Bamingui-Bangoran National Park

Bamingui-Bangoran National Park occupies the far north of the Central African Republic close to the border with Chad, in a region where the Sudanian savanna zone transitions into the Sahel. The landscape is a mixture of broad savanna plains, dense gallery forests along the seasonal Bamingui and Bangoran rivers, and rocky outcrops that break the horizon to the east.

The park was established in 1993 and covers approximately 10,700 square kilometres, making it one of the largest protected areas in CAR. Its primary significance lies in the populations of large mammals that survive here, including elephants that move seasonally between the gallery forests and the open plains, African buffalo herds, hippos in the permanent river pools, and the Kordofan giraffe which has a very limited distribution across this central Sahel band.

The landscape is a mixture of broad savanna plains, dense gallery forests along the seasonal Bamingui and Bangoran rivers, and rocky outcrops that break the horizon to the east. The gallery forests form a distinct habitat within the park, supporting species not found in the open savanna.

The rivers that cross the park are seasonal, with the Bamingui and Bangoran rivers flowing from approximately July to December and shrinking to a series of isolated pools for the rest of the year. These pools during the dry season are the most reliable places to find wildlife, as the animals concentrate around the remaining water sources.

The gallery forests along the river courses are distinct from the surrounding savanna and support a different set of species, including several primate species and a rich bird fauna. The contrast between the open savanna and the dense riverine forest within a short walking distance is one of the most distinctive ecological features of the park.

The gallery forests of Bamingui-Bangoran are among the least-documented habitats in CAR. These narrow strips of dense forest along the seasonal rivers support species that are not found in the surrounding savanna, including several species of colobus and the African palm civet.

The gallery forests of Bamingui-Bangoran are one of the least-documented habitats in CAR. These narrow strips of dense forest along the seasonal rivers support species that are not found in the surrounding savanna, including several species of colobus and the African palm civet. Botanical surveys of the park have recorded tree species that are endemic to this part of the Sudanian zone.

The seasonal flooding of the Bamingui and Bangoran rivers creates a dynamic habitat that changes dramatically between the wet and dry seasons. In the wet season, the floodplain becomes a vast wetland; in the dry season it contracts to isolated pools that become the focus of all wildlife activity. This annual cycle is what sustains the large mammal populations that the park was created to protect.

The park encompasses a large expanse of Sudanian savanna and gallery forest in northern CAR, representing an ecological zone with limited formal protection elsewhere in the country.

The gallery forest habitats along the seasonal Bamingui and Bangoran rivers support species assemblages distinct from the surrounding savanna.

The seasonal floodplain dynamics of the river system create a habitat cycle that sustains the large mammal populations for which the park was established.