Mago National Park is a national park in Ethiopia located in the South Ethiopia Regional State. It is about 782 kilometers south of Addis Ababa and north of a large 90° bend in the Omo River. The park covers 2,162 square kilometers and is divided by the Mago River, a tributary of the Omo, into two parts. To the west is the Tama Wildlife Reserve, with the Tama River forming the boundary between the two areas. To the south is the Murle Controlled Hunting Area, which is marked by Lake Dipa, a lake that stretches along the left side of the lower Omo River. The park office is 115 kilometers north of Omorate and 26 kilometers southwest of Jinka. All roads to and from the park are unpaved.

Ecology

Mago National Park was created in 1979, making it the most recent national park in Ethiopia. The highest point in the park is Mount Mago, which reaches 2528 meters. The main environments within and near the park include rivers and forests along rivers, wetlands near the lower Mago River and Lake Dipa, grasslands on flat areas, and shrubs on hill sides. Open grassland covers about 9% of the park's total area. The largest trees are located in the riverine forests along the Omo, Mago, and Neri rivers.

The major types of environments in the park are savanna, areas with Acacia trees, shrubland, and woodland.

Mago National Park protects 74 species of mammals and 237 species of birds. At least 10 species of reptiles and 14 species of fish also live in the park's ecosystem.

Some of the birds found in the park include the rare Dusky babbler, especially near Lake Dipa, the Black-rumped waxbill in tall grass near streams and swamps, the Violet wood hoopoe, Allen's gallinule, Striated heron, and Egyptian plover, Pel's fishing owl, and snowy-crowned robin-chat near rivers.

Other animals that live in the park include lions, leopards, Lelwel hartebeest, Beisa oryx, hippos, Cape buffalo, cheetahs, giraffes, gerenuks, hyenas, African wild dogs, warthogs, Nile crocodiles, zebras, and African elephants.

The park has noticed different stages of woody plant growth, which is mainly connected to efforts to stop fires from spreading.

Native people

The park's best-known attraction is the Mursi people, who pierce their lips and insert clay disks. Areas along the lower Omo (within the park) are home to many ethnic groups, including the Aari, Banna, Bongoso, Hamar, Karo, Kwegu, Male, and Mursi peoples.