Nigeria
África
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa and brings together a range of environments running from the semi-arid Sahel of the far north, with Lake Chad in retreat, to the rainforests of the southeast on the Cameroonian border, by way of the Guinean savannahs of the centre and the Jos plateau. The Niger delta contains the largest mangrove forest in Africa and one of the largest in the world, a maze of channels and flooded forest where manatees, dwarf crocodiles and the delta's white-nosed monkey live. In the southeast, Cross River national park protects montane rainforest of exceptional biodiversity, and in the east the Gashaka-Gumti massif combines gallery forest, savannah and high-altitude grassland in the country's largest park. Yankari and Kainji keep Nigeria's last elephant and lion populations.
The nature of Nigeria
National animal: The eagle, present on the national coat of arms
Did you know?
The Cross River gorilla is the rarest of all gorillas: fewer than three hundred individuals remain, spread across a handful of groups in the steep mountains on the Nigeria-Cameroon border. They are so elusive and their terrain so rugged that almost everything known about them comes from camera traps and from counting the nests they build each night, because direct sightings are exceptional.
Biodiversity profile
Climate
- •Tropical humedo (Af/Am) en el sur (deltas y selva del Cross River)
- •Tropical con estacion seca (Aw) en el centro
- •Semiarido (BSh) en el extremo norte, transicion al Sahel
Main biomes
- •Selva tropical humeda (Cross River, uno de los bosques mas antiguos de Africa)
- •Manglares del Delta del Niger (mayor extension de manglar de Africa)
- •Sabana guineana y sudanesa (centro-norte)
- •Semidesierto saheliano (extremo norte)
- •Manglar del delta del Níger
- •Selva húmeda de montaña
- •Sabana guineana
- •Estepa saheliana
- •Bosque de galería
- •Meseta de altitud
- •Llanura inundable
Marine and coastal ecosystems
- •Delta del Niger (mayor sistema de manglares de Africa)
- •Costa del Golfo de Guinea
Flagship wildlife
- •Gorila de Cross River (subespecie mas rara y amenazada de gorila del mundo)
- •Chimpance Nigeria-Camerun
- •Elefante de bosque africano
- •Malimbo de Ibadan (ave endemica)
- •Gorila del río Cross
- •Chimpancé de Nigeria y Camerún
- •León africano
- •Manatí africano
- •Dril
- •Cocodrilo enano
- •Hipopótamo
- •Búfalo cafre
- •Pangolín gigante
Notable endemic species
- •Gorila de Cross River (endemico de la frontera Nigeria-Camerun, menos de 250-300 individuos en todo el mundo)
- •Chimpance Nigeria-Camerun (subespecie casi endemica)
- •Colobo rojo del Delta del Niger (endemico exclusivo del Delta del Niger)
- •Malimbo de Ibadan, ave tejedora endemica del suroeste de Nigeria
- •Gorila del río Cross
- •Cercopiteco de Sclater
- •Mono de nariz blanca del delta
Notable threatened species
- •Gorila de Cross River (En Peligro Critico, menos de 300 individuos, la subespecie de gran simio mas amenazada de Africa)
- •Colobo rojo del Delta del Niger (En Peligro Critico, endemico exclusivo del pais)
- •27% de las especies del hotspot de los Bosques Guineanos evaluadas en Nigeria catalogadas como amenazadas
- •Poblacion total de elefantes de Nigeria estimada en solo 400 individuos, por debajo del umbral viable de largo plazo
Notable protected areas
- •Parque Nacional del Cross River (uno de los bosques mas antiguos de Africa, refugio del gorila de Cross River)
- •Santuario de Vida Silvestre de Afi Mountain
- •Montañas Mbe (santuario propuesto para el gorila de Cross River)
- •Parque Nacional del Río Cross
- •Parque Nacional de Gashaka-Gumti
- •Parque Nacional de Yankari
- •Parque Nacional de Kainji
- •Santuario de Drills de Afi
- •Delta del Níger
Main conservation threats
- •Fragmentacion severa de habitat por la altisima densidad poblacional del pais
- •Caza furtiva de gorilas, chimpances y elefantes
- •Extincion local historica de la jirafa y el guepardo en el pais
Notable natural phenomena
- •El Delta del Niger es el mayor sistema de manglares de todo el continente africano
Conservation
Oil spills in the Niger delta have degraded great expanses of mangrove and fisheries. Sclater's guenon, endemic to the southeast, survives largely thanks to communities that regard it as sacred and protect it in their forests.
Where and when to watch wildlife
Yankari in the dry season for elephants at the Wikki spring. Afi and Cross River for drills and forest primates. Gashaka-Gumti between November and April for chimpanzees and birds.
Sources: a-z-animals.com - Wildlife in Nigeria | Mongabay - Protecting Nigeria's gorillas WCS Andrew Dunn | BioDB.com - Nigeria | Cross River National Park official page | Biology Insights - Nigeria's Nature
Parks and reserves
Cross River
The largest expanse of rainforest left in Nigeria, the last refuge of the Cross River gorilla.
View parkNational ParkGashaka Gumti
Nigeria's largest national park, in the mountains along the Cameroonian border, with the country's largest chimpanzee population.
View parkNational ParkYankari National Park
Nigeria's most visited park, known for its elephant herds and for the Wikki warm springs.
View parkPaíses similares
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Especies documentadas en Nigeria
284 species found
EndangeredGrey Parrot
Psittacus erithacus
EndangeredGiant Pangolin
Smutsia gigantea
EndangeredBasking Shark
Cetorhinus maximus
EndangeredGreen Turtle
Chelonia mydas
VulnerableCheetah
Acinonyx jubatus
VulnerableCommon Hippopotamus
Hippopotamus amphibius
VulnerableGiraffe
Giraffa camelopardalis
VulnerableLion
Panthera leo
VulnerableLeopard
Panthera pardus
VulnerableAfrican Leopard
Panthera pardus pardus
VulnerableAfrican Manatee
Trichechus senegalensis
VulnerableMandrill
Mandrillus sphinx
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about Nigeria.