambia Department of Parks and Wildlife Management.
Buffalo Springs National Reserve is a protected area in the Isiolo County in northern Kenya.
The Southwestern Arabian foothills savanna, also known as the Southwestern Arabian Escarpment shrublands and woodlands, is a desert and xeric shrubland ecoregion of the southern Arabian Peninsula, covering portions of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman.
The Red Sea coastal desert is deserts and xeric shrublands ecoregion of Egypt and Sudan.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain :Bechtold, Peter K. (2015). "Climate" (PDF). In Berry, LaVerle (ed.). Sudan: a country study (5th ed.). Washington, D.C.: Federal Research Division, Library of Congress. pp. 70–71. ISBN 978-0-8444-0750-0.
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