Data Zone
Country/territory: Burkina Faso
Subnational region(s): Houet
IBA Justification: A3 (2001)
Area: 19,200 hectares (192.00 km2)
BirdLife Partner(s): Fondation des Amis de la Nature (NATURAMA)
| Conservation status of the Important Bird Area (IBA) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year of assessment (most recent) | State (condition) | Pressure (threat) | Response (action) |
| 2001 | near favourable | low | low |
Site description (2001 baseline)
The site is located about 50 km north of the city of Bobo-Dioulasso in the upper Mouhoun valley. The Mare aux Hippopotames is, in the rainy season, a 600 ha lake within a classified forest. At the end of the dry season the lake is reduced to about 120 ha and is covered with dense aquatic vegetation, while the exposed flood-plain supplies fodder for the lake’s hippopotamus herd. A further 864 ha of flood-plain occur along other lines of drainage. The remainder of the reserve comprises some 1,756 ha of gallery forest and 11,000 ha of savanna woodland.
Key biodiversity
See Box and Table 2 for key species. Although, to date, 243 species have been recorded at the site, including many waterbird species, more surveys are required, particularly of the gallery forest and woodlands. Several species little recorded elsewhere in Burkina occur, including Microparra capensis, Treron australis and Apaloderma narina.
Non-bird biodiversity: In addition to Hippopotamus amphibius, Loxodonta africana (EN) occur seasonally at the site and in the nearby Maro Classified Forest. Cephalophus rufilatus (LR/cd), uncommon in Burkina, is present.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2025) Important Bird Area factsheet: Mare aux Hippopotames (Burkina Faso). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/mare-aux-hippopotames-iba-burkina-faso on 05/01/2025.