Description

Niokolo-Koba National Park, situated in Senegal, was created as a hunting reserve in 1926. It became a forest reserve in 1951, a fauna reserve in 1953 and a national park in 1954.
Finally, in 1981 the park became internationally recognised as a World Heritage Site.

The Niokolo-Koba National park, which covers more than 900 000 ha, offers a rich and varied landscape. It is a relatively flat region, with a few small hills, like Mount Assirik (311m). The park is a habitat for almost all of the vegetation and fauna species found within the Western African savannahs. The vegetation is diverse and is composed of savannas, gallery forests, lakes and swamps. In fact, "Niokolo" means river and "Koba" means antelope.

The rich fauna includes Derby elands, lions, chimpanzees, leopards, a large population of elephants, as well as many birds, reptiles and amphibians.