Borana National Park
| Borana National Park | |
|---|---|
  Location in Ethiopia | |
| Location | Borena Zone of Oromia Region and Liben Zone of Somali Region, Ethiopia |
| Coordinates | 04°07′N 38°34′E / 4.117°N 38.567°E |
| Area | 45,366 km2 (17,516 sq mi) |
| Established | 2017 |
| Governing body | Oromia Forest & Wildlife Enterprise (OFWA) |
Borana National Park (also known as Borena National Park) is a national park in southern Ethiopia. The national park was established in 2017 and is one of Ethiopia's largest protected areas.[1][2]
Geography
Borana National Park is located in southern Ethiopia. It covers an area of 45,366 km2.[1] The park lies at the southern edge of the Ethiopian Highlands. It is bounded on the south by the Kenya–Ethiopia border. It adjoins Chelbi Wildlife Reserve to the west, and Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary to the north.
The park is home to Booqee Sadeen, three volcanic crater lakes, providing access to mineral water and salt varieties for the locals and is also the main tourist attraction.[3]
Wildlife
Flora
Most of the park areas are covered in dry bushlands, thickets, and grasslands which are part of the Somali Acacia–Commiphora bushlands and thickets ecoregion.[4] The Ethiopian montane forests ecoregion extends into the north-central portion of the park and includes Afromontane regions, dry evergreen trees, juniper trees, and open savannas.[4]
Fauna
Borana National Park is home to at least 40 species of mammals. The park is uniquely known for providing sanctuary for two separate species of zebras that are found within grasslands and woodland areas of Sarite block: the abundantly rare Plain zebras and the endangered Grevy's zebras. Other mammals that are rarely found in Borana National Park include lesser kudus, greater kudus, black-backed jackals, Beisa oryxes, gerenuks, warthogs, Soemmerring's gazelles, and Grant's gazelles. The herds of Swayne's hartebeest once thrived here but were extirpated from these regions. [5][2]
Similar to Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary, Borana National Park provides multiple bird species that are recorded at least 280 species. Ethiopian bushcrows, white-tailed swallows, Prince Ruspoli’s turacoes, and black-fronted spurfowls are four endemic species found within the park that are considered endangered. Other birds include ostriches, short-tailed larks, Pringle's puffbacks, northern grey tits, eastern yellow-billed hornbill, Abyssinian grosbeak-canaries, vulturine guineafowl, Somali sparrows, black-capped social weavers, Donaldson Smith's nightjars, star-spotted nightjars, grey-headed social weavers, magpie starlings, little spotted woodpeckers, grey-headed silverbills, and tawny pipits are found within Borana National Park. [2]
Conservation
The area was formerly designated a controlled hunting zone and was redesignated as a national park in 2017. The park is administered by the Oromia Forest & Wildlife Enterprise (OFWA) of the Oromia Region government along with Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Authority (EWCA).[1]
References
- ^ a b c d UNEP-WCMC (2022). Protected Area Profile for Arsi Mountains from the World Database of Protected Areas. Accessed 28 February 2022. [1]
- ^ a b c Nigatu, Tesfaye. (2016). POTENTIALITY ASSESSMENT FOR ECOTOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN DIDA HARA CONSERVATION SITE OF BORANA NATIONAL PARK, ETHIOPIA. International Journal of Tourism & Hospitality Reviews. 3. 45. 10.18510/ijthr.2016.314.
- ^ Bassi, Marco & Tache, Boku. (2008). The Borana conserved landscape, Ethiopia. 10.5281/zenodo.1168280.
- ^ a b "Borana". DOPA Explorer. Accessed 3 March 2022. [2]
- ^ Editor, I. J. S. E. S., & Qanchoro, J. (2020). Factors Influencing of Pastoralist Perceptions towards Wildlife Conservation in Borana National Park, Southern, Ethiopia. Ijses.