Abuko Nature Reserve
Abuko National Park is a nature reserve in the Gambia lying south of the town of Abuko. It is a popular tourist attraction and was the country's first designated wildlife reserve.
The flora consists of a typical savanna and gallery forest landscape. Typical trees, up to thirty feet high, are: oil palm, mahogany, iroko and anthocleista procera.
There are three monkey species: vervet monkeys, red colobus monkeys and patas monkeys. Other mammals include antelope, squirrel, porcupine, African palm civets, mongooses, galagos, and several types of rodents, including cane rats.
Among the reptiles at the park are monitor lizard, Nile crocodile, dwarf crocodile, spitting cobra, black cobra, python, puff adder and green mamba. More than 270 bird species have been recorded in the forest. There are also numerous butterflies and moths.
At one end of the site are several enclosures which serve as an orphanage for needy animals, including an enclosure in which a pack of hyenas is held.
