Gambela National Park

Gambela
Location in Ethiopia
Location	Gambela Region, Ethiopia
Coordinates	8°0′N 34°0′E / 8.000°N 34.000°ECoordinates: 8°0′N 34°0′E / 8.000°N 34.000°E
Area	5061 km^2

Gambela National Park is a proposed national park, but the steps needed to fully protect it by the government of Ethiopia have not been completed as of 2002. Located in the Gambela Region, its 5061 square kilometers of territory is encroached upon by cotton plantations and refugee camps.

The general topography of the park is flat, with some areas of higher ground where deciduous woodland and savanna occur; these higher areas are often rocky with large termite mounds. About 66% of the area is considered shrubland, 15% is forest, while 17% has been modified by man. Gambela National Park also supports extensive areas of wet grassland and swamps where the native grasses grow over 3 metres in height.^[1]

The Gambela Park was established primarily to protect two species of endangered wetland antelopes: the white-eared kob and the Nile lechwe. Other wildlife reported as living here include populations of African elephants, African buffalo, Masai lion, African leopards, Sudan cheetahs, Nubian giraffe, roan antelope, tiang, Lelwel hartebeest, olive baboon, and guereza monkey. Several birds only found in this area include the shoebill stork, the long-tailed paradise whydah and the red-throated and green bee-eaters.^[2]

See also

• List of national parks of Ethiopia

Notes

1. "Important Bird Area factsheet: Gambella National Park, Ethiopia", BirdLife International website (accessed 1 September 2009)
2. Philip Briggs, Ethiopia: The Bradt Travel Guide, 3rd edition (Chalfont St Peters: Bradt, 2002), p. 492

External links

• The National Park of Ethiopia: Gambella Region and National Park (Addis Tribune)