Loango National Park (French: Parc national de Loango) is a protected area in western Gabon. It helps preserve many different coastal environments, including part of the 220-square-kilometre (85 sq mi) Iguéla Lagoon. This lagoon is the only major example of a typical western African lagoon system that is protected within a national park.
Loango National Park lies between the Nkomi and Ndogo Lagoons. It covers 1,550 km² (600 sq mi) of land that includes savanna, beaches, forests, and mangroves. The naturalist Mike Fay called Loango "Africa's Last Eden." Michael "Nick" Nichols, a photographer from National Geographic, took pictures of hippos surfing in this area. Both men refer to Loango as the "land of surfing hippos." Visitors to Loango National Park may see elephants, buffaloes, hippos, gorillas, and leopards walking on the beaches.
After South Africa, the greatest number and variety of whales and dolphins in the world are found near the Loango coast. This area has over 100 kilometres (62 mi) of coastline with no people living nearby. Humpback and killer whales are common in this region.
The World Conservation Union, also known as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), has classified Loango National Park as a faunal reserve and protected area for conservation.
History
The first animal reserves in the Loango area were created in 1956. The park was later established in 2002, along with 13 other parks that together cover about 10% of Gabon's total land area. When President Omar Bongo Ondimba
Tourism and conservation
SCD (Société de Conservation de Développement) was created by Rombout Swanborn, an early leader in "Conservation Tourism" from the Netherlands. WCS works with SCD on research, managing protected areas, and creating educational programs. Swanborn also started Africa's Eden, which helped build systems and plans to offer luxury eco-tourism trips in faraway parts of Gabon. Starting in 2006, these trips also took place in São Tomé and Principe. This effort follows the idea that tourism funds conservation.
People
Very few villages are located inside the park because most are on the opposite side of the Ngove Lagoon. As a result, the park has very few people and is home to many types of land, bird, and water animals. Some of these animals live in specific areas where they have lived for a long time, while others, like elephants and buffalo, move across different areas.
People who live in the Loango area depend on the natural resources around them for their daily needs. Today, some people from Gabon have moved to cities or work in modern jobs like oil and timber industries. However, most people who live in traditional villages still rely heavily on their environment for daily life.
People in villages use a farming method called slash-and-burn to grow crops such as manioc, peanuts, and mustard greens. Women do most of the gardening, except for cutting down trees and bushes. Men earn a living by fishing or hunting. Fishermen use tools like long nets, throw nets, gill nets, long lines, baited hooks, fish traps, and spears to catch fish and shrimp. Land crabs are caught by hand. Old hunting tools like bows and arrows, spears, deadfall, and spring traps have been replaced by rifles and shotguns. Other food, such as turtle eggs, is collected from the forest, savannah, or beaches.
Images
- An elephant wearing a GPS tracking device
- An elephant and its baby walking through the area
- A building at Southern Park Camp Site offering a scenic view
- A lone wild buffalo moving around in the park