Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Wildlife
Human beings rule in West Africa, and it's possible that, no matter how long you spend
here, you may never see more than the occasional reptile or hear more than a troop of mon-
keys, caterwauling through the trees but out of view. The once-plentiful wildlife of the re-
gion has been reduced by deforestation, encroaching deserts, ever-expanding human popu-
lations and drought to small, isolated pockets. As a result, West African animals are wild,
wary and unaccustomed to large-scale safari tourism.
THE BAOBAB: KING OF THE AFRICAN BUSH
There's nothing quite like the baobab
(Adansonia digitata);
its thick, sturdy trunk and stunted root-like branches
are an instantly recognisable symbol of Africa. Thanks to its unusual form, many traditional cultures believe that
the tree displeased a deity who promptly plucked it in anger and thrust it back into the ground upside down. Or as
that great writer on Africa, Ryszard Kapuściński, wrote: 'Like elephants among other animals, so are baobabs
among trees: they have no equals'.
Despite the apparent misdemeanours of its ancestor, today's baobab is revered by local people. Its wizened ap-
pearance, combined with an ability to survive great droughts and live for many hundreds of years, ensures that the
baobab is believed to possess magical powers. Old trees often develop cavities, which are sometimes used to inter a
revered
griot (
praise singer).
The baobab is found in most parts of West Africa and serves a variety of practical, often essential, purposes. The
hollow trunk sometimes holds rainwater, making it a useful reservoir in times of drought. The tree's large pods
(which resemble pendulous Christmas decorations and are sometimes called 'monkey bread') contain seeds en-
cased in a sherbet-like substance that can be eaten or made into a juice-like drink. The pods themselves are used to
make cups or bowls (often for drinking palm wine) and as fuel; they burn slowly and are especially good for
smoking fish. The leaves of the baobab can be eaten when chopped, boiled and made into a sauce; they can also be
dried and ground into a paste to use as a poultice for skin infections and joint complaints. Even the flowers are used
as decoration at ceremonies.
But, for all the doom and gloom, West Africa is the continent's most underrated wildlife-
watching region. Its excellent national parks are home to many of Africa's classic mammal
species. Yes, you have to travel further to see the animals than elsewhere on the continent,
and these animals may retreat into the canopy at the first sign of human beings. For
wildlife-watching purists, however, this is how wildlife safaris used to be: a place where
the sense of a real quest survives without carloads of camera-toting tourists outnumbering
the animals.
West Africa is also a world-class birding destination.
Forty million metric tonnes of Saharan sand reaches the Amazon annually, replenishing mineral nutrients
depleted by tropical rains. Half of this dust comes from the Bodele Depression on the Niger-Chad border,
although the depression covers just 0.2% of the Sahara.
