Wildlife of Côte d'Ivoire
Encyclopedia
The wildlife of the Côte d'Ivoire
is composed of its flora
and fauna
.
is widespread. Still farther north, oil palm, acacia
, breadfruit
, and baobab
characterize the transition to true savanna
, where shea nut and traveler’s palm are common.
The jackal
, hyena
, panther
, elephant
, hippopotamus
, numerous monkey
s, and many other mammals are widely distributed. Crocodile
s and chameleon
s, as well as venomous serpents (horned viper
s, mamba
s, and many others) and pythons, are numerous. Among indigenous birds are vulture
s, cranes
, pigeons, turtle dove
s, parrot
s, and heron
s. Venomous spider
s and scorpion
s are abound. As of 2002, there were at least 230 species of mammals, 252 species of birds, and over 3,600 species of plants throughout the country.
Côte d'Ivoire
The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be...
is composed of its flora
Flora
Flora is the plant life occurring in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring or indigenous—native plant life. The corresponding term for animals is fauna.-Etymology:...
and fauna
Fauna
Fauna or faunæ is all of the animal life of any particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is flora.Zoologists and paleontologists use fauna to refer to a typical collection of animals found in a specific time or place, e.g. the "Sonoran Desert fauna" or the "Burgess shale fauna"...
.
Overview
The southern Côte d'Ivoire forest is a typical rain forest; it has a canopy at around 21–24 m, with isolated trees pushing up above 37 m. Farther north, the rain forest gives way to scattered stands of deciduous trees, and mahoganyMahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
is widespread. Still farther north, oil palm, acacia
Acacia
Acacia is a genus of shrubs and trees belonging to the subfamily Mimosoideae of the family Fabaceae, first described in Africa by the Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus in 1773. Many non-Australian species tend to be thorny, whereas the majority of Australian acacias are not...
, breadfruit
Breadfruit
Breadfruit is a species of flowering tree in the mulberry family, Moraceae, growing throughout Southeast Asia and most Pacific Ocean islands...
, and baobab
Baobab
Adansonia is a genus of eight species of tree, six native to Madagascar, one native to mainland Africa and the Arabian Peninsula and one to Australia. The mainland African species also occurs on Madagascar, but it is not a native of that island....
characterize the transition to true savanna
Savanna
A savanna, or savannah, is a grassland ecosystem characterized by the trees being sufficiently small or widely spaced so that the canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to reach the ground to support an unbroken herbaceous layer consisting primarily of C4 grasses.Some...
, where shea nut and traveler’s palm are common.
The jackal
Jackal
Although the word jackal has been historically used to refer to many small- to medium-sized species of the wolf genus of mammals, Canis, today it most properly and commonly refers to three species: the black-backed jackal and the side-striped jackal of sub-Saharan Africa, and the golden jackal of...
, hyena
Hyena
Hyenas or Hyaenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae of suborder feliforms of the Carnivora. It is the fourth smallest biological family in the Carnivora , and one of the smallest in the mammalia...
, panther
Panthera
Panthera is a genus of the family Felidae , which contains four well-known living species: the tiger, the lion, the jaguar, and the leopard. The genus comprises about half of the Pantherinae subfamily, the big cats...
, elephant
Elephant
Elephants are large land mammals in two extant genera of the family Elephantidae: Elephas and Loxodonta, with the third genus Mammuthus extinct...
, hippopotamus
Hippopotamus
The hippopotamus , or hippo, from the ancient Greek for "river horse" , is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae After the elephant and rhinoceros, the hippopotamus is the third largest land mammal and the heaviest...
, numerous monkey
Monkey
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys...
s, and many other mammals are widely distributed. Crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s and chameleon
Chameleon
Chameleons are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a...
s, as well as venomous serpents (horned viper
Horned viper
Horned viper may refer to:* Cerastes , North African desert vipers, a group of small, venomous species found in the deserts and semi-deserts of northern North Africa eastward through Arabia and Iran...
s, mamba
Mamba
Mambas, of the genus Dendroaspis , are a group of highly venomous, fast-moving land-dwelling snakes of Africa. They belong to the family of Elapidae which includes cobras, coral snakes, taipans, brown snakes, tiger snakes, death adders, kraits and, debatably, sea snakes...
s, and many others) and pythons, are numerous. Among indigenous birds are vulture
Vulture
Vulture is the name given to two groups of convergently evolved scavenging birds, the New World Vultures including the well-known Californian and Andean Condors, and the Old World Vultures including the birds which are seen scavenging on carcasses of dead animals on African plains...
s, cranes
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
, pigeons, turtle dove
Turtle Dove
The European Turtle Dove , also known as Turtle Dove, is a member of the bird family Columbidae, which includes the doves and pigeons.-Distribution & Status:...
s, parrot
Parrot
Parrots, also known as psittacines , are birds of the roughly 372 species in 86 genera that make up the order Psittaciformes, found in most tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three families: the Psittacidae , the Cacatuidae and the Strigopidae...
s, and heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
s. Venomous spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae with fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s and scorpion
Scorpion
Scorpions are predatory arthropod animals of the order Scorpiones within the class Arachnida. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by the pair of grasping claws and the narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back, ending with a venomous stinger...
s are abound. As of 2002, there were at least 230 species of mammals, 252 species of birds, and over 3,600 species of plants throughout the country.
Bovind
- Jentink's DuikerJentink's DuikerJentink's Duiker, Cephalophus jentinki, also known as Gidi-Gidi in Krio and Kaikulowulei in Mende, is a forest-dwelling duiker found in the southern parts of Liberia, south-western Côte d'Ivoire, and scattered enclaves in Sierra Leone...
- Zebra DuikerZebra DuikerThe Zebra Duiker is a small antelope found in Ivory Coast, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia.Zebra Duikers have gold or red-brown coats with distinctive zebra-like stripes, dark markings on their upper legs and russet faces. They grow to 90 centimetres in length, 45 centimetres in height and weigh...
- Maxwell's DuikerMaxwell's DuikerMaxwell's Duiker , is a small antelope found in western Africa.They grow to 30 inches in length with a typical shoulder height of 14.5–16 inches and weigh around 11 pounds . Its coat is either grey-brown or grey, with a white underbelly and white markings on its face...
- Bay DuikerBay DuikerThe Bay Duiker is a forest dwelling Duiker found in Gabon, southern Cameroon and northern Congo as well as Sierra Leone, Liberia, and the southern parts of Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana and Benin...
- Purple-backed Duiker
- Bongo (antelope)Bongo (antelope)The western or lowland bongo, Tragelaphus eurycerus eurycerus, is a herbivorous, mostly nocturnal forest ungulate and among the largest of the African forest antelope species....
- African BuffaloAfrican BuffaloThe African buffalo, affalo, nyati, Mbogo or Cape buffalo is a large African bovine. It is not closely related to the slightly larger wild Asian water buffalo, but its ancestry remains unclear...
Primate
- Diana MonkeyDiana MonkeyThe Diana monkey is an Old World monkey found in West Africa, from Sierra Leone to Côte d'Ivoire.The Diana monkey ranges from 40 to 55 cm in length, excluding its tail, which is of a uniform 3–4 cm diameter and 50–75 cm long. Adults weigh between 4–7 kg...
- Mona MonkeyMona MonkeyThe mona monkey is an Old World monkey that lives throughout western Africa. The mona monkey can also be found on the island of Grenada as it was transported to the island aboard slave ships headed to the New World during the 18th century. This guenon lives in groups of up to 35 in arboreal regions...
- Olive ColobusOlive ColobusThe olive colobus or Van Beneden's colobus is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in tropical West Africa, ranging from Sierra Leone to Nigeria. Its natural habitats are second growth within tall forests, palm forests and swamps...
- GalagoGalagoGalagos , also known as bushbabies, bush babies or nagapies , are small, nocturnal primates native to continental Africa, and make up the family Galagidae...
- PottoPottoThe potto is a strepsirrhine primate from the Lorisidae family. It is the only species in genus Perodicticus...
- Sooty MangabeySooty MangabeyThe sooty mangabey is an Old World monkey found in forests from Senegal east to Ghana. It is famous for being believed to be the monkey that HIV-2 might have originated in before jumping species...
- King ColobusKing ColobusThe king colobus , also known as the western black-and-white colobus, is a species of Old World monkey, found in lowland and mountain rain forests in a region stretching between Gambia and Côte d'Ivoire within Africa. It eats mainly leaves, but also fruits and flowers. Though it is arboreal, it...
- Lesser Spot-nosed MonkeyLesser Spot-nosed MonkeyThe lesser spot-nosed monkey, lesser spot-nosed guenon, lesser white-nosed guenon, or lesser white-nosed monkey is a species of primate in the Cercopithecidae family. It is found in Benin, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Togo, possibly Gambia, possibly Guinea-Bissau, and...
- Greater Spot-nosed MonkeyGreater Spot-nosed MonkeyThe greater spot-nosed monkey or Putty-nosed monkey is one of the smallest Old World monkeys. It is a guenon of the C. mitis group, native to West Africa and living to some extent in rain forests but more often in the transition zone between rain forest and savannah. It is primarily arboreal and...
- Western Red ColobusWestern Red ColobusThe western red colobus is a species of Old World monkey found in West African forests from Senegal to Ghana. All other species of red colobuses have formerly been considered subspecies of P. badius. It is often hunted by the common chimpanzee...
- Common ChimpanzeeCommon ChimpanzeeThe common chimpanzee , also known as the robust chimpanzee, is a great ape. Colloquially, the common chimpanzee is often called the chimpanzee , though technically this term refers to both species in the genus Pan: the common chimpanzee and the closely related bonobo, formerly called the pygmy...