Wildlife of Senegal

[1] The northern half of the country has an arid or semi-arid climate and is largely desert while south of the Gambia River the rainfall is higher and the terrain consists of savannah grassland and forest.

[5] The Niokolo-Koba National Park is a World Heritage Site and large natural protected area in southeastern Senegal near the Guinea-Bissau border.

The drier parts are dominated by the African kino tree and Combretum glutinosum, while the gallery forests beside rivers and streams (many of which dry up seasonally) are largely formed from Erythrophleum guineense and Pseudospondias microcarpa, interspersed with palms and bamboo clumps.

[7] Many of the larger animals of Senegal that used to have a widespread distribution have suffered from loss of habitat, persecution by farmers, and hunting for bushmeat, and are now largely restricted to the national park.

[4] The western subspecies of the giant eland is critically endangered, the only remaining known population being in the Niokolo-Koba National Park; the rapid decline in numbers of this antelope has been attributed to poaching.

[4] Some birds that nest and breed in the delta include the great white pelican, lesser flamingo, the marbled duck, African spoonbill, purple heron, black crowned crane, and others.

[13] Some birds that breed or winter in the park include the royal tern, the greater flamingo, the Eurasian spoonbill, the curlew sandpiper, the ruddy turnstone and the little stint.