Gabon

África

267

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Gabon is covered in rainforest across close to eighty-five per cent of its surface and has a very low population density, which has allowed it to keep one of the best-preserved forest blocks in Africa. In 2002 the country created thirteen national parks at a stroke, protecting around a tenth of its territory, from the Ivindo rainforest, with its swampy clearings and waterfalls, to the savannahs and lagoons of Loango on the Atlantic coast. It holds the largest forest elephant population on the continent and substantial numbers of western lowland gorilla, chimpanzee and mandrill. Its beaches, between Pongara and Mayumba, receive the greatest concentration of leatherback turtle nesting on the planet, and the coastal waters are a migration route for humpback whales.

The nature of Gabon

National animal: The black panther, the country's emblematic animal

Did you know?

At Loango the rainforest runs straight down to the beach and produces one of the most unusual sights in Africa: forest elephants, buffalo and hippopotamuses walking on the sand beside the Atlantic. The hippopotamuses even go into the surf and let the waves lift them, a behaviour that earned them the nickname of surfing hippos and that has been documented in virtually no other place in the world.

Biodiversity profile

Africa Central (Cuenca del Congo)Gabon es reconocido como el pais con la conservacion mas solida y efectiva de toda la Cuenca del Congo, con una amplia red de 13 parques nacionales establecidos desde 2002 que cubren una porcion sustancial del territorio

Climate

•Ecuatorial humedo (Af), calido y humedo todo el año, con lluvias abundantes

Main biomes

•Selva tropical humeda (cubre aprox. 80-88% del territorio, uno de los paises mas boscosos del mundo)
•Sabanas costeras dispersas entre bloques de selva
•Selva ecuatorial húmeda
•Claro pantanoso o bai
•Sabana costera
•Laguna litoral
•Manglar atlántico
•Playa de puesta de tortugas
•Río de aguas negras

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Costa atlantica con playas de anidacion de tortugas marinas (una de las mayores concentraciones mundiales de tortuga laud) y presencia de hipopotamos que "surfean" en las olas oceanicas

Flagship wildlife

•Gorila de llanura occidental
•Elefante de bosque africano
•Mandril
•Hipopotamo costero (famoso por adentrarse en el oceano)
•Gorila occidental de llanura
•Chimpancé
•Hipopótamo
•Tortuga laúd
•Ballena jorobada
•Búfalo de bosque
•Sitatunga
•Pangolín gigante

Notable endemic species

•Entre 8.000 y 10.000 especies de plantas, de las cuales aprox. 20% son endemicas
•Mas de 670 especies de aves y cerca de 200 especies de mamiferos, incluidos gorilas de llanura, chimpances y 10 especies de monos
•Cercopiteco de cola de sol

Notable threatened species

•Gorila de llanura occidental (En Peligro Critico)
•Elefante de bosque africano (En Peligro Critico, poblacion nacional entre las mas importantes de Africa Central)
•Mandril (Vulnerable)

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional de Loango (costa atlantica, hipopotamos costeros y anidacion de tortugas)
•Parque Nacional de la Lopé (Patrimonio Mundial)
•Parque Nacional de Ivindo
•Parque Nacional de Lopé
•Parque Nacional de Mayumba
•Parque Nacional de Minkébé
•Parque Nacional de Pongara

Main conservation threats

•Presion de la industria maderera y minera sobre zonas de bosque no protegidas
•Caza furtiva de elefantes por el marfil, pese a los notables esfuerzos de conservacion del pais

Notable natural phenomena

•Los hipopotamos de la costa gabonesa son famosos mundialmente por adentrarse en las olas del oceano Atlantico, un comportamiento inusual documentado en el Parque Nacional de Loango

Conservation

At Lopé the largest primate groups known have been observed, with mandrill troops of more than a thousand animals. Ivory poaching in Minkébé caused enormous forest elephant losses over the last decade.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Loango between July and September for humpback whales and wildlife on the beach. Ivindo year-round for bais with elephants and gorillas. The southern beaches between November and February for leatherback turtles.

Sources: worldrainforests.com - Congo Conservation | WWF - The Congo Basin's Animals and People

Savanna Rainforest