The Ankasa Conservation Area is located in southwestern Ghana, approximately 365 kilometers west of Accra, near the border with Côte d'Ivoire. It encompasses the Nini Suhien National Park to the north and the Ankasa Forest Reserve to the south.
Geography and environment The park is approximately 500 square kilometers and consists largely of tropical evergreen rainforest. The Ankasa Conservation Area is the only wildlife protected area in Ghana that is located in the wet evergreen tropical high rainforest belt.
The Ankasa, Nini, and Suhien Rivers all pass through the park and are known for their rapids and waterfalls. The forest has the most biological diversity of any in Ghana, with over 800 vascular plant species, 639 butterfly species, and more than 190 bird species. Animal life includes the elephan, bongo, leopard, western chimpanzee, Diana monkey, and other primates. Apart from the forest reserve, which was selectively logged until 1976, the rest of the protected area is almost intact.
The Ankasa reserve, along with the Nini-Sushien National Park, has been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of many bird species.
Access The park hosts viable populations of large and charismatic wildlife. The table below contains the list of wildlife found in the park. CategorySpeciesNotesMammalForest ElephantEndangeredMammalLeopardRare predatorMammalBongoForest antelopeMammalYellow-backed DuikerLargest duikerMammalMaxwell's DuikerSmall antelopeMammalBlack DuikerForest antelopeMammalWhite-naped Sooty MangabeyEndangered primateMammalDiana MonkeyRare monkeyMammalGeoffroy's Pied ColobusRare colobusMammalWestern Chimpanzee*ReportedMammalGiant PangolinThreatenedMammalGiant Forest HogLargest wild pigBirdWhite-breasted GuineafowlRare endemicBirdYellow-throated Olive GreenbulForest birdBirdRufous-winged IlladopsisRainforest birdBirdPiping HornbillForest hornbillReptileVarious forest snakesVarious speciesButterflyOver 600 butterfly speciesHigh diversity
Gallery
External links
Ghana Ministry of Tourism -- official site Ghana Wildlife Society (Accessed June 2014) Status of Great Apes in the area
References