Toubkal National Park
The Toubkal National Park (Arabic منتزه وطني توبقال, DMG Muntazah Watani Tūbqāl ) is a national park in Morocco. It was founded in 1942 as the first national park in the country. The park is 380 km ² in size, is located in the High Atlas Mountains and is home to the highest mountain in Morocco and throughout North Africa, the 4,167 m high Mount Toubkal. The area is inhabited by Berbers, who use the area in a kind of pastoral farming. The national park was created to protect the natural resources of the Alpine region, but especially because of the high biodiversity of flora and fauna, including the mane jumpers and the Cuviergazelle.
Fauna
In the area of national parks live about 16 species of mammals, including Barbary sheep, Cuviergazelle, Barbary Macaque, Porcupine, Striped Hyena and Atlashörnchen. Previously, this was also the home of the Berber leopards, but this was not seen here for decades.
The avifauna is dominated by the bird fauna of the Palaearctic region. About 50 species of birds (eg following raptors: bearded vulture, winged kite, Lanner falcon, desert hawk, golden eagle, booted eagle, Bonelli's eagle and serpent eagle), red-knobbed coot, rock chicken, house sailors, Red-rumped Swallow, White-throated Dipper, Rotkopfwürger, Horned Lark, Alpine accentor, Diademrotschwanz, Rotflügelgimpel, House Bunting, Chough and Alpine Chough occur.
Once the home of the Barbary lion, this national park might also be its new home. Descendants of various lions are examined by DNA in their ancestry back. The most promising candidates are then fed into a breeding program. The final phase involves ultimately a reintroduction into a national park in the High Atlas before.
Flora
The climate in the national park is determined by its height, the Atlantic and the Sahara. About 15% of the national park is covered with forest.
The northern, more humid slopes are covered with maquis and forest. Here holm oak, Aleppo pine and juniper occur. In the higher position mainly prevails juniper, which merges into alpine meadows, pseudo- steppe vegetation and finally into rubble. The alpine zone occupies about 20 % of the national park in claim here include wild daffodils, bluebells, geese Kressen, broom, thistles, dwarf eyebright, Procumbent cherry, heron beaks and medics found. The southern slopes of the massif are drier than the northern, accordingly, these are forested also less. Here dominates the juniper, which alternates with Artemisia and Pfriemengräser. The numerous river valleys, where it allows rich flora, which are dominated by oleanders, willows, black and silver poplar, oak, Portuguese oak and hawthorn Crataegus monogyna.