The wildlife of Mali, composed of its flora and fauna, is widely varying from the Saharan desert zone (covering about 33% of the country) to the Sahelian east–west zone, to Mali, a landlocked francophone country in North Africa; large swathes of Mali remain unpopulated but has three sub-equal vegetation zones; the country has Sahara Desert in the north, the Niger River Basin at its center and the Senegal River on the south.
The vegetation zones are the Saharan, the Sahel, and the Sudan–Guinea Savanna. Mali has many protected areas which include two national parks, one biosphere reserve, six faunal reserves, two partial faunal reserves, two sanctuaries (one is a UNESCO designated World Heritage Site), one chimp sanctuary, six game reserves, and three Ramsar Sites.
Protected area in Mali, under legal acts and regulations (Law No. 86-43/AN-RM for trade and conservation of parks and reserves and Law No. 86-42/AN-RM for forest code), cover about , which is 4.7% area of the country. Adding the buffer zone and the peripheral zone of the Biosphere of Baoul, it becomes 6.2% of the total area of the country. The rich biodiversity of the country is reflected in its more than 1,700 plant species and about 1,000 animal species.
Geography
Niger River valley The Niger River valley, which dominates the topography of Mali, drained by the Niger River and its tributaries. Along its course, the central southern region is the narrowest and is known as the Inner Delta or the Inundation Zone of the Niger, formed of of flood-plains, along a river length of ; these form its wetlands of great ornithological interest.
Saharan zone Habitat wise, the Saharan zone occupies a third of the country, and is made up of Sahara Desert and the Sahel (which is a zone of transition between the two). There is hardly any vegetation as the habitat comprises "unvegetated regs, hamadas, dunes and wadis" and also a few oases.
On the south-eastern part of this zone is the Adrar des Iforhas Massif rising to a height of , which is part of the Ahaggar Massif in southern Algeria. Average precipitation in the zone is reported to be less than .
Sahelian zone The Sahelian zone, widest in an east–west direction, has the Dogon plateau () elevation) and the Hombori mountains (, highest location in Mali) with the Inundation Zone of the Niger River located to its west. Average annual rainfall varies from about in the south to under in the north; the vegetation also changes accordingly from acacia-wooded grassland and deciduous bushland to thin coverage of annual grasslands (of Cenchrus biflorus).
Sudan–Guinea zone The Sudan–Guinea zone is part of south-western region of Mali. The Senegal River and the Bafing and Baoulé Rivers rise here, and the basin is known for the lowest-lying land in the country of area which is below the contour.
The zone also includes the Manding plateau (near Bamako, the capital of Mali) which is part of Fouta Djallon Mountains ( elevation) of Guinea. This forms the upper region of the catchment area that lies between the Senegal and Niger River systems. Geological formation reported is of sandstone. Vegetation in this zone is mainly of Isoberlinia sp.
Protected areas There is very little wildlife and a few national parks in Mali. The reserve and largest national park is the Boucle du Baoulé National Park (). located to the northeast of Bamako. There is hardly any wildlife left in this park due to intense poaching of elephants, giraffes, buffalo, chimpanzees and lions. Monkeys are the only animals seen now.
The Reserve de Ansongo Menaka is in the southeast, near the border with Niger. The Reserve de Douentza is the most interesting in terms of wildlife. Bafing National Park (). is in the south west bordering with Guinea which is a dry area between Mopti and Gao; it is home for desert elephants which move with change of seasons.
The other notable parks are the Wongo National Park and the Kouroufing National Park. The Bafing Biosphere Reserve covers an area of and the Bafing Chimpanzee Sanctuary is exclusive to conserve chimpanzees.
Flora The dominant vegetation in the inland delta of the Niger consists of hygrophilous grassland species of Eragrostis atrovirens, Panicum anabaptistum, Panicum fluviicola, Vetiveria nigritana, Echinochloa stagnina, wild rice Oryza barthii, Andropogon gayanus, Cynodon dactylon and Hyparrhenia dissolute. The many tree species reported are in patches. Dominant species of grasses in the transition zone between the higher levels of flood plains and its flooded zones are Acacia nilotica with Mimosa and Ziziphus spp. and Guiera senegalensis, Borassus and Hyphaene. Cram cram grasses are scattered in Mali.
Fauna
Mammals
There are 146 species of mammals in Mali of which 2 are critically endangered (CR), 3 are endangered (EN), 10 are vulnerable (VU), and 3 are near-threatened (NT). The threatened species are the following. Addax nasomaculatus (addax) (CR) Gazella dama (dama gazelle) (CR) Pan troglodytes (common chimpanzee) (EN) Gazella leptoceros (rhim gazelle) (EN) Lycaon pictus (African wild dog) (EN) Ammotragus lervia (Barbary sheep) (VU) Acinonyx jubatus (cheetah) (VU) Loxodonta africana (African bush elephant) (VU) Trichechus senegalensis (African manatee) (VU) Profelis aurata (African golden cat) (VU) Panthera leo (lion) (VU) Gazella dorcas (dorcas gazelle) (VU) Hippopotamus amphibius (hippopotamus) (VU) Gazella rufifrons (red-fronted gazelle) (VU) Hipposideros jonesi (Jones's roundleaf bat) (NT) Felis margarita (sand cat) (NT) Crocuta crocuta (spotted hyena) (NT)
Chimpanzees are found in the southernmost forests and monkeys are found in the Parc national de la Boucle du Baoule. Elephants in the Gourma region, known as the Sahelian herds of 360 to 630 numbers, migrate over (round trip) during the dry season between Burkina Faso and Mali to lake areas and return to Mali during the rainy season. Mali lions are found only around the Faleme River in the far west of cerde of Kenieba. Papio papio (Guinea baboon) and Massoutiera mzabi (Mzab gundi) are also reported.
The African manatee (also known as the sea cow and West African manatee) is found all along the Niger River was hunted for meat in the past but its meat is now not marketed, which may be due its decreasing numbers or due to the legal protection given for its conservation.
Birds
Seventeen Important Bird Areas (IBAs) have been designated in Mali, encompassing an area of (about 2.3% of the surface area of the country). Ten include wetlands, nine are in the Inner Delta of the Niger river (key bird area), four (under the A3 criterion) include the Sudan–Guinea ecoregion of the Savanna biome, four are in the Sahel biome, and two in the Sahara–Sindian biome. The Kulicoro firefinch, also known as the Mali firefinch (Lagonostica virata), is the only endemic bird of Mali, found in rocky and grassy areas near Mopti and Bamako.
In these IBAs, 622 bird species have been recorded; there have been 335 resident species noted, with 202 of these breeding in Mali. Additionally, 137 species of the noted 243 migratory species are of Palearctic origin. There are 12 species which are of global conservation concern, with seven being vagrants (Palearctic migrants). These are Marmaronetta angustirostris (VU), Aythya nyroca (VU), Circus macrourus (NT), Falco naumanni (VU), Neotis nuba (Nubian bustard) (NT), Gallinago media (NT), Glareola nordmanni (NT), Acrocephalus paludicola (VU), Lagonosticta virata (NT), Prinia fluviatilis (DD), Ceratogymna elata (NT).
The Inner Delta is also rich in waterfowl and heron species, particularly the cosmopolitan Bubulcus ibis (LC) and Casmerodius albus (LC), as well as the world’s largest heron, Ardea goliath (Goliath heron, LC). The Goliath heron, which has small populations in South Asia as well, can stand upwards of 152 cm/5 ft tall, with a 230 cm/7 ft wingspan. Poicephalus senegalus (Senegal parrot, LC), Serinus mozambicus (yellow-fronted canary, LC) and Haliaeetus vocifer (African fish eagle, LC) are some of the other, more common, avian species reported in Mali.
Reptiles and amphibians A few reptile species reported are Cerastes cerastes (desert horned viper) and Geochelone sulcata (African spurred tortoise). Other species of snakes or cobra are: Bitis arietans (puff adder), Cerastes cerastes (horned viper), Dispholidus typus (boomslang), Echis jogeri (Joger's carpet viper), Echis leucogaster (white-bellied carpet viper), Echis ocellatus (West African carpet viper), Naja katiensis (West African brown spitting cobra), Naja melanoleuca (forest cobra), Naja nigricollis (black-necked spitting cobra), and Naja senegalensis (Senegalese cobra).
The Mali Uromastyx, Uromastyx maliensis, is a widely known species of lizard in Mali. Skink genera in Mali include Chalcides and Trachylepis. Other lizard species known in the Dogon Country of Mali are Agama sankaranica, Uromastyx geyri, Sphenops delislei, Trachylepis perrotetii, Trachylepis quinquetaeniata, Chalcides ocellatus, Chamaeleo africanus, Ptyodactylus ragazzii, Tarentola ephippiata, Tarentola annularis, Tropiocolotes tripolitanus, Latastia longicaudata, Varanus griseus, and Varanus niloticus. Turtles include Pelomedusa subrufa, and crocodiles include the Nile crocodile and Mecistops cataphractus (African slender-snouted crocodile).
The Dogon are also familiar with the colubrid species Psammophis sibilans, Psammophis elegans, and Bamanophis dorri, and the cobra species Naja nigricollis (black spitting cobra) and Naja haje (Egyptian cobra). Other snake species of the Dogon Country in Mali include Atractaspis watsoni, Eryx muelleri, Python regius, Python sebae, Telescopus obtusus, and Cerastes vipera.Christfried Naumann & Tom Güldemann & Steven Moran & Guillaume Segerer & Anne-Maria Fehn & Robert Forkel (eds.) 2020. Tsammalex: A lexical database on plants and animals. Leipzig: Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.
Most fatal snakebites in Mali are due to encounters with Bitis spp. (particularly Bitis arietans) and Echis spp. (particularly Echis leucogaster and others). Untreated bites from Bitis species can result in hemorrhage (bleeding) within 5 hours, and Echis bites can cause hemorrhage in 1-2 days.
Among the amphibians, Tomopterna milletihorsini (Mali screeching frog) and Bufo chudeaui (Bata marsh toad) are notable in Mali. In Dogon country, amphibian species that are well known by the local Dogon people include the edible bullfrog Hoplobatrachus occipitalis, Amnirana galamensis (Galam white-lipped frog), Phrynobatrachus accraensis, Hyperolius nitidulus (or Hyperolius viridiflavus), Amietophrynus xeros, Amietophrynus regularis, and Sclerophrys pentoni. Amietophrynus channingi and Hildebrandtia ornata are also reported from Dogon Country.
Fish There are approximately 200 fish species in Mali. Fishing is a common practice in the Niger and other rivers in Mali, and the most popular variety of fish is capitaine.