Djibouti

África

279

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Djibouti sits at the point where three tectonic plates pull apart, and that geological condition explains its landscape: lava fields, open faults, volcanoes and depressions below sea level. Lake Assal, more than one hundred and fifty metres below the sea, is the lowest point in Africa and one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, ringed by a dazzling crust of salt. Lake Abbe, on the Ethiopian border, is dotted with limestone chimneys that vent steam. In the middle of that aridity survives the Day forest, a relict of junipers and box at altitude that shelters a bird living nowhere else. The coast, in the Gulf of Tadjoura and the Bab el-Mandeb strait, combines reefs, mangroves and one of the greatest raptor migration funnels in the world.

The nature of Djibouti

National animal: No official national animal

Did you know?

Every winter, dozens of young whale sharks gather very close to shore in the Gulf of Tadjoura to feed on plankton. What stands out is the age of the animals: most are immature individuals only a few metres long, whereas in other aggregations around the world adults predominate, which has made this corner of the Red Sea one of the few known nursery areas for the species.

Biodiversity profile

Africa Oriental / Cuerno de AfricaAprox. 4,68% del matorral xerico de Yibuti (compartido con Eritrea, Etiopia y Somalia) cuenta con proteccion formal

Climate

•Desertico calido (BWh), uno de los climas mas caurosos y secos del mundo, con temperaturas extremas en la costa

Main biomes

•Matorral xerico de Yibuti (bioma dominante en casi todo el territorio)
•Pequeños relictos de bosque montano en las tierras altas del interior (Foret du Day, bosque de enebro relicto)
•Depresión hipersalina
•Campo de lava y falla tectónica
•Bosque relicto de enebro
•Arrecife de coral
•Manglar costero
•Semidesierto pedregoso
•Corredor migratorio de Bab el-Mandeb

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Golfo de Aden y estrecho de Bab-el-Mandeb, con arrecifes de coral y aguas de paso de tiburones ballena estacionales

Flagship wildlife

•Tiburon ballena (agregaciones estacionales en el Golfo de Tadjoura)
•Gacela dorcas
•Aguila esteparia y otras rapaces migratorias
•Francolin de Yibuti (ave endemica en peligro critico)
•Dugongo
•Tortuga verde
•Águila esteparia
•Halcón abejero
•Gacela de Soemmerring
•Babuino hamadríade
•Flamenco común
•Delfín mular
•Manta gigante

Notable endemic species

•Francolin de Yibuti, ave endemica en peligro critico restringida al bosque relicto de enebro de Foret du Day
•El matorral xerico de Yibuti es compartido con Eritrea, Etiopia y Somalia, con endemismo concentrado en las escasas zonas de mayor humedad
•Francolín de Yibuti

Notable threatened species

•Francolin de Yibuti (En Peligro Critico, poblacion extremadamente reducida en un unico bosque relicto)
•Solo 4,68% del ecosistema del matorral xerico de Yibuti cuenta con proteccion formal

Notable protected areas

•Foret du Day (bosque relicto de enebro, unico refugio del francolin de Yibuti)
•Bosque del Día
•Lago Assal
•Lago Abbe
•Golfo de Tadjoura
•Islas Musha y Maskali
•Bahía de Ghoubbet

Main conservation threats

•Perdida del bosque relicto de enebro de Day, ultimo reducto del francolin de Yibuti
•Sobrepastoreo y desertificacion
•Escasez extrema de agua

Notable natural phenomena

•El Golfo de Tadjoura alberga una de las mayores agregaciones estacionales conocidas de tiburon ballena del mundo

Conservation

The Djibouti francolin is critically endangered and depends entirely on the Day forest, a relict of barely a few square kilometres that is being degraded by grazing and drought. The Bab el-Mandeb strait is a key point for raptor migration between Eurasia and Africa.

Where and when to watch wildlife

The Gulf of Tadjoura between November and February for whale sharks. The Day forest year-round for the endemic francolin. The coast in autumn for the raptor migration.

Sources: Wikipedia - Djibouti xeric shrublands | CEPF - Horn of Africa

Mountain Ocean