Manovo-Gounda St Floris National park is one of the largest savannah wildlife parks in central and western Africa. This national park in Central African Republic covers more than 16400 square kilometers and was gazetted as a national park in 1988.
The vast park is a transitional habitat for different species of East and into Western African vegetation. The grassy plains are fed by three rivers Manovo, Koumbal and Gounda creating water logged plains and wetlands for most of the park and to the south a few raising inselbergs and rugged sandstones.
The park comprises three main zones: the flood plain of the Bahr Aouk and Bahr Kameur rivers in the north, the Massif des Bongo in the south, and a gently undulating transitional plain between.
Vegetation
The Park straddles the Sudano-Sahelian and Sudano-Guinean biogeographical zones . This results in a variety of habitats from grassy plains in the north to savannas with gallery forests in the south. The predominant vegetation type over much of the park is Sudanese-Guinean woodland savannah which can be divided into five types: Terminalia laxiflora wooded savannah; Isoberlinia doka and Monotes kerstingii woodland; Pseudocedrela kotschyi and Terminalia macroptera woodland; mixed lowland woodland or wooded savannah and Anogeissus leiocarpus and Khaya senegalensis
Wildlife
More than 57 different species of mammals are found in St Floris National park-many of which live in such habitat in East Africa. The park is home to endangered species of the black rhino, elephant, hippo, red-fronted gazelle, lion, cheetah, wild dog, leopard, Buffon’s kob, golden cat, duiker, giraffewaterbuck, red hartebeest and the buffalo among many others.
An estimated 320 birds are found in the park of which 25 are raptors resident in the savannah habitat. Notable species in the park include shoebill, African fish eagle, Bataleur, pelican, marabou stork to mention a few
Since the park is surrounded by lush game reserves like Aouk-Aoukale and Ouandija-Vakanga, there is free movement of wildlife in the habitat. On the border with Chad is Zakouma National Park.
