Batéké Plateau National Park

National Park in Gabon

2°11′17″S 14°01′12″E / 2.188°S 14.02°E / -2.188; 14.02^[1]Area2,034 km² (785 sq mi)Established2002Governing bodyNational Agency for National Parks

Batéké Plateau National Park (French: Parc National des Plateaux Batéké) is a national park on the Bateke Plateau,^[1] southeastern Gabon covering 2,034 km² (785 sq mi). Due to its purported universal cultural and natural significance, it was added onto the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 20, 2005.

The Bateke Plateau Forest Savanna depicts the landscape of Central Africa. This national park harbours a rich biodiversity.^[2]

Fauna

In 2015, a single male lion was recorded in the park. Genetic analysis of his hair samples revealed that he is closely related to historical lion specimens from this area and the neighbouring Republic of the Congo, which grouped with Panthera leo melanochaita samples from Namibia and Botswana.^[3]

Commercial hunting on the plateau in order to satisfy the markets in Congo and Gabon, especially large mammals, is a significant threat to the local fauna.^[4]

References

^ ^a ^b "Plateaux Batéké in Gabon". protectedplanet.net. Archived from the original on 2014-01-04. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
^ "Bateke Plateaux Landscape". congo.wcs.org. Retrieved 2020-09-07.
^ Barnett, R.; Sinding, M.H.; Vieira, F.G.; Mendoza, M.L.; Bonnet, M.; Araldi, A.; Kienast, I.; Zambarda, A.; Yamaguchi, N.; Henschel, P. & Gilbert, M.T. (2018). "No longer locally extinct? Tracing the origins of a lion (Panthera leo) living in Gabon". Conservation Genetics. 19 (3): 611–618. doi:10.1007/s10592-017-1039-2. PMC 6448349. PMID 31007636.
^ "Bateke Plateaux Landscape". Congo Wildlife Conservation Society. Retrieved 2020-09-07.

External links

Wildlife Conservation Society
Virtual Tour of the National Parks
Parc national des Plateaux Batéké - UNESCO World Heritage Centre Retrieved on 2009-03-19.

National Parks of Gabon