Current view: Text account
Site description (2001 baseline):
Site location and context
Falgore Game Reserve (92,000 ha), formerly Kogin Kano Forest Reserve, is located some 110 km south of Kano on the Jos–Kano road. The vegetation is open Northern Guinea Savanna woodland with elements of the Sudan Savanna in the north. Tree heights reach 9–14 m. The northern boundary is formed by the artificial Lake Tiga which, when full, submerges the north-western tip of the reserve. The reserve is bisected by the Kano river which, together with its tributaries, the Maiwa, Kumbo and Randa, drain the reserve. To the south-east of Falgore lies Lame Burra Game Reserve (205,900 ha) in Bauchi State. Here also the vegetation is typical Northern Guinea Savanna with, in the north, areas of transition to Sudan Savanna. The 50 km wide strip of thinly inhabited, unprotected savanna woodland that separates the reserves is included in the IBA.
See Box and Table 3 for key species. A total of 261 species have, to date, been recorded at Falgore, and 101 at Lame Burra. Other species of interest include
Ciconia ciconia and
Falco vespertinus, both regular passage migrants,
Terathopius ecaudatus,
Himantopus himantopus,
Telacanthura ussheri,
Bucorvus abyssinicus and
Oenanthe bottae.Non-bird biodiversity: The following mammals of global conservation concern occur, or used to do so; Hippotragus equinus (LR/cd), Alcelapus buselaphus (LR/cd), Syncerus caffer (LR/cd), Cephalophus rufilatus (LR/cd), Gazella rufifrons (VU) and Panthera leo (VU). Populations of all are very low and some may have been extirpated.
Pressure/threats to key biodiversity
Poaching, illegal grazing, over-fishing (including use of chemical poisons) and bush fires are the major threats. Protection of Falgore is crucial to the longevity of Tiga Lake, as deforestation of the reserve would speed up siltation of the lake. Conservation in both reserves would benefit from their merger and upgrade to National Park status.
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Falgore and Lame Burra Game Reserves (Nigeria). Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/falgore-and-lame-burra-game-reserves-iba-nigeria on 22/11/2024.
