Manatees and Monkeys - Senegal - January 2023

[Pictus Safaris]

I'm just back from a thoroughly enjoyable, albeit all too brief, return to Senegal. Given this remains a woefully under-visited wildlife destination, I thought I would give it a brief write-up. Big game was very much not the target, as our client had one key target species - the African manatee. 

 

I imagine most forum members might have seen manatees in the US, with the famous Crystal River offering superb views of stacks of the West Indian variety of these sea-cows. Luckier STers might have glimpsed one of the two species found in the Amazon Basin, where I'm given to understand the species are extensively hunted and difficult to find. But very few seem to have laid eyes on the African Manatee (Trichecus senegalensis), found on the continent's Atlantic coastline all the way from Mauritania in the north to Cabinda in the south. Even more remarkably, these manatees venture far inland, with populations remaining to this day in Chad and Niger - there are very few river systems in West or Central Africa that don't play host to at least some of these elusive creatures. In fact, I have heard from one traveller who saw manatee and cheetah in the same day in W NP, Niger, many years ago - certainly a pair of species one doesn't usually imagine together!

 

Unfortunately, these gentle creatures are under extensive pressure, and are now generally very difficult to find. They move slowly, need to surface to breathe and make for good eating, all of which make them prime targets for subsistence poachers. Nowadays, your best bet for spotting these creatures is to specifically target them in Guinea-Bissau, Cameroon, Cote d'Ivoire or Gabon, and even then sightings are unreliable and fleeting. However, there is one spot in my very favourite country, where the chance of a sighting is much higher - Pointe-Saint-George, Senegal. With our client keen to see manatee, a plan was formulated to visit this spot, as well as weaving in a quick visit to Niokolo-Koba for primates, namely Patas monkey, green monkey and Guinea baboon. Our itinerary was as below:

 

January 16th - Arrive in Dakar. Overnight in Hotel Djoloff.

January 17th - Fly to Cap Skiring and transfer to Pointe-Saint-George. Overnight at Campement du Lamantin.

January 18th - Full day in Pointe-Saint-George. Overnight at Campement du Lamantin.

January 19th - Full-day drive to Niokolo-Koba NP. Overnight at Campement Wassadou.

January 20th-21st - Full-days in Niokolo-Koba NP. Overnight at NiokoLodge.

January 22nd - Full-day drive to Saly. Overnight at Hotel Neptune.

January 23rd - Tour End.

 

More to follow...

 

[Pictus Safaris]

Day 1:

 

We had arrived the previous evening, staying at the lovely Hotel Djoloff. This hotel is a staple of many itineraries to Senegal and is heartily recommended. Sadly, footfall here has fallen since the relocation a few years ago of the country's main international airport from Yoff, near Dakar itself, to Thies. Thies is at least a 45-minute drive from central Dakar, and that's when travelling at hair-raising speed on the deserted roads in the early hours. At a more reasonable time of day, you are looking at 90-minutes at least. Whilst the 'new' airport was much needed, and is a superb airport by West African standards, the move from Yoff was doubly sad as there was a confiding pair of pale foxes that used to hang out in front of the terminal. No such luck at Blaise Diagne Airport, despite plenty of likely-looking habitat around the runways, although the airport is not too far from Bandia Reserve, which is very tame for my taste, but is home to a few giant eland and more generic game. As I collected my client from the airport, it was hard to miss the very bouncy, and squeaky, TUI reps meeting the inbound flight from Gatwick - a sure-fire and welcome sign that Senegal is beginning to gain real traction as a destination for Brits to rival (and, in my opinion, far-exceed) the Gambia in most capacities.

 

We returned to the airport this morning for our morning flight south to Cap Skiring, a beach resort in the historically-restive Casamance Region of Senegal, that sits due south of the Gambia. The morning didn't get off to a great start, with our driver failing to arrive on time, and so a hastily-arranged taxi delivered us to the main terminal in time for our 8.00 check-in with Air Senegal. Air Senegal, in its current guise, is a fairly new insitution, having started serving its routes in 2018 - it now has an extensive and impressive network connecting Senegal to much of West Africa, but also France, Italy, Spain and the USA. There were plans for a direct Stansted-Dakar route pre-COVID but that now seems to have bitten the dust. The operation of the airline is slick and professional, although undoubtedly no-frills. Like many African airlines, they seem to love a last-minute schedule change, and we had initially planned to fly to Ziguinchor, only to have the destination switch to Cap Skiring - as luck would have it, that was even more convenient for us, but it could have been a real pain. But we welcome any alternative to the dire ASKY, owned by the equally awful Ethiopian, who monopolise air travel in West Africa.

 

Our 10.00 departure was timely and the 40-minute hop down to Cap Skiring was reasonably smooth, a very hard landing notwithstanding. We breezed through the airport, meeting our local fixer Sogui Wade, and we were on our way in our comfortable 4x4 well before midday. It was clear most of our fellow air passengers were, for some bizarre reason, heading to the coast for some beach-time and not up to the Casamance to seek out manatees, and we were soon away from the crowds of Cap Skiring. It is a drive of only an hour to our destination, Pointe-Saint-Georges, mostly on excellent tar roads, with the last few kilometres on good dirt roads, and we made good time, stopping only to pick up some eggs for our vegetarian client.

 

The dirt road section of our journey allowed for a spot of opportunistic birding - an interest of mine and Sogui's and not my client's - with the highlights being a mixed group of northern carmine, European and white-fronted bee-eaters and our first Abyssinian and blue-bellied rollers. Before too long, we were pulling into the modest village of Pointe-Saint-Georges. The village itself is charming in its own way, situated in a lovely spot looking across the Casamance River to dense mangroves on the far bank a few kilometres away. It is roamed by a booming population of dogs, pigs and fowl and is, sadly, ensconced in litter - such is the way in much of Senegal and indeed West Africa. We were staying at the well-named Campement de Lamantin (Camp of the Manatee) in what is the only establishment here to really acknowledge the existence of the manatees nearby. The rooms are spartan but comfortable enough, with double or twin beds and private en-suites. Electricity is available 24/7 from solar panels, and there is running water - but most fixtures in the bathrooms were not connected to the water supply.

 

Western reef egret

 

 

We grabbed a quick bite to eat, prawns for me and an odd mountain of shredded carrots for my client, before making our way down the beach to seek out the mammals that had brought us here - manatees. Pointe-Saint-Georges is, by some distance, the best bet for getting a decent view of a wild African manatee without using a drone, as a freshwater spring very close to the bank draws these secretive mammals in. Over the years, real efforts have been made by researchers to establish this as an ecotourism destination, with a viewing platform set up with posters providing information about the manatees, for instance. Sadly, this viewing platform is now unusable - apparently damaged by tourists a few years ago and never repaired. Buoys that were set up to protect the manatees from fishing boats were also damaged and sank - it is clear plenty of money has gone into trying to protect this unique population, but that unfortunately there is a great deal of apathy towards the manatees locally. During our brief stay we tried to communicate to those who would listen that this is the best place in Africa to see these species, and needs protection, but there wasn't much interest.

 

The now unusable viewing platform. The spring is between the shore and the red marker.

 

 

So, without a viewing platform, we stationed ourself on the beach by the spring and prepared for a long wait. The wait, as it turned out, lasted about thirty seconds. A paddle-shaped tail broke the surface of the water as an African manatee 'porpoised' whilst feeding, affording us brief views of the weed and barnacles on its back before disappearing beneath the choppy waters. Views of a species like this are never going to be world-beating, but it is always exhilarating to see such a rare mammal living wild. The remainder of the afternoon was spent chasing photos and videos of the manatee each time it surfaced, often only visible for a fraction of a second. There was no way we were going to get a perfect shot, but we ended up with a bit of passable footage and a few proof photos. I briefly meandered off for a spot of birding, with plentiful views of hooded vultures, western reef egrets, slender-billed gulls and West African crested terns.

 

 

A typical view of an African manatee

 

 

As the tide crept in, the activity slowed at the spring and we made our way back up the beach to camp. Throughout the evening, about half a dozen or so French tourists arrived on foot (I've no idea from where) and they, despite a bit of effort on my part, weren't too bothered about seeing a manatee. They did perk up when we spotted a pair of common bottlenose dolphins putting on a show mid-river as the sun set. After dinner, we decided to head out on the dirt road with our spotlights to see if we could pick up anything in the pastures between the village and the busier towns on the tar road we had used earlier. We were limited to 30 minutes or so, with Sogui very worried about using bright lights in a region that has seen violence over the years, and we were rewarded only with a pair of nightjars. All in all, though, repeated views of our target species on day one was certainly a great way to start, and we made a plan to start at first light tomorrow in the hopes of better photographic opportunities.

 

The view from camp

 

[Pictus Safaris]

Day 2:

 

We had built a full day into this itinerary at Pointe-Saint-Georges, not only because of our specific interest in the manatee, but also to mitigate the risk of choppy conditions or disturbance at the spring making things more difficult for us than we hoped. It was a touch dispiriting to wake this morning to a very fresh breeze and this, combined with the high tide, meant we had a wait of an hour or so before manatee activity became apparent at the spring. The received wisdom in the village is that it is only possible to see the manatees at the lowest ebb of the tide - in truth, we saw manatees at all times of day, although activity did seem to be more noticeable at low tide. We were also keenly aware of multiple reports of disturbance at the spring (usually either fishing boats, or tourists coming in to view the manatees from Ziguinchor and Cap Skiring), which apparently had been spooking the manatees away for protracted periods. We saw some evidence of this, but the manatees seemed very tolerant by and large, and would depart only for a few minutes each time a boat passed overhead.

 

Pied kingfisher in the morning light

 

 

Whilst we waited for the manatees to show themselves, the Dakar-Ziguinchor ferry passed through the river. This 14-hour ferry used to be one of the frequented routes used to access the Casamance for tour groups - I cannot stress enough how preferable flying is nowadays. The ferry was a treat for us, though, as we had excellent views of common bottlenose dolphins bow-riding and generally having a thoroughly enjoyable morning. Better was to come just moments later, as an elusive Atlantic humpback dolphin could briefly be seen travelling in the opposite direction. The chop prevented us tracking its progress, much to our frustration, but a lovely animal to see nonetheless. On shore, things got weird for a few moments as we were approach by one of the pigs that roamed the village, which promptly began consuming a beached jellyfish at our feet. I'd like to think I've seen much of what West Africa has to offer, but this was a first for me. It didn't look appetising.

 

Always special - a bow-riding bottlenose dolphin

 

One of the more surreal sights of the tour

 

Back to the manatees, and the bulk of the day today was spent admiring these gentle creatures in the spring. Again, our views were brief and photography was immensely challenging. Throughout the day, we were treated to views of an actively feeding adult, and a separate pair of a mother and calf. The mother and calf were much more timid, only poking a few inches of their noses above water at a time, with the lone adult porpoising and tail-slapping more readily. We were accompanied today at the watch-tower by a Spanish cyclist, a few more French tourists and plenty of local fishermen, but for much of the day we had the manatees all to ourselves. A real treat and a lovely day indeed. Late this evening, two adult manatees were spotted by our client in about 2 foot of water (we knew, as we had been standing there at low tide) - they offered excellent views until the military, I kid you not, pulled up in a vastly over-powered boat to scold some local fishermen, passing over the manatees in the process.

 

One of the better views of manatee we had during our visit

 

 

A typical view of the manatee calf

 

 

A spot of birding here and there revealed a very obliging western plantain-eater, as well as rose-ringed parakeets, village weavers and hordes of western reef egrets and ospreys. Meals were adequate for lunch and dinner, with lunch being interrupted by a common bottlenose dolphin at very close quarters. As darkness set in tonight, a few Gambian epauletted fruit bats made themselves a nuisance but it was an otherwise quiet evening ahead of a long drive to come tomorrow. 

 

Common bottlenose dolphin just a few metres from shore

 

[Pictus Safaris]

Day 3:

 

Today was very much designated as a transfer day, leaving before dawn for the long journey eastwards to Niokolo-Koba. One of the great difficulties in visiting Senegal is that many of the key highlights are a long way from each other, and the infrastructure present in other more typical safari destinations to allow visitors to 'break up' journies just isn't here yet. It is a great hope that Air Senegal may continue to develop its route network domestically, beyond Cap Skiring, to facilitate easier travel in-country. There have long been plans to transform several airports (including Kaolack, Kedougou and Tambacounda) into domestic hubs, but rarely does there seem to be much progress in achieving this.  For now, visitors should be prepared for long days on the road, and today was no exception.

 

Our route took us east through Ziguinchor, Kolda and Velingara, with regular stops for fuel. The birding, as it is pretty much everywhere in Senegal, was excellent, even without making any stops to really appreciate it. The highlight was a brief glimpse of an African finfoot (abundant in good habitat here) in a small channel next to the road, but the volume of several lovely species was enough to keep the bird list ticking over nicely. In every town, there was a booming population of both Abyssinian rollers and blue-bellied rollers, several gymnogene were well-seen, as well as the omnipresent pied kingfishers and bateleurs. 

 

As we left Kolda behind, we began to pick up some more diverse wildlife, including a quick view of our first green monkey, and a striped ground squirrel. Not too long before Velingara, we had an unexpected and rewarding sighting of a group of Patas monkeys crossing the road, affording views lengthy enough for a brief video. These gorgeous primates were a key target for us, and this sighting was to prove to be a very lucky break, as this target (known for being the fastest primates) was to prove elusive in Niokolo-Koba. The views at the roadside were not as good as you typically get in Pendjari, Zakouma, Ennedi or Murchison Falls, but they were certainly an unexpected bonus en route.

 

Patas monkey on the main road to Velingara

 

 

By that point you are, frustratingly, very close to Niokolo-Koba, but access from the park is from the north, so a rather circuitous route is taken after lunch, first north to Tambacounda and then back down towards the park. Park authorities don't allow entry into the park in the afternoon, as all accommodation options are several hours' drive into the park, so we stayed tonight at Campement Wassadou, just outside the park. Wassadou is a fixture on all birding itineraries in Senegal, and it is little wonder why. In just the few hours of daylight we had available to us in camp, we easily recorded African finfoot and Egyptian plover, as well as red-throated bee-eater, multiple species of sunbird and, of course, African fish eagle. Green monkey are abundant in camp, and it is always a delight to spend time with the large groups of Guinea baboon that career around the edges of camp. 

 

The camp itself shows its age and is a far cry from luxuries elsewhere on the continent, but the fact that birding groups pass through very regularly means that standards are high enough for most visitors. There are thirty or so chalet-style self-contained units, each with its own basic en-suite, and there is a central area where meals are served. The birding that is done in camp here is generally superb, and many birding groups do not even bother going into the nearby park, rather just going up and down the Gambia Rive by boat. As we knew nocturnal activities would be extremely limited in the park, we took the opportunity to spotlight the access road to the camp after dark on foot, and were rewarded instantly with excellent views of a common genet high in the branches of a tree near our rooms. The road was littered with tracks, and it was clearly used on a nightly basis by civet and genet. A bit of a surprise was the amount of sign of spotted hyena, which historically have never been common here, but they were clearly frequenting camp. At the furthest point of our walk, we played a long game of peekaboo with a pair of Senegal galago which never fully revealed themselves, but we were pleased to have seen them however briefly. On our return to camp, I had a quick spotlight of the river and had a quick look at a very skittish common hippopotamus, before heading to bed after a long day of travel.

[offshorebirder]

Thanks for this TR @Pictus Safaris.   You have piqued my interest with the description of Campement Wassadou.  I look forward to reading about Niokolo-Koba NP.  

 

[Pictus Safaris]

On 2/10/2023 at 11:22 PM, offshorebirder said:

Thanks for this TR @Pictus Safaris.   You have piqued my interest with the description of Campement Wassadou.  I look forward to reading about Niokolo-Koba NP.  

 

 

You're most welcome @offshorebirder. For a birder such as yourself, Wassadou is a good place to be based for a few days and it requires very little effort to pick up some of the primary target species in the area - finfoot, Egyptian plover, Pel's fishing owl, Mali firefinch etc. I doubt the camp would still exist if it weren't for the patronage of big birding tour companies coming through every season.

[Pictus Safaris]

Day 4 Morning:

 

It is no secret by now, I am sure, to most forum members, that Niokolo-Koba is an area about which I am deeply passionate. Part of this passion is no doubt informed by the vast amount of time I have spent scouring the park for African wild dog, unsuccessfully to date. But, more generally, I find this park utterly remarkable. Despite countless pressures, ranging from mining and poaching to woefully ineffective management, this is the last refuge for many iconic species in this part of Africa. It is the only reservoir of wild dogs in West Africa, with the nearest population being all the way in Chad. It has the largest population of leopards of any savanna area anywhere in the region. The lions, for which this park is best known, persist in the core area of the park. And, in the remote and arid south of the park, the only population of western giant eland remaining anywhere can be found. Chimpanzee, elephant, buffalo, red river hog, western red colobus, caracal, wild cat, serval, honey badger, pale fox, Gambian mongoose et al are all part of the supporting cast. Visitors should note, though, that sightings of any of these species are rare, and require a hefty dose of luck and plenty of persistence.

 

There has been some good news for the park in recent years. Panthera have moved in formally, with extensive surveys revealing the persistence of some exciting species - they've had excellent sightings of lion and leopard on night drives (which visitors are not allowed to do), and one of their staff is solely focussed on wild dog, which have been spotted in person more regularly in recent years than we might have expected. However, it is apparent that the local guides don't have a particularly high opinion of Panthera - the story of guides vs researchers is as old as the safari industry itself. It is the opinion of the guides that the collaring of lions has driven the cats out of the core area of the park and, whilst the evidence I collected is entirely anecdotal, it was apparent that there was far less lion sign in the core area than during previous visits - but it is my sense that this may just be reflective of a lower number of lions being left in the park, rather than having packed their bags and relocated.

 

The second big piece of news in the park is the opening of the luxury NiokoLodge - this is undoubtedly the best lodge in West Africa today. It is completely bizarre, with all the trappings of many deluxe tented camps in Eastern and Southern Africa. I had to laugh when checking in during our visit, as the juxtaposition of this superb lodge with my many nights sleeping on the floor of guard posts was jarring. Any improvement on the historically-used Camp du Lion and Hotel Simenti was welcome, and this improvement is utterly seismic. NiokoLodge will set you back $150 a night or so, so the ultra-budget-conscious still opt for the dated and uncomfortable Camp du Lion and Hotel Simenti - but I cannot recommend NiokoLodge highly enough. As we will touch on later, though, it may not be somewhere to be based if wildlife is your sole focus.

 

Aiming to get to the park as soon as the entrance gate opened at 7am, we set off well before dusk from Campement Wassadou this morning. It is a half hour drive back to the main road, and then a further 20 minutes to the entrance gate at Dar Salam. We had communicated our arrival time well in advance, and confirmed it the previous evening, but unsurprisingly the gate was closed and deserted on our arrival. A few heated phone calls later and after a bit of a wait, a bleary-eyed ranger opened up the office so we could make payment. Now, it was just the matter of waiting for our pre-arranged open vehicle, which trundled along about 30 minutes later. It quickly became apparent that I would be on push-start duty for the next few days, as the ignition was shot. Our mandatory local guide didn't arrive, and sent a delegate in his place. If you are planning a trip yourself, I would implore you to bring a knowledgeable local guide from outside the park with you too, as the level of expertise within the pool of park guides is low. Despite extensive efforts to upskill the guides, there is simply not enough footfall even in high season to take guides into the park more than once a fortnight, and the amount of interest in the wildlife shown by local guides is almost non-existent. More frustrating is that guides, hampered as they are by terrible park management, show little interest in deviating from their standard day-trips into the park, even though this model is terribly ineffective at delivering any wildlife sightings. Despites the benefits of research and improved accommodation in the park, the trajectory of the park still feels as though it is heading downwards at an alarming rate.

 

Eventually, though, after an hour and a half of waiting around, we were into the park and en route to the core game-viewing area of the park, around Simenti. Given our delay, we decided to head first to Simenti and enjoy a full morning drive, before meandering across to NiokoLodge for the afternoon, before an evening drive. The drive through the park's arid buffer zone does not produce any wildlife, but as we finally began to approach the waterholes (or 'Mares' as they are known in French Africa) that characterise Simenti, we spotted our first mammal - and it was a good one. Red-flanked duiker was one of our primary targets, although it will be a mammal that many forum members know from Zakouma, and a delightful sighting allowed us to enjoy one duiker feeding in the dirt disturbed by a colony of banded mongoose. Flushed with the success of so easily finding one of our minor targets, we continued on to Hotel Simenti, spotting our first common duiker and bushbuck en route. 

 

Arriving at Simenti, we disembarked to check out the old hides overlooking Mare Simenti (these are ancient, and completely open to the elements). There wasn't very much activity other a lone male Buffon's kob, and we stopped off at the Hotel itself to present some papers and admire the resident green monkeys and Guinea baboons. The hotel is in a pretty terrible state (the hotel itself is falling apart, so accommodation is in self-contained chalet units nearby) but has a nice view over the river, where West African crocodiles and Egyptian plovers could be seen.

 

 

Green monkey at Hotel Simenti

 

After a brief discussion, we decided to continue on along a very productive track following the banks of the river to Camp du Lion - in previous visits, this had been by far the best area for lion sightings. It quickly became apparent that this track had, for whatever reason, not been earmarked for clearance this season and so the next 30 mins was mostly spent bush-bashing, without much wildlife to be seen. Finally, we emerged at the Camp du Lion, stopping off for a cold drink and a quick look at the improved new layout of the camp. From here, we continued eastwards to Mare Woeni,  which has often been a good area for a leopard. As the heat of the day, which often reached over 40 degrees Celsius, was building, there were no cats around, but we did tick off our first defassa waterbuck and common warthog of the trip, as well as plentiful birdlife.

 

Our final stop off was at the suspension bridge, from which a path leads towards a productive waterhole. We didn't make it that far though as we were chased down by our guide, who had initially refused to cross the bridge, and for reasons unknown we were taken back to the vehicle. The language barrier didn't help, but this is symptomatic of the lack of client-centricity here than you would expect elsewhere. Our long drive of around 90 minutes across to NiokoLodge was quiet in the midday heat, although we did record our first roan antelope, which are markedly more majestic here than in Eastern and Southern Africa.

 

Roan antelope

 

Our arrival at NiokoLodge was warmly greeted by Ousmane and his team there, and we were fairly promptly showed to our safari tents, complete with a/c, outdoor en-suite and all the other mod-cons you would expect from a luxury lodge. The restaurant offers superb views over the Gambia River from a viewpoint once known as the 'Grand Mirador' - I am sad that this viewpoint has been built on, but there is no questioning its 'Instragamability'. The food and drink served here is excellent, and the nearby plunge pool a welcome addition. The lodge was designed to have 10 hides, marketed as 'nocturnal hides', but in truth park management has only designated one of these as being accessible at night, and for at most one hour after dinner. I attach a few photos of the lodge and my tent below (I was in the leopard room, can you tell?)

 

 

Translated, this reads 'pool reserved for residents, forbidden for lions' - some jokes are continent-wide...

 

View from the restaurant

 

Restaurant and bar

 

 

 

 

 

Map of the park

 

Species seen by Panthera in their camera-trapping surveys in the park

[Jakob]

Looks like a stylish upscalish place. Let's hope they can attract some visitors! Majestic Leopard room 

[ForWildlife]

Very cool! Looking forward to more. I remember once spending a day on the Casamance from Zinguinchor and remember an enormous amount of ospreys, you just continuously herd them hitting the water.

 

Indeed the age-old complaining of guides about collars. Do you think this:

Quote

the story of guides vs researchers is as old as the safari industry itself. It is the opinion of the guides that the collaring of lions has driven the cats out of the core area of the park and, whilst the evidence I collected is entirely anecdotal, it was apparent that there was far less lion sign in the core area than during previous visits - but it is my sense that this may just be reflective of a lower number of lions being left in the park, rather than having packed their bags and relocated.

 

and this:

Quote

we decided to continue on along a very productive track following the banks of the river to Camp du Lion - in previous visits, this had been by far the best area for lion sightings. It quickly became apparent that this track had, for whatever reason, not been earmarked for clearance this season and so the next 30 mins was mostly spent bush-bashing, without much wildlife to be seen.

 

Have something to do with each other?

Edited February 16, 2023 by ForWildlife

[Pictus Safaris]

On 2/14/2023 at 11:37 AM, Jakob said:

Looks like a stylish upscalish place. Let's hope they can attract some visitors! Majestic Leopard room 

 

Hi @Jakob - yes, certainly a lovely lodge and a great addition to the park. Anywhere else on the continent they would surely be guaranteed 75+% occupancy, but in Senegal? Time will tell.

 

On 2/16/2023 at 9:31 PM, ForWildlife said:

Very cool! Looking forward to more. I remember once spending a day on the Casamance from Zinguinchor and remember an enormous amount of ospreys, you just continuously herd them hitting the water.

 

Hi @ForWildlife- indeed, there were plenty of osprey around on the main river. I kept an eye out for rings just in case I could trace one of them back to the UK, but no such luck. With regard to the lions in PNNK, there's no doubt that fewer lions will be seen when the tracks along the Gambia/Niokolo are not cleared. But, more troubling, was the absence of sign - on previous visits there would be signs of lion on every drive, even if it was very old. On this visit, there was almost none. I have some sympathy with the guides, as it seems to be the first time in many, many years when there are almost no lions in the core area, and it has coincided with the Panthera programmes. Panthera are turning up some great records of lion using those collars, including of a female with cubs (which is of course great news), but outside of the network of roads that the guides can access.

[Pictus Safaris]

Day 4 Afternoon:

 

By the time we had settled in at the lodge, cleaned ourselves up and grabbed a bite to eat, it was time to head out again. I had a chat with Ousmane, who manages the lodge, and it quickly became clear that there was very little wildlife being seen in the vicinity of the lodge. It had been months since their last lion sighting, which they posted to social media, and they hadn't seen any leopard, wild dog and buffalo for even longer. This is a shame, as the 'Grand Mirador', as this viewpoint was known prior to the lodge being built, was long known as an area with higher-than-average wildlife densities. Leopard, buffalo and wild dog were all historically seen here more often than in the core area of the park, but this doesn't seem to be the case any longer. Lion had last been seen at Simenti, so with nothing to keep us closer to the lodge, we headed back to the same area we had visited this morning, an hour or so away.

 

We were conscious that time was of the essence, as park regulations meant we had to be back in camp at 6pm - nearly a full hour before sunset - and in our hurry nearly missed a lovely group of Patas monkey bolting away from us near the lodge. Our drive to Simenti through the dry-country produced the usual cast of species in that neck of the woods - common duiker, red-flanked duiker, roan and two species of squirrel. Approaching Simenti, we spied a group of Abyssinian ground hornbills, which are always a very special bird to see, but Simenti itself was quiet, other than the resident green monkeys and Guinea baboons. 

 

With the main track along the Gambia uncleared, our tactic for the lions was to focus on the two ends of the section they seem to patrol - Mare Woeni to the east and Gue Damantan in the west. With this in mind, we looped back to Camp du Lion and Mare Woeni, not least as Woeni had provided lion and leopard sightings earlier in the season. We had no such joy on this occasion, although there was a handsome herd of roan to be found feeding alongside a typically humungous troop of Guinea baboon not far from the main waterhole. At the water itself, kob, warthog and waterbuck were again in close attendance. 

 

 

 

Despite the day still being warm, we soon had to be moving back towards the lodge, stopping off at Gue Damantan en route. This rocky crossing point is where, in my experience, lions seem to begin their patrol eastwards along the riverbank, and so I was keen to see if there might be any sign in the sandy substrate here. A brief chat with the rangers at the crossing revealed that they had seen a lion here about two weeks previously, with nothing since. There were tracks only of hippo and mongoose, although we were kept entertained by green monkeys and a lone bushbuck as we searched. Before leaving, I had to resolve a shouting match between our guide and our local fixer, as our guide had taken exception to the mention of us leaving at 7am (as early as the park permits) the next day rather than 8am. He said, from what I could understand, that it would be too cold for animals at 7am. I wondered how many visitors to the park fall for that.

 

Our drive back to the lodge was slow, but for a brief sighting of another gaggle of roan, and we arrived back with the sun still high in the sky. We had a wait of a couple of hours until dinner, so we had a walk around the grounds of the lodge. There were initially 10 nocturnal hides built here, but park management has restricted the use of these to just one, which is a great shame, although several offer excellent views of the Gambia, and I spotted a few bushbuck and green monkey on the far banks from here. The highlight was probably a lovely view of a shikra close to the tents. It was disheartening to see on my return that the staff were lobbing stale bread to several large male Guinea baboons. As I told Ousmane, it might be good for photos now but I can see some serious problems in the medium-term.

 

 

After dinner, we were shuttled down to the only open nocturnal hide in an electric golf cart, and allotted an hour to spend there. We would have happily spent the whole night there, but the mere suggestion of this made Ousmane look like he might faint. The hide overlooks a very small pool of water and is spotlit, and it seems like guests do see spotted hyena and pardine genet there fairly regularly - lion, leopard and honey badger will I'm sure turn up occasionally. During our hour, though, our only visitors were a pair of bushbuck and several very bouncy Senegal galagos. Soon enough the whirring of the golf cart was the signal that we were to be shuttled back to our rooms. With that, the day closed without much in the way of marquee sightings.

 

There's no doubt in my mind that the phobic position taken by park management to nocturnal activities is a big thing holding the park back - Panthera have seen some ridiculously exciting things on the night drives they are permitted to do, and there is very little stopping night drives being offered, entirely safely, by NiokoLodge. For now, though, visitors must work within the confines of the park rules, and we will keep plugging away at changing these as best we can!

[ForWildlife]

Given the level of the guides, which doesn't seem impressive, do you think it's good to suggest they should start driving at night? Or would they need some more training for that?

I've often seen blame being pointed at researchers, but did the population not go down before they arrived? So why blame those researchers, who really try to turn things around, instead of the causes which were driving down the populations from long before the arrival of those researchers? There were likely very few lions in that area, and one incident could wipe most of them out.

[Pictus Safaris]

Hi @ForWildlife- I wouldn't have any issues at all with guides driving in the park at night (it's worth bearing in mind that the guides often don't drive, and a dedicated driver is often provided unless you want to drive yourself in your own vehicle). Conducting night drives in a small, defined area with low wildlife density would be no issue at all - you're hardly likely to run into elephants. It is of course up to park management to define the rules, but to deny that NiokoLodge running night drives using their drivers is a good idea would be pretty myopic.

 

I don't think anybody is claiming that the lion populations have been negatively impacted by the presence of researchers. Rather, there is concern that their activities have pushed lions out of the very small core area, which means that sightings have nosedived. My opinion is that the absence of lions in the core area during my visit was certainly noticeable, and this is likely a combination of the ongoing downward trajectory of lions in the park, plus some other factors including seasonality and, potentially, disturbance in the core area that may be linked to research activities or increased traffic resulting from the opening of the NiokoLodge. This all being said, a lioness with four cubs was seen last week in the park.

[Pictus Safaris]

Day 5:

 

Mornings are by far the best time to be out and about in Niokolo-Koba, and we planned to leave at 7am (just after sunrise), when the park opened. As expected, there was a delay as I had to retrieve our guide from his breakfast at about 7.20, and shortly thereafter we were on the road. It was cold this morning, probably about 8 or 9 degrees Celsius or so by the time you take into account the windchill, which is positively balmy by British standards, but is always a bit of a shock to the system when daytime temperatures peak at well over 40 degrees. 

 

Again we returned to the core area around Simenti, stopping off first at Mare Kountadala. The first sighting of the day was a common duiker in a recently-burned area not far from the lodge - this species is much more russet in colour than in Southern Africa, but its size mean it cannot be confused with red-flanked duiker. We targeted Kountadala as early mornings here had apparently been producing sightings of buffalo this season, but alas there were no bovids in attendance when we arrived. Waiting for a few minutes, we picked up a few lovely bird species, but nothing too exciting from a mammal perspective.

 

Looping away from the river from Kountadala, we made a beeline once more for Mare Woeni, where the usual cast of warthog, Guinea baboon, roan, waterbuck and Buffon's kob could all be seen in small numbers. Not long after we left Senegal, there was a beautiful sighting of a female leopard here in broad daylight, but we had no such luck today. As the heat of the day began to build, we continued on east to the 'Pharmacie des elephants', an area historically known as a salt lick where elephants would be seen digging. Sadly, there are no more than three elephants left in the park nowadays, deep in the remote south near Mt Assirik. We headed this way as patas monkeys were a key target for us during our stay, and I had often seen them in this area, but a lengthy search revealed only some waterbuck, Abyssinian ground hornbills and some fresh male leopard tracks. We returned to lodge empty-handed and, en route, I mentioned that Camp du Lion used to have a resident pair of honey badgers that visited each night. Stopping off at camp, they confirmed that they still regularly saw the badgers, although not every night, and so a plan was formed - we would spend our last night in the park at the more basic Camp du Lion in hopes of a ratel sighting.

 

A couple of hours' kip back at the lodge was most welcome, before we meandered our way across in the early evening to Mare Woeni. En route, we got good but distant views of a large and skittish group of patas monkey, as well as red-flanked duiker and roan. Arriving at Mare Woeni, we settled in for 30 mins or so until we would be ordered back to camp - there was a pleasant array of generic game in the area, and we were kept busy scanning hopefully for lions until, with the sun still high in the sky, we were escorted back to camp.

 

At camp, we headed down to the riverbank, watching as a handful of bushbuck and red-flanked duiker came to drink nervously as the heat of the day dissipated. We reflected on the state of the park and what needed to be improved when we were given a very pleasant reminder of the ecotourism potential the park still has - a Pel's fishing owl swooped across the far bank and into the treeline, offering brief but clear views. Pel's fishing owl, Egyptian plover and African finfoot was quite the trifecta of birding highlights for a mammal tour.

 

As darkness set in, we set up shop in the camp dining area and waited. The next four hours or so were lovely, with a constant parade of African civet and pardine genet no doubt acquainting themselves with the scraps of food around camp. Alas, no honey badgers materialised, and we were eventually ushered to bed - but this was certainly a lovely way to spend our last evening in the park.

 

 

 

[Pictus Safaris]

Day 6:

 

Our final day in Senegal was largely to be dedicated to the long drive back to Dakar. Our day, however, began with the distant grumbles of lions from Camp du Lion, clearly from the far bank where none of the tracks now lead. No matter, as we had to make a beeline for the park gate, and our guides were clearly keen to get home too, as we careered through the bush at breakneck speed. As a result, sightings were a little limited, although we did bag our very best look at a red-flanked duiker, as well as a colony of banded mongoose on our way out. As a small aside, our second group into Chad this year has just left Zakouma and their only real miss was red-flanked duiker - so Niokolo-Koba was Zakouma well beaten in at least one small department! Chad reports to come...

 

We reached the park gate this morning, just in time to witness the park guides fly-tipping a lot of rubbish from the village into the park. A neat encapsulation of some of the apthy to conservation we encounter here. The long drive north-west went smoothly enough, with a brief stop in Kaolack at the lovely Relais de Kaolack for lunch. By evening, we were in Saly, stopping at a local hotel for a quick shower before flying home.

 

All in all, this was a successful trip. African manatee was by far our biggest target, with the primate species second, and all obliged with good views. But there is no question that Senegal remains an immensely challenging place to look for mammals, and for the country to rival Chad, Cameroon, Benin et al (which it doubtless has the potential to do) as an ecotourism destination, there is much work to be done. Having said this, birders should be flocking to Senegal in far greater numbers - it is almost comically easy to record some of the continent's most highly-prized species, it feels like cheating. If anyone is considering a visit to Senegal, don't hesitate to drop me a message, even if planning to travel independently or with another operator.

 

Mammal List – 24 species

 

Species	Scientific Name	Location(s)*
Carnivora – 4 species
African Civet	Civettictis civetta	PNNK
Banded Mongoose	Mungos mungo	PNNK
Common Genet	Genetta genetta	PNNK
Pardine Genet	Genetta pardina	PNNK
Cetartiodactyla – 11 species
Red-Flanked Duiker	Cephalophus rufilatus	PNNK
Hippopotamus	Hippopotamus amphibius	W
Roan Antelope	Hippotragus equinus	PNNK
(Defassa) Waterbuck	Kobus ellipsiprymnus	PNNK
(Buffon’s) Kob	Kobus kob	PNNK
Oribi	Ourebia ourebi	PNNK
Common Warthog	Phacochoerus africanus	PNNK
Atlantic Humpback Dolphin	Sousa teuszii	PSG
Common Duiker	Sylvicapra grimmia	PNNK
Bushbuck	Tragelaphus scriptus	PNNK
Common Bottlenose Dolphin	Tursiops truncatus	PSG
Chiroptera – 2 species
Banana Serotine	Neoromicia nana	PNNK
Dark-Winged Lesser House Bat	Scotoecus hirundo	PSG
Primates – 4 species
Green Monkey	Chlorocebus sabaeus	C, W, PNNK
Patas Monkey	Erythrocebus patas	C, PNNK
Senegal Galago	Galago senegalensis	W
Guinea Baboon	Papio papio	W, PNNK
Rodentia– 2 species
Gambian Sun Squirrel	Heliosciurus gambianus	PNNK
Striped Ground Squirrel	Xerus erythropus	C, PNNK
Sirenia – 1 species
African Manatee	Trichechus senegalensis	PSG

^{*PSG – Pointe Saint-Georges, C – Casamance, W – Wassadou, PNNK – Niokolo-Koba National Park}

 

 

 

Bird List – 128 species

 

Species	Scientific Name	Location(s)*
Accipitriformes – 16 species
Shikra	Accipiter badius	PNNK
Ovambo Sparrowhawk	Accipiter ovampensis	PNNK
Tawny Eagle	Aquila rapax	PNNK
Grasshopper Buzzard	Butastur rufipennis	PNNK
Scissor-Tailed Kite	Chelictinia riocourii	C
Brown Snake-Eagle	Circaetus cinereus	PNNK
White-Backed Vulture	Gyps africanus	PSG
African Fish Eagle	Haliaeetus vocifer	W, PNNK
Lizard Buzzard	Kaupifalco monogrammicus	PNNK
Dark Chanting-Goshawk	Melierax metabates	PNNK
Gabar Goshawk	Micronisus gabar	PNNK
Yellow-Billed Kite	Milvus aegyptius	PSG, C, PNNK
Hooded Vulture	Necrosyrtes monachus	PSG, C
Osprey	Pandion haliaetus	PSG
Gymnogene	Polyboroides typus	C
Bateleur	Terathopius ecaudatus	PNNK
Anseriformes – 3 species
Egyptian Goose	Alopochen aegyptiaca	PNNK
White-Faced Whistling Duck	Dendrocygna viduata	C
Spur-Winged Goose	Plectropterus gambensis	PNNK
Apodiformes – 2 species
Little Swift	Apus affinis	PSG
Common Swift	Apus apus	PSG
Bucerotiformes – 5 species
Southern Ground Hornbill	Bucorvus abyssinicus	PNNK
Western Piping Hornbill	Bycanistes fistulator	C
African Grey Hornbill	Lophoceros nasutus	PNNK
Green Woodhoopoe	Phoeniculus purpureus	C, PNNK
Common Hoopoe	Upupa epops	PNNK
Caprimulgiformes – 2 species
Fiery-Necked Nightjar	Caprimulgus pectoralis	PSG
African Palm-Swift	Cypsiurus parvus	PNNK
Charadriiformes – 18 species
Common Sandpiper	Actitis hypoleucos	PSG
African Jacana	Actophilornis africanus	PNNK
Curlew Sandpiper	Calidris ferruginea	PSG
Common Ringed Plover	Charadrius hiaticula	PSG
Whiskered Tern	Chlidonias hybrida	PSG
Common Gull-Billed Tern	Geochelidon nilotica	PSG
Grey-Headed Gull	Larus cirrocephalus	PSG
Slender-Billed Gull	Larus genei	PSG
Eurasian Curlew	Numenius arquata	PSG
Whimbrel	Numenius phaeopus	PSG
Egyptian Plover	Pluvianus aegyptius	W, PNNK
Common Tern	Sterna hirundo	PSG
Royal Tern	Thalasseus maximus	PSG
Common Greenshank	Tringa nebularia	PSG
Green Sandpiper	Tringa ochropus	PSG, PNNK
Common Buttonquail	Turnix sylvaticus	PNNK
African Wattled Lapwing	Vanellus senegallus	PNNK
Spur-Winged Lapwing	Vanellus spinosus	PNNK
Ciconiiformes – 3 species
African Woollyneck	Ciconia microscelis	PNNK
Saddle-Billed Stork	Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis	PNNK
Yellow-Billed Stork	Mycteria ibis	PNNK
Columbiformes – 7 species
Speckled Pigeon	Columba guinea	PSG
Rock Dove	Columba livia	C
Namaqua Dove	Oena capensis	PNNK
Laughing Dove	Spilopelia senegalensis	PNNK
African Collared Dove	Streptopelia roseogrisea	PNNK
Red-Eyed Dove	Streptopelia semitorquata	PSG, PNNK
Black-Billed Wood Dove	Turtur abyssinicus	PNNK
Coraciiformes – 11 species
Pied Kingfisher	Ceryle rudis	PSG, C, W, PNNK
Abyssinian Roller	Coracias abyssinicus	C, PNNK
Blue-Bellied Roller	Coracias cyanogaster	C, PNNK
European Roller	Coracias garrulus	C
Malachite Kingfisher	Corythornis cristatus	W
Grey-Headed Kingfisher	Halycon leucocephala	PNNK
Woodland Kingfisher	Halcyon senegalensis	PNNK
Giant Kingfisher	Megaceryle maxima	W
Red-Throated Bee-Eater	Merops bulocki	W, PNNK
Northern Carmine Bee-Eater	Merops nubicoides	PSG
Little Bee-Eater	Merops pusillus	PNNK
Cuculiformes – 1 species
Senegal Coucal	Centropus senegalensis	C, PNNK
Falconiformes – 1 species
Grey Kestrel	Falco ardosiaceus	PNNK
Galliformes – 4 species
Helmeted Guineafowl	Numida meleagris	PNNK
Double-Spurred Francolin	Pternistis bicalcaratus	PNNK
Stone Partridge	Ptilopachus petrosus	PNNK
Gruiformes – 1 species
African Finfoot	Podica senegalensis	C, W
Musophagiformes – 1 species
Western Plantain-Eater	Crinifer piscator	PSG
Passeriformes –  32 species
Senegal Batis	Batis senegalensis	PNNK
White-Billed Buffalo-Weaver	Bubalornis albirostris	PNNK
Lesser Striped Swallow	Cecropis abyssinica	PSG, PNNK
Rufous-Chested Swallow	Cecropis semirufa	PNNK
Olive-Bellied Sunbird	Cinnyris chloropygius	PSG
Beautiful Sunbird	Cinnyris pulchellus	W
Pied Crow	Corvus albus	C
White-Crowned Robin-Chat	Cossypha albicapillus	PSG
Snowy-Crowned Robin-Chat	Cossypha niveicapilla	W
Common House Martin	Delichon urbicum	C
Fork-Tailed Drongo	Dicrurus adsimilis	PNNK
Yellow-Bellied Eremomela	Eremomela icteropygialis	W, PNNK
Wire-Tailed Swallow	Hirundo smithii	PSG
African firefinch	Lagonosticta rubricata	PNNK
Red-Billed Firefinch	Lagonostricta senegala	PNNK
Long-Tailed Glossy Starling	Lamprotornis caudatus	W, C, PNNK
Greater Blue-Eared Starling	Lamprotornis chalybeaus	C, PNNK
Lesser Blue-Eared Starling	Lamprotornis chloropterus	PNNK
Yellow-Crowned Gonolek	Laniarius barbarus	PNNK
Northern Black Flycatcher	Melaenornis edolioides	PNNK
White Wagtail	Motacilla alba	C
Eurasian Golden Oriole	Oriolus oriolus	PSG
Northern Grey-Headed Sparrow	Passer griseus	C
Village Weaver	Ploceus cucullatus	PSG, PNNK
Black-Headed Weaver	Ploceus melanocephalus	PSG
White-Crested Helmetshrike	Prionops plumatus	C, PNNK
Piapiac	Ptilostomus afer	PSG. PNNK
Common Bulbul	Pycnonotus barbatus	PNNK
Red-Billed Quelea	Quelea quelea	PNNK
African Paradise-Flycatcher	Terpsiphone viridis	PNNK
Brown Babbler	Turdoides plebejus	PNNK
Village Indigobird	Vidua chalybeata	PNNK
Pelecaniiformes – 16 species
Great White Egret	Ardea alba	C, PNNK
Intermediate Egret	Ardea brachyrhyncha	C, PNNK
Grey Heron	Ardea cinerea	PSG, C, PNNK
Goliath Heron	Ardea goliath	PNNK
Black-Headed Heron	Ardea melanocephala	C, PNNK
Purple Heron	Ardea purpurea	PNNK
Squacco Heron	Ardeola ralloides	PNNK
Hadada Ibis	Bostrychia hagedash	W, PNNK
Cattle Egret	Bubulcus ibis	C, PNNK
Green-Backed Heron	Butorides striata	W, PNNK
Little Egret	Egretta garzetta	C, PNNK
Western Reef Egret	Egretta gularis	PSG, C
Great White Pelican	Pelecanus onocrotalus	PSG
Glossy Ibis	Plegadis falcinellus	PNNK
Hamerkop	Scopus umbretta	C, PNNK
African Sacred Ibis	Threskiornis aethiopicus	PNNK
Piciformes – 1 species
Cardinal Woodpecker	Dendropicos fuscescens	PNNK
Psittaciiformes – 1 species
Rose-Ringed Parakeet	Alexandrinus krameri	PSG
Pterocliformes – 2 species
Chestnut-Bellied Sandgrouse	Pterocles exustus	PNNK
Four-Banded Sandgrouse	Pterocles quadricinctus	W, PNNK
Strigiformes – 1 species
Pel’s Fishing Owl	Scotopelia peli	PNNK
Suliformes – 1 species
Great Comorant	Phalacrocorax carbo	PSG

^{*PSG – Pointe Saint-Georges, C – Casamance, W – Wassadou, PNNK – Niokolo-Koba National Park}

Edited March 12, 2023 by Pictus Safaris