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The Pride of Nigeria |
Location and Size.
Cross River National Park is located on Latitude 5º.05' and 6º.29' N, and Longitudes 8º.15' and 9º.30'E, in the extreme south-eastern corner of Nigeria, in Cross River State. It covers a total area of 4,000 sq km, mainly made up of primary moist tropical rainforest ecosystem in the North and Central parts - Nigeria's Last Great Rainforest Reserve, and mangrove swamps on the coastal zones.
Ecosystems within the Park
 Obudu Cattle ranch-Bottom Hill Swimming Pool
Along with Koroup National Park in the Republic of Cameroon, Cross River National Park is an important biotic reserve which contains one of the oldest rainforests in Africa. It is also one of the 25 United Nations acclaimed biodiversity hot spots in the World. Some portions of the Park lies in the lowland rainforest refugia of the Guinea-Congolian region, with closed canopy and scattered emergent trees which reach a height of between 40 and 50 metres. Studies have revealed that vegetation here evolved over 60 million years ago.
The Park has two distinct, non-contiguous divisions of Oban Hills and Okwangwo.
The
Oban Hills Division is the larger of the two divisions and is about 3000sqkm; the richest in biodiversity. It is ecologically contiguous with Korup National Park in the Republic of Cameroon separated only by the international boundary between Nigeria and Cameroon. About 1,568 plant species, 77 of which are endemic to Nigeria; 75 mammals including forest elephants, chimpanzee, drills and buffalos, 282 birds including the olive green ibis, and 42 snake species have all been documented in the Park. It is also rich in epiphytic ferns and orchids.
Okwangwo Division is approximately 1000 sq. km, and has about 1,545 documented species of plants in 98 families. It is equally rich in biodiversity, some of which are extremely rare. Two species of plants; Anceistocladus korupensis and Prunus africana are generally regarded to have high medicinal properties - the former is claimed to be effective against HIV/AIDS, and the latter against prostrate cancer. These scientific discoveries have brought world attention to the Park due to their probable beneficial medicinal properties. Okwangwo Division borders Takamanda Forest Reserve in the Republic of Cameroon.
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