Located in south-eastern Chad, Zakouma National Park is arguably the last remaining intact Sudano-Sahelian ecosystem in Africa. Due to its close proximity to the centre of the Chadian Basin, the terrain of the park is almost exclusively flat with the exception of the striking granite inselbergs in the south-west near Ibir.

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.” ~ Jawaharial Nehru

Source: African Parks Business Plan 2018-2022

Building on its success, in 2017 African Parks was invited by the Chad government to manage the neighbouring Siniaka Minia National Park and Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve, as well as adjoining wildlife corridors, to ensure the effective management of the entire Greater Zakouma Ecosystem of 28 162 km².

The Zakouma National Park covers an area of 3 054 km² and is surrounded by the Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve covering 13 000 km² and the crucial neighbouring Siniaka Minia Faunal Reserve covering 4 260 km² in the south-west. There is a further 10 000km² of wildlife corridors in this area which African Parks manages. The surrounding protected areas act as a buffer for Zakouma National Park and affords protection for wildlife that migrates outwards during the flooding between June and October.

The Zakouma ecosystem is influenced by two extreme seasons, the wet season and the dry season. The contrast between the seasons is dramatic and so affects fauna, flora and terrain alike. Between June and November, Zakouma receives an average of 850mm of rain resulting in the majority of the eastern section of the park becoming completely inundated with water. During this time the park experiences a strong outward migration of many species beyond the boundaries of the park; mainly the elephant and Tiang and to a lesser extent Roan antelope and Hartebeest, to the drier areas further north.

“The majesty of nature is not restricted to canyons and mountains. It can be found in the wilds of perception–the sensory spaces that lie outside our Umwelt and within those of other animals. To perceive the world through other senses is to find splendor in familiarity and the sacred in the mundane……” ~ Ed Yong

According to African Parks, during the wet season the elephant herds migrate to two core areas: the northern zone north-west and north-east of Darasna and the western zone around Hadjer Domoti, south of the Korom River. The animals leave the park via the western corridor which is along the western boundary and head west or south-west, at times as far as Siniaka-Mania Faunal Reserve.

Source: Wikipedia/Kmusser

The south-eastern section of the Zakouma National park forms part of the “Inundation Plains of the Bahr Aouk and Salamat” Ramsar site. This is one of the largest wetlands in the world, and is an important stopover for migrating birds and breeding ground for various species of birds and fish.

Floodwater in Zakouma National Park is carried by the Bahr Aouk and Bahr Salamat, which feed into the Chari River. This river joins the Logone river at N’Djamena and often floods the capital in the wet season. The enlarged Chari river flows north-west into Lake Chad.

The park is characterised by a vast flat plain which is etched by meandering seasonal watercourses. The larger rivers and tributaries are bordered by gallery forest, comprising Tamarind, African birch and Jackalberry trees, to name a few. The vegetation beyond the rivers is largely wooded savanna dominated by Combretum, Terminalia, Anogeissus species, interspersed with patches of dense woodland, shrubland, high grasses and Vachellia seyal (Red or Sahel acacia) forests. The park includes extensive, open grassy flood-plains, particularly in the south, which become inundated during the wet season. These plains cover 500 km² and are dominated by the grasses such as Vetiveria, Setaria and Paspalum.

“Earth teems with sights and textures, sounds and vibrations, smells and tastes, electric and magnetic fields. But every animal can only tap into a small fraction of realities fullness. Each is enclosed within its own unique sensory bubble, perceiving but a tiny sliver of an immense world.” ~ Ed Yong

The dry season lures the wildlife back to the heart of Zakouma, where pans surrounded by fertile floodplains and pools in the main river systems (Bahr’s Salamat , Korom and Dikere) provide drinking water and grazing throughout the dry months from November and May. African Parks indicates that during this time the elephants tend to mainly stay within or close to the Park. Concentrated in the eastern side of Zakouma, the pools of water in the main river system, Bahr Salamat, provide the last sources of drinking water as the area dries up.

Besides water, the main wetlands of Tororo (north), Rigueik (east) and Maniam/Al Kalam (south) also provide valuable grazing on the floodplains. Large herds of animals as well as thousands of birds congregate at these pools from February to June providing the opportunity for spectacular game viewing.

We visited the Rigueik wetland around mid-morning. It was hot and there were congregations of Black-crowned cranes and White-backed pelicans flying into the wetland. In among thousands of Spurwing geese, storks, herons, egrets and cranes together with tiang, hartebeest, waterbuck, kob, buffalo and giraffe. It looked as if the wildlife was gathering for the arrival of “Noah’s Ark”.

“By giving in to our preconceptions, we miss what might be right in front of us. And sometimes what we miss is breathtaking.” ~ Ed Yong

The perennial water sources in Zakouma National Park serve as a sanctuary for West and Central African wildlife, many of which are threatened within this ecoregion. Around 66 mammal species are found in the park, 16 of which are large mammals. Zakouma is home to a number of threatened or endangered species, including 50% of Africa’s critically endangered Kordofan giraffe population, Black rhino, Lelwel hartebeest, north-east African cheetah and Buffon’s kob.

Beyond the wetlands are the rivers and their tributaries. In the dry season the rivers stop flowing and the remaining pools of water provide a sanctuary and ample food for thousands of species of wildlife. Many West African crocodiles, herons, storks, egrets, hammerkops, kingfishers, kites and fish eagles all hunt in these pools.

“When you see beauty all around you, beauty will seek and find you, even in the most unexpected places.” ~ Alberto Villoldo

Imagine large pools of water stranded in the Salamat river course where its banks are lined with Tamarind, Sausage and Jackalberry trees which have dropped some of their leaves creating a carpets of red on the banks.

There was little need to spend to much time in our safari camp, Tinga, because there was so much to see in the park. It does though get extremely hot around midday so there were times when it was great to get back to camp for lunch and cold refreshments and just watch the Tantalus monkeys playing in the large Tamarind trees in front of the main lodge on the bank of the Salamat river.

“Traveling – it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” ~ Ibn Battuta

There was also a spot about 100 metres from the camp called Mirrador, which provided a quiet place in the shade to watch the wildlife come down to drink at one of the remaining pools of water in that section of the Salamat river.

We were right down in the south of the park looking for a large herd of elephants. As soon as they became aware of us they were off. Memories of the devastating poaching prior to 2010 still linger. The bush is so thick that we could not find them half an hour later.

At the end of a wonderful day in Zakouma. We were down in the south of the park having a sundowner watching the sky turn into a peachy orange with edges of mauve while witnessing the Red-billed quelea fly into the trees around this wetland in their thousands.

Hopefully you are starting to get a sense of how remarkable Zakouma is offering a variety of ecosystems and all the while showing bountiful wildlife in the numbers you are not likely to see in many parts of the world. The fascinating aspect for someone like me who has travelled extensively in southern and east Africa is this park offers something quite different and although many of the mammals and birds are similar they are not the same with interesting variations probably due to the ecology, geology and climate.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

A have a few more posts to come over the next few weeks showing the different wildlife and birds which I hope you will find interesting.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and let it be.

Have fun, Mike

In mid-March, a group of friends and I visited Zakouma National Park in Chad for the first time. I have wanted to see this park since 2014 when I watched a video showing the incredible congregations of wildlife in this park.

Zakouma National Park comprises 3,000 square kilometres of savanna habitat. It is situated in the south eastern part of Chad. It is the country’s oldest national park, so Zakouma’s fortunes have been inextricably linked to politics and conflicts with Chad’s neighbours.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” ~ Unknown

Zakouma is in the Sahel which is the transition zone between Africa’s central rainforests to the south and the vast Sahara Desert to the north.  Sahel, means “the shore” in Arabic, and is a vast area crossing 6,000 kilometres across northern Africa from East to West. It covers 12 countries and is home to 400 million people.

Source: PRB.org

“Characterised by perennial river systems, rich floodplains, and seasonal wildlife migrations, Zakouma National Park is an uplifting story of revival for this ecoregion, which stretches across the width of Africa to the south of the Sahara Desert. Once a stronghold for over 4,000 elephant, by 2010 the park had lost 90% to ivory poachers. Nevertheless, in that same year, the Government of Chad invited African Parks into a long-term management agreement to manage Zakouma National Park, protect its remaining wildlife, and re-establish stability for the surrounding communities. With the overhaul of the park’s conservation law enforcement and community engagement strategies in place, the results were palpable. Wildlife numbers began to increase and by 2016, poaching was virtually eliminated. Zakouma became known as a place of safety, a source of employment, and a service provider to communities.” Source: African Parks

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” ~ Saint Augustine

The flight by Cessna Caravan from N’Djamena to Zakouma’s airstrip took around two hours.

We flew over vast tracts of dry savanna. March is the almost the end of the dry season and the rains start, in this part of the world, in May and continue until October.

The mountainous western region of Zakouma is very dry and characterised by granite inselbergs.

The map of Zakouma shows the dry mountainous western side of the park. By contrast, the eastern side is flat and is effectively a floodplain. It is hard to believe but this part of the world gets between 800mm and 900mm of rain annually and the eastern side is flooded making it impassable by road between June and December.

The park falls within the enormous ‘Inundation Plains of the Bahr Aouk and Salamat’ RAMSAR site, one of the largest in the world and an important stop-over for migrating birds and breeding ground for birds and fish alike. The park is largely flat riverine forest and grassland plains. Large pans, around which vast numbers of wildlife and birdlife congregate in the dry season, are scattered across the eastern part of the park.

“Only those who risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go.” ~ TS. Eliot

The cycle of life in the park is dictated by the contrasted wet and dry seasons. Heavy rains fall from June until October flooding the eastern side of the park. The flood plain has a mudstone base above which is a layer of black cotton clay. This base is key to retaining water in the rivers and pans once the flooding and water flow stops. In the dry months, the water levels in the pans and rivers slowly recede due to evaporation. This causes the fauna to congregate in flocks and herds around the remaining water, offering breathtaking congregations of wildlife and, from my perspective, some of the most impressive game viewing in Africa.

Our base for the seven days was Tinga camp. I was very pleasantly surprised to see it was positioned next to the Salamat river bed. The main lodge faced onto the river which could be seen through a green veil of Tamarind trees. The main lodge and dining area was completely open to catch any passing breeze.

March is hot in Zakouma averaging between 40 and 45 degrees centigrade from about 11h00 until 16h00. It cools down to around 25 degrees centigrade in the late evening. The rooms are simple but adequate because we spent so little time in them. The fan was needed because in the evening when we retired at around 22h00 as it was still steaming hot in the bedrooms.

In front of the Tinga lodge was the mostly dry Salamat river bed. Pools of water remained but were drying out fast which drew wildlife to them.

From camp we saw many Olive baboons, Tantalus monkeys, Western bushbuck and Northern lions down in the river bed. The river banks were lined with large Tamarind trees.

A Red-throated bee-eater in Tinga camp. This beautiful bee-eater is very common in Zakouma much like the White fronted bee-eater we see in southern Africa.

On our drive from the airstrip to Tinga camp we saw our first Kordofan giraffe. Zakouma is home to around 60% of the critically endangered global population of Kordofan giraffe.

Driving to camp we were intrigued by the Sahel acacias which looked like the fever trees we see in southern Africa but they have this red-rust colour to their trunks and branches.

“Let us step into the night and pursue that flighty temptress, adventure.” ~ J.K. Rowling

We knew that we were in for a special week in Zakouma when we saw our first congregation of Spurwing geese at a pan. The next image shows just a small section of the pan. The Spurwing geese were concentrated like this around the entire pan.

In the afternoon we drove south to other sections of the Salamat river. This is what I had been wanting to see. There was an amazing scene filled with egrets, storks, herons, guineafowl and waders along the river.

The Salamat river was teeming with fish which attracted the birds and many Western crocodiles. I have never seen concentrations of crocodiles like this, not even in the Mara river.

“The purpose of life is to live it, to taste experience to the utmost, to reach out eagerly and without fear for newer and richer experience.” ~ Eleanor Roosevelt

This is the first of a series of posts describing our experiences around Zakouma National Park. Everything is different in this park. The first and most obvious difference is the concentration of birdlife. Doug MaDonald of DougMac Safaris was our guide. He is a Zimbabwean who was invited to guide in this park in 2017 and has been doing so every year since then. Doug is very knowledgeable, and showed us many fascinating places and mixed up our experiences with game drives, bush walks, canoeing and fly camping. Our group were entranced by his story telling and wonderful sense of humour.

Explore, seek to understand, marvel at its interconnectedness and it it be.

Have fun, Mike