Wildlife of Sierra Leone

Tiwai Island River

The wildlife of Sierra Leone is very diverse due to the variety of different habitats within the country. Sierra Leone is home to approximately 2090 known higher plant species, 147 known species of mammals, 172 known breeding bird species, 67 known reptile species, 35 known amphibian species and 99 known species of fish.[1]

Mammals

Young chimpanzees
See also: List of mammals of Sierra Leone

There are approximately 147 known species of wild mammals within Sierra Leone.[1] Members of fourteen orders of placental mammals inhabit Sierra Leone. The endangered pygmy hippopotamus has territories around the islands on the Moa River and is widespread in the Gola Forest area.[2] There are three species of wild pig that occur across Sierra Leone: the wart hog, the giant forest hog and the red river hog.

Sierra Leone has 15 identified species of primates that include bushbaby, monkeys and a great ape, the common chimpanzee which is Sierra Leone's largest primate.[3] Chimpanzees are found across the country with the 2010 chimpanzee census estimated a wild population in excess of 5500 more than double the number previously thought to live in the country.[4] This is the second largest population of the endangered subspecies of western chimpanzee, after Guinea,[5] with the largest density in the Loma area, 2.69 individuals per km2, and the Outamba, with 1.21 individuals per km2.[6]

There are several species of whales and the African manatee in the waters of Sierra Leone. The manatee is an endangered species and lives in the rivers and estuaries of Sierra Leone especially around Bonthe.[7]

Mammals found in Sierra Leone include:

Birds

See also: List of birds of Sierra Leone
African harrier hawk

Sierra Leone has over 630 known species of bird ten of which are considered endangered including rufous fishing-owl and Gola malimbe.[8] On the coastal area there are several important sites for migratory ducks and wading birds from the Palearctic realm.[9]

Reptiles

There are 67 known species of reptiles, three of which are endangered, in Sierra Leone including several large reptiles. There are three species of crocodiles, the West African crocodile, the slender-snouted crocodile which lives in forest streams, dwarf crocodile found in mangrove swamps. All the species of sea turtles live in the waters of Sierra Leone with the green turtle and leatherback turtle laying eggs on the shores including on Sherbro Island and Turtle Island. Common species of lizard include the large Nile monitor, the agama seen around settlements, the Brook's house gecko often lives inside houses, and chamaeleos.[10]

Amphibians

As of 2009, the critically endangered Tai toad was discovered in the Gola Forest, which was thought to be endemic to Taï National Park in Ivory Coast.[11]

Fish

A snake eel is a marine fish only known from a single specimen found in the gut of another fish off the coast of Sierra Leone. The country also hosts a number of killifish in the genus Scriptaphyosemion as well as a number of freshwater catfish, including a species of electric catfish.[12]

Invertebrates

Main articles: List of moths of Sierra Leone and List of butterflies of Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has around 750 species of butterflies. Including one of the largest butterflies the giant African swallowtail the wingspan of which can be up to 25 cm.[13][14] In a study in 2011, 140 species of dragonflies and damselflies were found. It is estimated that this represents 80% of the species found in Sierra Leone.[15]

Flora

Wild plant types include the lowland moist and semi-deciduous forests, part of the Western Guinean lowland forests, inland valley swamps, wooded savannah, bolilands and mangrove swamps.[16] There are about 2,000 known species of plants with 74 species only occurring only in Sierra Leone.[9] Primary rainforest used to cover around 70% of Sierra Leone in the mid-2000s this had reduced to around 6%.[17] Common species include:

See also

  • Cotton Tree, a kapok tree that was a historic symbol of Freetown

References

  1. ^ a b EarthTrends (2003). "Biodiversity and Protected Areas-- Sierra Leone" (PDF). earthtrends.wri.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 October 2004. Retrieved 20 February 2011.
  2. ^ "Flora and fauna of Gola". The Gola Forest Project. Retrieved 22 February 2011.
  3. ^ Manson, Katrina; James Knight (2009). Sierra Leone. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 47–48. ISBN 978-1-84162-222-4.
  4. ^ Brncic, Terry M.; Amarasekaran, Bala; McKenna, Anita (2010), Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census (PDF), Freetown, Sierra Leone: Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, p. 8
  5. ^ Brncic, Terry M.; Amarasekaran, Bala; McKenna, Anita (2010), Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census (PDF), Freetown, Sierra Leone: Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, p. 103
  6. ^ Brncic, Terry M.; Amarasekaran, Bala; McKenna, Anita (2010), Sierra Leone National Chimpanzee Census (PDF), Freetown, Sierra Leone: Tacugama Chimpanzee Sanctuary, p. 95
  7. ^ Manson, Katrina; James Knight (2009). Sierra Leone. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-84162-222-4.
  8. ^ "Building Conservation Capacity in Sierra Leone". RSPB. Retrieved 21 February 2011.
  9. ^ a b Stuart, S. N.; Richard J. Adams; Martin Jenkins (1990). Biodiversity in sub-saharan Africa and its islands:conservation, management and sustainable use. IUCN. p. 19. ISBN 978-2-8317-0021-2.
  10. ^ Manson, Katrina; James Knight (2009). Sierra Leone. Bradt Travel Guides. pp. 54–55. ISBN 978-1-84162-222-4.
  11. ^ Gola Rainforest National Park. "Reptiles & Amphibians". Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  12. ^ Living National Treasures. "Sierra Leone". Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  13. ^ Allaby, Michael; Richard Garratt (2006). Tropical forests. Infobase Publishing. pp. 113–114. ISBN 978-0-8160-5322-3.
  14. ^ Manson, Katrina; James Knight (2009). Sierra Leone. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 56. ISBN 978-1-84162-222-4.
  15. ^ Gola Rainforest National Park. "Wildlife". Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  16. ^ Squire, Chris (2001), Sierra Leone's Biodiversity and the Civil War: A Case Study Prepared for the Biodiversity Support Program (PDF), Freetown, Sierra Leone: World Wildlife Fund, Washington, D.C.: Biodiversity Support Program., p. 8, retrieved 22 February 2011
  17. ^ Manson, Katrina; James Knight (2009). Sierra Leone. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 46. ISBN 978-1-84162-222-4.