SL004
Tingi Hills Non-hunting Forest Reserve


Country/territory: Sierra Leone

IBA criteria met: A1, A2, A3 (2001)
For more information about IBA criteria, please click here

Area: 10,519 ha

Conservation Society of Sierra Leone
IBA conservation status
Year of assessment (most recent) State (condition) Pressure (threat) Response (action)
2005 favourable medium low
For more information about IBA monitoring, please click here


Site description (2001 baseline)
This reserve is located on the easternmost of the mountain ranges in Sierra Leone, close to the eastern border with the Republic of Guinea. The highest point is the Sankan Biriwa massif, on which there are two peaks separated by a narrow gorge. Both peaks rise above 1,800 m, with the northernmost, at 1,850 m, being the second-highest peak in the country. This massif is the source of tributaries of two major rivers, the Sewa and the Mano. The vegetation consists of forest-savanna mosaic from 305 m to 915 m elevation, shrub-savanna on the plateau at 915–1,650 m, and montane grassland above 1,680 m. Gallery forest occurs along the river tributaries at 450–915 m and, in places, up to 1,375 m.

Key biodiversity
See Box and Tables 2 and 3 for key species. Over 200 species of bird have been recorded in the reserve, including six species of global conservation concern. One of these, Prinia leontica, has a very restricted distribution in Sierra Leone. Picathartes gymnocephalus has been recorded in the remnants of closed forest in the reserve.

Non-bird biodiversity: The following primates are known to occur: Pan troglodytes verus (EN), Procolobus badius (LR/nt), Colobus polykomus (LR/nt) and Cercocebus atys (LR/nt). Other mammals recorded at this site include Loxodonta africana cyclotis (EN) and Hexaprotodon liberensis (VU).


Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Important Bird Area factsheet: Tingi Hills Non-hunting Forest Reserve (Sierra Leone). Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/site/factsheet/tingi-hills-non-hunting-forest-reserve-iba-sierra-leone on 22/11/2024.