Monday 25 June 2012

Yankari Game Reserve



Yankari game reserve is the premier game reserve in Nigeria. It is located around the Gagi River, approximately 1hour and 30mins by road from Bauchi City in Bauchi State, Nigeria. Established in 1956 the game reserve is one of the most popular game reserves in Nigeria. It was officially opened to the public in 1962 and covers 2,058 sq.km. of savanna wood ­land. Yankari Game Reserve is filled with Elephants, Baboons, Waterbucks, Bushbucks, Crocodiles, Hippopotamus, Roan Antelopes, Buffalo and various types of Monkeys. Lions are occasionally spotted as well, despite their natural cam­ouflage. The reserve has about 550 elephants, which makes it the largest home of Elephants in West Africa. The reserve features some interesting natural attractions like a cave, natural spring, wiki warm spring, the actual animal game reserve and parks.
Wikki Warm Springs is one of the best attractions of the game reserves, and is brilliantly flood-lit at night. It is wonderful after a hot day’s game-viewing to relax in the warm water. The spring gushes out under a cliff, where the water is 6 ft. deep; with a bathing area that extends 600 ft in width.
 Yankari Again: The Park has more than 50 species of mammals, a full list is provided below. Also, more than 350 living species of birds have been recovered in the park. There is also a variety of birds, including the huge Saddle Bill Stork, Goliath Heron, Bateleur Eagle, Vultures, Kingfishers, Bee-eaters and more.
Yankari has over 130 wells, all of which are interconnect. The settlement and the wells were once used as a resting place by the Trans Atlantics slave traders prior to the colonial period.
Other features include hills, Kalban Hill a flat top hill that gives tourists the opportunity to have a complete view of the park. Kanyo Hill provides a good view of the park and serves as a very beautiful picnic ground. Paliyaram Hill is a popular camp for poachers.    
       The game reserve also has a museum that houses wildlife trophies like skins, tusks, bones, horns and full mounts (stuffed specimen) of some wildlife game species of the park, an art known as taxidermy. The museum does not only serve as an attraction but also as an education centre for wildlife. Also, the relics of animals, hunting gears and traps retrieved from poachers are also on display.
Other facilities at the reserve include Tennis courts, squash courts, gas stations and accommodations with convenience stores at Wikki Camp. Yankari game reserve is a place you must see, it cannot be fully described in words.
 
Full List of Yankari Game Reserve Animals:
Elephant, Loxodouta African, Baboon, Papio Anubis, Patas Monkey, Erythcebus patas, Tantalus Monkey, Cercopithecus tantalus, Roan antelope, Hippotragus equines. Others are western Hartebeest, Alcephaplus buselaphus, Lion,Panthera leo, Buffalo, Syncenus Caffer, Waterbuck, Kobus  defassa, Bush-buck, Tragelaphus scriptus and Hippopotamus, Hippotamus amphibious.
 

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