Yankari National Park, Bauchi State




Yankari-Bauchi Yankari National Park, Bauchi State

Yankari National Park, Bauchi State

Yankari National Park (formerly Yankari Game Reserve) is a large wildlife park located in the south-central part of Bauchi State, in northeastern Nigeria.

It covers an area of about 2,244 square kilometres (866 sq mi) and is home to several natural warm water springs, as well as a wide variety of flora and fauna. Its location in the heartland of the West African savanna makes it a unique way for tourists and holidaymakers to watch wildlife in its natural habitat. Yankari was originally created as a game reserve in 1956, but later designated Nigeria’s biggest national park in 1991.

Yankari National Park, Bauchi State

It is one of the most popular destination for tourists in Nigeria and, as such, plays a crucial role in the development and promotion of tourism and ecotourism in Nigeria. It is also one of the most popular eco-destinations in West Africa.

Yankari has rich wildlife resources. The park is an important refuge for over 50 species of mammal including African bush elephant, olive baboon, patas monkey, Tantalus monkey, roan antelope, western hartebeest, lion, African buffalo, waterbuck, bushbuck and hippopotamus. It also has a large and diverse freshwater ecosystem around its freshwater springs and the Raji River.

There are also over 350 species of bird found in the park. Of these, 130 are resident, 50 are Palearctic migrants and the rest are intra-African migrants that move locally within Nigeria. These birds include the saddle-billed stork, white-rumped vulture, guinea fowl, grey hornbill, and the cattle egret.

Yankari National Park, Bauchi State

Yankari is recognized as having one of the largest populations of elephants in West Africa, estimated at more than 300 in 2005. The growth of the elephant population has become a problem for surrounding villages at times as the animals enter local farms during the rainy season. The elephants have also stripped the park of many of its baobab trees.

Due to underground geothermal activity, Yankari National Park also features four warm water springs. The camp is named after the most well known of these, the Wikki Spring, from the local Duguri language with “Wikki” meaning “where are you?”. The Wikki Warm Spring is the largest spring and is about 13.0 metres wide and 1.9 metres deep. It daily flows 21,000,000 litres of clear, spring water into the Gaji river. [9] The spring has a constant temperature of 31.1°C through the year during both day and night and has been developed for recreation.

The other warm water springs are Dimmil, Gwan, and Nawulgo springs. A fifth spring, Tungan Naliki, is the only cool spring in the park.




Emergency Number: 112
Banks in Bauchi
Brief History of Bauchi
Business and Economy
General and Teaching Hospitals
Hotels and Guest Houses
Bauchi State Ministries Agencies and Parastatals
Police Stations
Popular Markets
Restaurants, Bars, Night Clubs
Shopping Malls
Traditional Rulers

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS

Mandara Mountains
Koma Hills
Lamurde Hot Spring
Sukur Cultura Landscape