Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé

	Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé
	Landscape in the Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé
location	Sao Tome ; Sao Tome and Principe
surface	195 km²
Geographical location	0 ° 13 ′ N , 6 ° 34 ′ E Coordinates: 0 ° 13 ′ 0 ″ N , 6 ° 34 ′ 0 ″ E
Setup date	2006

Parque Natural Obô de São Tomé ( English : Obô Natural Park of São Tomé) is a natural park in São Tomé and Príncipe . It extends over parts of the districts of Caué , Lembá , Lobata and Mé-Zóchi and covers an area of 195 km² on the island of São Tomé . It was founded in 2006 and has not yet been assigned to any IUCN category . Together with the Parque Natural Obô do Príncipe , it forms the main protected area on the island.

geography

The nature park comprises three geographically separated areas:

the central volcanic massif with the Pico de São Tomé and Pico Cão Grande
the area around Malanza , on a bay in the south of the island
the zone around Praia das Conchas and Lagoa Azul in the north of the state.

The volcanic mountains of the Cameroon Line rise to a height of 2024 m and accordingly there is a considerable variety of habitats and biotopes . Above all, the pristine rainforests are valuable for research and there are differentiated forest and plant communities, such as lowland rainforests, mountain cloud forests, as well as mangrove areas and savannah . In addition to untouched Atlantic high altitude rainforest (mountain rainforests) there are also secondary forests ( capoeira ), which thrive on abandoned plantations.

In 1988, scientists classified the forests of São Tomé and Príncipe as the second most important forest in terms of their importance out of 75 forests worth protecting in Africa; most of the species found on the island can also be found in the national park. The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has listed the forests under the Global 200 and they are also considered an Important Bird Area (IBA).

Flora and fauna

There are around 700 species of flora on the island, 95 of which are endemic . One of the noteworthy plants is the evergreen conifer Afrocarpus mannii . Orchids, ferns and mosses are also common.

16 endemic bird species there are on the island, among other long-tailed Oliventaube ( Columba thomensis ), São Tomé Ibis (São Tomé ibis, Bostrychia bocagei ), São Tomé Fiscal (São Tomé fiscal, Lanius newtoni ) Bräunling (São Tomé shorttail, Amaurocichlia bocagei ) , São Tomé grosbeak (Sao Tome grosbeak, Crithagra concolor ), giant Sonnenvogel (Giant sunbird, Dreptes thomensis ), Sao Tome Oriole ( Oriolus crassirostris ) and Sao Tome throttle ( Turdus olivaceofuscus ). The amphibians Ptychadena newtoni , Hyperolius thomensis , Hyperolius molleri , Phrynobatrachus leveleve and Schistometopum thomense live in the park area. The São Tomé shrew ( Crocidura thomensis ) is the only endemic terrestrial mammal. There are three endemic species of bats: Sao Tome flying fox (São Tomé collared fruit bat - Myonycteris brachycephala ), São Tomé free-tailed bat ( Chaerephon tomensis ) and São Tomé-leaf-nosed (São Tomé leaf-nosed bat - Hipposideros thomensis ). The invertebrates include Theretra viridis , Hyalobathra barnsalis and Pseudoclanis tomensis , as well as the ant Tetramorium renae .