Waza National Park
| Waza National Park | |
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IUCN Category II (National Park)
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 Elephants in Waza National Park. |
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| Location | Far North Province, Cameroon |
| Coordinates | 11°20′N 14°44′E / 11.333°N 14.733°ECoordinates: 11°20′N 14°44′E / 11.333°N 14.733°E |
| Area | 1,700 km² |
| Established | 1934 |
| Governing body | Cameroon Ministry of Environment and the Protection of Nature. |
Waza National Park (French: Parc national de Waza) is a national park in Far North Region, Cameroon.[1] It was founded in 1934, albeit as a hunting reserve, and covers a total of 1,700 km².[2] The park became a National Park in 1968, and a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 1979.[3] It is adjacent to the Chingurmi-Duguma sector of the Nigerian Chad Basin National Park.[4]
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[edit] Management
The park is managed by the Conservation Service of the Waza National Park, part of the Cameroon Ministry of Environment and the Protection of Nature.[1] In 1983, the park had a staff of twenty-five rangers;[2] however, as of 2005, that number had dropped to seven, and poachers from Chad, Nigeria, and Cameroon itself were reported to have gone on a "rampage for the Park’s resources."[1] Also in 2005 the Netherlands World Conservation Union Committee agreed to pay for an additional sixteen "eco-rangers" who would assist the regular ones.[1]
[edit] Wildlife
Waza harbours still a dwindling population of lions. A recent survey counted only 14-21 of these big cats[5] Waza is also home for elephants and in particular for one of the last populations of the Kordofan Giraffe (G. c. antiquorum).[6] Kob-antelopes have increased to 5000 in the 1990s since a strong decline in the 1980s. Other large ungulates are warthog, roan, red-fronted gazelle and korrigum[7][8]. There are 379 species of birds in the park; among the birds that have been sighted are Marbled Duck, Ferruginous Duck, Greater Spotted Eagle, Lesser Kestrel, Nubian Bustard, Quail-plover, Arabian Bustard, and Ostrich.[3]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d MacAllister, Mark. "June 2005 Waza Anti-Poaching Report". Field Trip Earth. North Carolina Zoological Society. http://www.fieldtripearth.org/article.xml?id=1189. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ a b "World Conservation Monitoring Centre". 1983. http://www.biologie.uni-hamburg.de/b-online/afrika/wcmc/waza.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ a b "Waza National Park (Important Birds Areas of Cameroon)". World Bird Database. BirdLife International. 2005. http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/sites/index.html?action=SitHTMDetails.asp&sid=6106&m=0. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
- ^ "Chad Basin National Park". Nigeria National Park Service. http://nigeriaparkservice.org/chad/Default.aspx. Retrieved 2010-11-03.
- ^ P. N. Tumenta, J. S. Kok, J. C. van Rijssel, R. Buij, B. M. Croes, P. J. Funston, H. H. de Iongh and H. A. Udo de Haes (2009).Threat of rapid extermination of the lion (Panthera leo leo) in Waza National Park, Northern Cameroon. Afr, J. Ecol. 1-7
- ^ Hassanin, A., A. Ropiquet, A. L. Gourmand, B. Chardonnet and J. Rigoulet (2007). Mitochondrial DNA variability in Giraffa camelopardalis: consequences for taxonomy, phylogeography and conservation of giraffes in West and central Africa. C. R. Biologies 330: 265–274.
- ^ Paul Scholte, Saleh Adam and Bobo Kadiri Serge: Population trends of antelopes in Waza National Park (Cameroon) from 1960 to 2001: the interacting effects of rainfall, flooding and human interventions. African Journal of Ecology Volume 45 Issue 3, Pages 431 - 439. online
- ^ Sathaye, Ruta. "WCP Intern Report". http://www.ufic.ufl.edu/wcpinterns/ruta.htm. Retrieved 2007-01-28.
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