Gambella National Park

History

Gambella was established during 1974–1975 to protect habitat and wildlife, especially the Nile lechwe and white-eared kob, two antelope species thought to have been endangered at the time. cotton farming, hunting, poaching, and the creation of refugee camps, especially following the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia and by the displaced Sudanese.

In 2012, Bantayehu Wasyihun, head of the park's office, said infrastructure development was underway to make Gambella more accommodating to tourists.

Fauna and flora

Gambella National Park has one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in Ethiopia. Sixty-nine mammal species are found in the protected area, including the African elephant, African buffalo, bushpig, common warthog, Nubian giraffe, hippopotamus, Nile lechwe, tiang, waterbuck, cheetah, leopard, lion, mantled guereza, olive baboon, patas monkey and spotted hyena.

The park also hosts herds of Bohor reedbuck, bushbuck, Lelwel hartebeest, oribi, reedbuck, roan antelope, and white-eared kob. The white-eared kob migration is Africa's largest terrestrial mammal migration

In 2015, African Parks and the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority surveyed the park's giraffe population for the first time, and estimated there were between 100 and 120 giraffes. Gambella's giraffes are classified as of the Nubian subspecies. The IUCN designated the protected area as a 'lion conservation unit' in 2005.

Three hundred and twenty-seven bird species, including seasonal migrants, have been recorded, including the African skimmer, black-faced firefinch, Carmine bee-eater, cisticolas, crowned cranes, Egyptian plover, exclamatory paradise whydah, African green bee-eater, pelicans, approximately 40 species of raptors, red-necked buzzard, red-throated bee-eater, storks, warblers, and vultures.

Plant species along the Akobo and Baro rivers include the Acacia victoriae, Arundo donax and temba (Pennisetum petiolare). The invasive Eichhornia crassipes (water hyacinth) and shenkorageda (Saccharum officinarum) have also been reported.

Conservation

Efforts to reduce poaching doubled the number of wild animals in the park between 2008 and 2012.

References

References

1. UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Gambella from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 27 February 2022. [https://www.protectedplanet.net/13704]
2. (2015). "African Parks Annual Report: 2015". [[African Parks]].
3. (18 April 2012). "Ethiopia: Number of Wild Animals on Rise in Gambella National Park". [[African Conservation Foundation]].
4. (13 February 2014). "The Global Land Grab: Beyond the Hype". Zed Books.
5. (2011). "Land to Investors: Large-scale Land Transfers in Ethiopia". African Books Collective.
6. (2017). "The Nile River". Springer.
7. (1999). "African Antelope Database 1998". International Union for Conservation of Nature.
8. (2005). "Effects of Resettlement Schemes on the Biophysical and Human Environments: The Case of the Gambela Region, Ethiopia". Universal-Publishers.
9. (22 October 2015). "Ethiopia". Bradt Travel Guides.
10. IUCN. (1989). "The IUCN Sahel Studies 1989". [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] Regional Office for Eastern Africa.
11. (2009). "Ethiopia". Bradt Travel Guides.
12. (10 April 2017). "Boma-Badingilo Migratory Landscape (Contiguous site)". UNESCO.
13. Greene, Graeme. (25 June 2024). "Migration of 6m antelope in South Sudan dwarfs previous records for world’s biggest, aerial study reveals". The Guardian.
14. (25 June 2015). "Inside the Fight to Stop Giraffes' 'Silent Extinction'". National Geographic.
15. (19 April 2017). "Petition to Lift the Giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis'') Under the Endangered Species Act". [[International Fund for Animal Welfare]].
16. (9 August 2016). "The Giraffe: Biology, Ecology, Evolution and Behaviour". John Wiley & Sons.
17. IUCN Cat Specialist Group. (2006). "Conservation Strategy for the Lion West and Central Africa". IUCN.