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Geography

The Batéké Plateau mostly consists of sandstone covered with sand of the same type that can be found in the Kalahari. These giant dune formations can reach altitudes of up to 870 m. Erosion cirques, often also refered to as canyons, are part of the landscape, as are ponds surrounded by marshland. The vegetation of the park consists of savanna interupted by gallery forests along the Mpassa River and its tributaries. In the western part of the park, the gallery forests merge into dense Gabonese rainforests. There is a large natural forest clearing in this forested western area in which many forest mammals gather. Towards the East, the bush savannas turn into grass savannas. Savannas make up at least two thirds of the area.

Flora

More than 300 species of plants can be found in the Batéké Plateau National Park, including Memecylon batekeanum, a new species that was discovered in the park in 2006.

In the savanna areas, the most common trees are Annona senegalensis, Hymenocardia acida, Crossopteryx febrifuga and Maprounea africana. The dominant herbaceous plants in the savanna areas are grasses like Hyparrhenia diplandra, Trachypogon thollonii, Ctenium newtonii, Pobeguinea arrecta, Bulbostylis laniceps, Sporobolus congoensis and Andropogon schirensis.

In the gallery forests, important species are Millettia laurentii, Anthostema aubryanum, Pentaclethra eetveldeana, Vitex doniana, Uapaca paludosa, Xylopia aethiopica, Dacryodes buettneri, Laccosperma species and, in the West, Aucoumea klaineana.

Mitragyna ciliata and various herbaceous species like Rynchospora corymbosa dominate the marshlands.

Fauna

Mammals

A lion.

At least 31 medium to large sized mammal species are present in the Batéké Plateau National Park including African forest elephant, aardvark, Honey badger, African palm civet, Servaline genet, African civet, Forest buffalo, Red river hog, Water chevrotain, Bushbuck, Sitatunga. A number of forest duikers are also present, including Yellow-backed duiker, Blue duiker, White-bellied duiker, Black-fronted duiker, Bay duiker and White-legged duiker.

The Batéké Plateau National Park is noted for its savanna species, many of which cannot be found in other areas of Gabon. These include the common duiker and the side-striped jackal. (resource) Individual Spotted hyenas have also been observed in the area. (resource)

It is the only national park in Gabon in which four cat species are known to occur: Central African lion, leopard, African golden cat and serval. The park is also the only known site where both the black form and the servaline form occur in addition to the normal color form. (resource)

A lion was shot in 1999. This was the last sighting for many years and the local population was subsequently believed to be possibly extinct , but wildlife camera footage from 2015 onwards shows a male lion in the area. Analyis of the mitochondrial genome of this individual suggests that it is descended from the historical lion population in the area, which in turn is more closely related to southern lion populations than to other populations of lions from central and western Africa.

The Aspinall Foundation released a total of 25 captivity reared Western lowland gorillas in the National Park in 2001 and 2004 after the species was previously extirpated in the area. Several births have been recorded since then. A De Brazza's monkey population has been found along the Mpassa river, extending the species' range to the Southwest. Other primates include the Chimpanzee, the Crowned guenon, the Moustached guenon and the Potto.

Birds

A preliminary study of birds in the Batéké Plateau National Park in 2001 found 210 species of birds. This includes many species that are typical for savannas, but also a large number of forest species which were also found in the gallery forests. These include rare??? species like Caprimulgus binotatus and Glaucidium tephronotum. In 20??, a new species, Cisticola teke was discovered in the park. (resource)

Reptiles

No detailed studies have been conducted on the reptiles in the Batéké Plateau National Park, but the African slender-snouted crocodile, monitor lizards, and the African rock python have been found in the park.