Sierra Leone

África

206

Documented species

Parks and reserves

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Sierra Leone keeps a significant share of the Upper Guinean rainforest, one of the planet's biodiversity hotspots and also one of the most fragmented. Gola Rainforest national park, on the Liberian border, protects the country's largest forest block, with forest elephants, duikers, white-necked rockfowl and a very rich community of birds and butterflies. Tiwai island, in the Moa river, concentrates one of the highest primate densities in the world, with eleven species sharing barely twelve square kilometres. On the Freetown peninsula, montane forests run down to Atlantic beaches, and in the north the plains of Outamba-Kilimi combine savannah, gallery forest, hippopotamuses and elephants. The coastal estuaries and mangroves host manatees and migratory birds.

The nature of Sierra Leone

National animal: The lion, present on the national coat of arms and in the country's own name

Did you know?

The pygmy hippopotamus is one of the most elusive large mammals in Africa: it weighs less than a tenth of its common relative, lives only in the rainforests of four West African countries and is solitary and nocturnal, which long made it seem almost legendary. Around two thousand five hundred animals remain in the wild, and Sierra Leone, with Gola and Tiwai, is one of its last strongholds.

Biodiversity profile

Africa OccidentalDato no disponible con precision agregada nacional en fuentes verificadas consultadas

Climate

•Tropical humedo (Am/Af) en la costa
•Tropical con estacion seca (Aw) en el interior

Main biomes

•Selva tropical de tierras bajas (hotspot del Bosque Alto de Guinea)
•Sabana de bosque en el norte
•Manglares y humedales costeros
•Bosque húmedo de Alta Guinea
•Isla fluvial
•Manglar atlántico
•Sabana de transición
•Bosque de montaña costero
•Bosque de galería
•Playa de puesta de tortugas

Marine and coastal ecosystems

•Estuario del Rio Sierra Leona (sitio Ramsar)
•Manglares costeros extensos

Flagship wildlife

•Chimpance occidental (En Peligro Critico)
•Hipopotamo pigmeo (En Peligro)
•Elefante de bosque africano (En Peligro Critico)
•Duiker de Jentink (antilope forestal raro)
•Colobo rojo occidental
•Picatartes cuelliblanco
•Manatí africano
•Cefalofo cebrado
•Cocodrilo enano
•Pangolín arborícola
•Tortuga verde

Notable endemic species

•Mas de 2.000 especies de plantas y cientos de especies de vertebrados registradas, con varios endemismos globalmente amenazados concentrados en el hotspot del Bosque Alto de Guinea
•11 a 15 especies de primates presentes, incluidos el chimpance occidental y el mono Diana

Notable threatened species

•Chimpance occidental (En Peligro Critico)
•Hipopotamo pigmeo (En Peligro)
•Duiker de Jentink (En Peligro)
•Elefante de bosque africano (En Peligro Critico)

Notable protected areas

•Parque Nacional de la Selva de Gola (bosque tropical de tierras bajas)
•Reserva Forestal de la Peninsula Occidental
•Parque Nacional de Gola Rainforest
•Isla de Tiwai
•Parque Nacional de Outamba-Kilimi
•Área Nacional Protegida de la Península de Freetown
•Islas Turtle
•Estuario del Sierra Leona

Main conservation threats

•Deforestacion y fragmentacion de la selva tropical remanente
•Caza furtiva de primates y grandes mamiferos
•Mineria

Conservation

Gola forms with the neighbouring Liberian park a transboundary forest block managed jointly. Artisanal diamond mining and agricultural expansion are the main causes of forest loss.

Where and when to watch wildlife

Tiwai year-round, best in the dry season, for primates and the nocturnal pygmy hippopotamus. Gola in the dry season for forest birds. The Turtle Islands for turtles and seabirds.

Sources: Grokipedia - Wildlife of Sierra Leone | CEPF - Ecosystem Profile Guinean Forests of West Africa

Savanna Rainforest Freshwater Ocean