Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
The Chad Basin National Park (CBNP) is composed of several areas or ‘sectors’ which are geographically remote from one another. The Chingurmi-Duguma Sector is located in the Woloji and Gulumba Districts, south-east of Maiduguri. It lies close to Waza National Park in Cameroon (IBA CM003). The vegetation is typical Sudan–Guinea Savanna, except in the most northerly part of the park where it takes on a more Sahelian aspect, partly due to the influence of human activities. Common tree and shrub species include
Acacia spp.,
Calotropis procera,
Anogeissus leiocarpus,
Balanites aegyptiaca and
Sterculia setigera. A large part of the park is flooded by waters from the Dorma river during the rainy season, creating flood-plain wetlands (e.g. the Kutila
fadama) which attracts waterbirds and other wildlife. The common tree of this habitat is
Mitragyna sp. Artificial stock watering points have also been created in various places but these do not retain water through the dry season.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. To date, 66 species have been recorded, including
Circus macrourus and 10 species of the Sudan–Guinea Savanna biome (A04, see Table 3). The park has, however, been only poorly surveyed and many more species may be expected to occur, including those of the Sahel biome, since the neighbouring Waza National Park in Cameroon (CM003) holds nine of the 10 species of the biome recorded from that country. The two cranes
Grus virgo and
Balearica pavonina occur, the former as a winter visitor, the latter is resident.
Numida meleagris is very common. Large numbers of
Ciconia ciconia winter.
Non-bird biodiversity: Gazella rufifrons (VU) and Loxodonta africana (EN) are among the park’s notable mammals. The park also offers Nigeria’s only hope for the re-establishment of the nationally extinct Giraffa camelopardalis (LR/cd) population, since Giraffe (and other mammals) occasionally cross into the park from the Waza National Park in Cameroon.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Although legally protected as part of a National Park, illegal grazing, fuelwood-collection and hunting take place. Bush fires are frequent. This is probably because local people profess to be unaware that the area was upgraded in 1991 from a Game Reserve to a National Park. Guineafowl egg-collectors invade the park during the species’ breeding season.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Chad Basin National Park: Chingurmi - Duguma Sector (Nigeria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/chad-basin-national-park:-chingurmi--duguma-sector-iba-nigeria on 22/12/2024.
