Kafta Sheraro National Park

National park in northwestern Ethiopia

LocationAmhara

NearestcityHumera

Coordinates13°59′58.92″N 37°00′1.08″E / 13.9997000°N 37.0003000°E / 13.9997000; 37.0003000

Area6000 km²

Kafta Humera National Park
Kafta Humera National Park
IUCN category II (national park)

Location	Amhara
Nearest city	Humera
Coordinates	13°59′58.92″N 37°00′1.08″E / 13.9997000°N 37.0003000°E / 13.9997000; 37.0003000
Area	6000 km²
Designation	National park
Established	2007
Governing body	Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority
www.ewca.gov.et/en/node/20

Kafta Humera National Park (Tigrinya: ብሄራዊ ፓርክ ቃፍታ ሑሞራ; Amharic: የቃፍታ ሁመራ ብሔራዊ ፓርክ) is a national park in Amhara. Kafta Humera National Park is the only national park that borders Tigrai and one of the few highly bio-diversified parks in East Africa. It was only in 2007 that it got formal recognition as a national park. It was governed by the Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority.

Kafta Humera National Park is specifically located in Amhara region, between Qafta, Humera, and Tahtay Adiabo. It borders Eritrea’s Gash-Setit to the north and is traversed by the river Tekeze. While the main river is the Tekeze, it is fed by a number of rivers that originate in the highlands of Wolqait, Qafta, Asgede, Tsimbla, Tselemti, Tsegede, and the widely stretched lowlands of Adiabo. Elevation ranges from 550 meters above sea level. Situated initially on 500,000 hectares, it has been downsized to 2,800 hectares. It is one of the largest conservation areas in Ethiopia.^[1]

Flora and Fauna

Vegetation communities in the park include Acacia-Commiphora, Combretum-Terminalia, dry evergreen montane woodlands, and riparian types. A total of 167 mammal species, 95 bird species, and 9 reptile species have been recorded at the site.^[2]

The park is home to a transboundary African elephant population of about 500 individuals, which it shares with Eritrea's Gash-Setit, and which constitutes the northernmost elephant population in Eastern Africa. The Elephant population in Qafta migrates seasonally between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Kafta-Sheraro is also an important wintering site for demoiselle cranes.^[3] Kafta-Sheraro is also an important wintering site for demoiselle cranes.^[4] During a certain expedition to Kafta-Sheraro National Park from 26 March to 16 April 2009, more than 21,500 Demoiselle Cranes Anthropoides Virgo were recorded, or 9% of the world population of the species. This constitutes the first evidence of a large concentration of Demoiselle Cranes in East Africa. It appears to confirm that the Kafta-Sheraro area serves as a wintering site for the species and identifies this part of the Tekeze Valley as a wetland of international significance.

Other notable wildlife species include lion, leopard, caracal, aardvark, greater kudu, roan antelope, red-fronted gazelle, hyena, crocodile, cheetah, and red-necked ostrich.^[2]

References

↑ Zenebe, Arafaine; Addisu, Asefa (1970). "Dynamics of Land Use and Land Cover in the Kafta-Sheraro National Park, NW Ethiopia: Patterns, Causes and Management Implications". Momona Ethiopian Journal of Science. 11 (2): 239–257. doi:10.4314/mejs.v11i2.5.
1 2 Ethiopia Wildlife Conservation Authority. "Kafta Sheraro National Park". EWCA. Archived from the original on 18 July 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2015.
↑ Blanc, J. Julian; Barnes, Richard F. W; Craig, G. Colin; Dublin, Holly T; Thouless, Chris R; Douglas-Hamilton, Iain; Hart, John A (2007). African Elephant Status Report 2007: an update from the African Elephant Database (PDF). Occasional Papers of the IUCN Species Survival Commission. Vol. 33. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN.
↑ Gebremedhin, B.; Demeke, Y. (September 2011). "Discovery of a wintering site of Demoiselle Cranes in Kafta-Sheraro National Park, Ethiopia". Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 18 (2): 199–202. doi:10.5962/p.309941. Archived from the original on 2020-10-28. Retrieved 2015-02-22.

v t e National parks and protected areas of Ethiopia
National parks	Abijatta-Shalla Alitash Arsi Mountains Awash Bale Mountains Borana Chebera Churchura Didessa Gambella Kafta Sheraro Mago Maze Nechisar Omo Simien Mountains Yangudi Rassa
Wildlife reserves and sanctuaries	Babile Elephant Sanctuary Chelbi Wildlife Reserve Kuni-Muktar Mountain Nyala Sanctuary Mille-Serdo Wildlife Reserve Senkelle Swayne's Hartebeest Sanctuary Yabelo Wildlife Sanctuary

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