Cross-River-Nationalpark
The Cross River National Park ( en.: Cross River National Park ( CRNP ) ) is located in south-eastern Nigeria and covers an area of 4,000 km ² in the state of Cross River. It consists of two geographically separate protection zones, the Oban - sector and the Okwangwo sector. These include the last contiguous lowland rainforest areas of Nigeria, which reach a height of 40 to 50 meters above the ground. Investigations revealed that this rainforest has a evolutionary history of 60 million years. Both sectors of the national park form with the national parks in Cameroon each biosphere corridors and these are referred to as biodiversity hotspots.
Counts of the flora and fauna revealed that 119 species of mammals, 49 species of fish and 950 species of butterflies live in the two sectors of the national park. Of particular importance is the National Park for the protection of primates in Nigeria since 18 of the 23 known species in Nigeria live within the park boundaries.
Can be achieved in both areas over the highway A4, Calabar - Ikom, or via the Cross River.
Oban sector
The Oban sector covers an area of approximately 3,000 square kilometers and lies on the border with Cameroon and forms with the Korup National Park a biosphere corridor. This is since 1995 under the title Oban Hills / Korup on the suggestion list for inclusion in the UNESCO World Heritage. This sector is divided into two administrative regions, Oban Oban East and West. The terrain of the sector is determined by the topography of the Oban Hills. They are described as hilly to mountainous, reaching up to 1,000 meters above sea level. The northern part of the sector is in the water catchment area of the Cross River, the southern part of the catchment area of the rivers Calabar, Kwa and Korup. The rainy season lasts from March to November and reached its peak in the summer months, with the arrival of the West African monsoon. There are in this area is approximately 3,500 mm of precipitation annually.
The flora of the Oban - sector comprises 1,568 different species of vascular plants, of which 77 are endemic in Nigeria. The vegetation is dominated by a rain forest where the tree species Berlinia confusa, Coula edulis, Hannoa klaineana, Klainedoxa gabonensis, Khaya ivorensis and Lophira alata are the dominant species. The sector is also rich in epiphytic ferns and orchids.
From the mammals come under another of the forest elephant before (Loxodonta cyclotis ), chimpanzees (Pan), the drill ( Mandrillus leucophaeus ), the Nigeria - foot blue monkey ( Cercopithecus sclateri ) and the Preuss Colobus ( Piliocolobus preussi ). From the avifauna of about 349 species occur. The sector is an important refuge of Rachel Weber ( Malimbus racheliae ) Graukehlschnäppers ( Myioparus griseigularis ), Eastern Haarbülbül ( Criniger chloronotus ) Xavierbülbül ( Phyllastrephus xavieri ) Fledermausaars ( Macheiramphus alcinus ), black armpit eagle (Aquila africanus), Crested Guineafowl ( Guttera pucherani ), eye Rail ( Canirallus oculeus ) Olivkuckuck ( Cercococcyx olivinus ) Gelbwangentrogon ( Apaloderma equatorial ) and the lyre -tailed honey seller ( Melichneutes robustus ).
Okwangwo sector
6 ° 17 '0 "N, 9 ° 14 ' 0" O6.28333333333339.2333333333333
The Okwangwo sector is about 50 km north-east of Oban sector in the Sankwala and the Mbe mountains. The sector occupies an area of about 1,000 km ² and forms with the Afi Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary, Mbe Mountains Community Wildlife Sanctuary and National Park in Cameroon demTakamanda a biosphere corridor. The terrain of the sector is mountainous, reaching heights of up to 1,700 meters in the north and 1,000 feet above sea level in the southwest. In this area, the sources of the rivers Oyi, Bemisia and Okon, all tributaries of the Cross River, are. The annual rainfall can be up to 4,280 mm, with a distinct separation between the rainy and dry seasons there.
The flora in this sector includes 1,545 registered vascular plants of different families, of which the korupensis Anceistocladus Prunus africana and of particular importance in the medical treatment of immune deficiency disease AIDS and prostate cancer. The vegetation is dominated by large-scale lowland rain forests and grass savannas. It was found and described in the recent years, new types of plants is repeated in this sector. For the local population about 75 plant species have an economic or medical importance.
The sector is an important refuge of the Cross River gorilla (Gorilla gorilla diehli ) and the Buntkopf rock Hüpfers ( Picathartes oreas ), both of which are threatened with extinction.