Niokolo-Koba National Park

Niokolo-Koba National Park
Photo by Jarek Pokrzywnicki.

Niokolo-Koba National Park on the banks of the Gambia and other rivers is known for its diversity of wildlife.

Most of the park consists of relatively flat woodland savannah and semi-arid Sudanese forest, intermingled with wetlands. Wildlife, in numbers unique for this region, includes (at the time of inscription) elephants, lions, leopards, chimpanzees, baboons, hippopotamuses and the derby eland.

Community Perspective: The park has been labelled “great” by our only reviewer so far, who visited in 2006 and 2008. More recently, however, the park has suffered from a severe loss in wildlife numbers due to poaching (IUCN Outlook 2020).

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Ben Potterton

UK - 25-Dec-09 -

Niokolokoba is a great reserve, I did'nt expect such a great range of species in Senegal. I have visited Simenti twice with West African Tours travelling from The Gambia once in 2006 and then again in 2008. On our second visit the species list included Leopard, Roan Antelope, Hippopotamus,Kob, Oribi, Waterbuck, Ground Hornbill, Black Crowned Crane, Saddle-billed Stork and Lion. We missed Hunting Dog and Chimpanzee (but we found fresh nests).

This park is a short / cheap flight from the UK and has great wildlife, some interesting villages and Simenti makes a great base.

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Site Info

Full Name
Niokolo-Koba National Park
Unesco ID
153
Country
Senegal
Inscribed
1981
Type
Natural
Criteria
10
Categories
Wildlife habitat - Fauna
Link
By ID

Site History

2024 Removed from Danger list

2007 In Danger

Critically low mammal populations, the ongoing management problems and the impacts of the proposed new dam on the Gambia river a few kilometres upstream of the park

1981 Inscribed

Site Links

Unesco Website
Niokolo-Koba National Park
Official Website

Official website of the guide organization at Niokolo

Related

Mammalwatching trip report from 2018

In the News

Towards the removal of Niokolo-Koba National Park from the List of World Heritage in Danger: UNESCO supports Senegal’s National Parks Department (2024.04.18)

Rare Wildlife Images From Niokolo Koba National Park Give Birth To New Hope (2021.06.11)

Niokolo Koba Park in peril (2009.11.25)

Locations

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Niokolo-Koba National Park

Connections

The site has

Damaged
'Threatened' by Dams: Sambangalou Dam
Poaching: considerable poaching of elephants.
Ecology
Chimpanzee habitat: "Other endangered species present include chimpanzees..." (AB ev); 626 chimpanzee nests found at Mt. Assirik (2024)
Eagles: Martial eagle and Bateleur eagle (wiki)
Reintroduced Species: "The elephants are a recent reintroduction, after an earlier herd of several hundred was killed off." from IUCN
Elephants: African elephant
Turtles and tortoises: four tortoise species
Crocodiles: all three African crocodiles and dwarf crododile
Strepsirrhini: Senegal bushbaby, potto
Lions: Not enough data for estimation of Lion population, but "93 observations involving 253 lion sightings were made by NKNP guides and their clients over a period of four and a half years in the central tourist area of the Park which represents about 3% of the total area of NKNP." (see link)
Over 300 bird species: 329 (Crit X)
Hippos: "6000 hippopotamuses" (wiki)
African Wild Dog: "The West African wild dog used to be widespread from western to central Africa, from Senegal to Nigeria. Now only two subpopulations survive: one in the Niokolo-Koba National Park of Senegal and the other in the W National Park of Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. It is estimated that 70 adult individuals are left in the wild" (Wiki)
Geography
On National Border: On Guinea border
Contiguous National Sites: Bassari Country (Bassari Salémata), via the buffer area, with Niokolo-Koba National Park
WHS Names
Named after a River: Niokolo-Koba River
WHS on Other Lists
World Biosphere Reserves: Niokolo-Koba (1981)
World Heritage Forest Programme
IUCN Conservation Outlook Assessment Critical
Plant WHS not in a CPD: "The wealth of habitats should be noted, along with the diversity of flora, with over 1,500 important plant species." (OUV)
World Heritage Process
Inscribed on a single criterion only: x. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including those containing threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation.
Former In Danger List sites: 2007-2024

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The Plaque

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