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It is a living witness of what central Africa used to be like 18 000 years ago. At this time, the climate of the earth became colder and drier. Tropical rain forests that need warm temperatures and high humidity retreated and were replaced by savannas. Patches of forest remained in wetter places and formed forest refuges. When the global climate warmed up again the forest started re-colonising the savanna from these forest islands. It is this phenomenon that explains the savannah/forest mosaic in the north of the Lopé Reserve with Marantaceae forest characteristic of young forests. Lopé National Park has a relatively dry climate compared to most other equatorial rain forests because of its position in the rain shadow of the Chaillu mountain range. The southern area is covered by primary forest. Its fauna is typical for central Africa forests : primates, antilopes, buffalos, elephants. Lopé National Park has several emblematic primate species, in particular gorillas, chimpanzees, mandrills and the endemic sun-tailed monkey (Cercopithicus solatus), only discovered in 1984 !. In Lopé some
of the oldest traces of human artefacts in central Africa
can be found : the Stone Age lasted from 400 000 years ago
until 4000 to 5000 years ago. |
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