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New page: right|thumb|250px|Pygmy hippos Taï National Park is the last remaining area of the primary forest that once covered the territories of present-day Ghana,...
[[Image:Pygmy hippo.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Pygmy hippos]]
[[Taï National Park]] is the last remaining area of the primary forest that once covered the territories of present-day [[Ghana]], [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Liberia]] and [[Sierra Leone]]. This humid tropical forest, located in the south-west of Côte d'Ivoire, has a high level of [[Endemic|endemism]], and over 150 species have been identified as endemic to the Taï region. With an area of around 1274 square miles, the park is predominantly dense primary evergreen [[rain forest]], characterized by tall trees (130-200 feet) with massive trunks and sometimes large stilt roots.<ref>''Taï National Park'' Department of Primatology - Field Research [http://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/files/field_research.htm Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> It is the largest island of forest remaining in West Africa. Some plants previously thought to be extinct (such as ''Amorphallus staudtii'') have been rediscovered in the area. Of the 54 species of large [[mammal]] known to occur in this type of rain forest, 47 are found in Taï, of which 5 are threatened, including the [[Hippopotamus|Pygmy hippopotamus]] (''Hexaprotodon liberiensis'').
==Indigenous population==
Two main groups of people live in the area, the rural '''Bakoui''' living on the forest edge but having only a marginal impact on the forest, and the [[Aborigine|aboriginal]] '''Baoule''' who are responsible for most of the forest destruction.<ref>''Population'' UNESCO Advisory Body Evaluation (1982)</ref>
==World heritage==
The forest was first declared a "Forest and Wildlife Refuge" in 1926. In 1972 it became a [[National Park]], and was declared a [[Biosphere Reserve]] five years later. In 1982, having been deemed to contain "superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance", constituting "a most important and significant natural habitat for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation", the forest was placed on the list of [[World Heritage Site]]s by [[UNESCO]].<ref>''Selection criteria'' [http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/ UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==Threats==
The area has suffered extensive [[poaching]]. Species taken include [[elephant]] for [[ivory]], [[monkey]]s and [[antelope]]s for [[bushmeat]] and [[crocodile]] and [[leopard]] for skins. The park has also been severely
affected by gold panning activities in the central region.<ref>''Management Problems'' World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1992)</ref>
==External links==
*[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/195 UNESCO] Site entry. Accessed 16 January 2008
==References==
<small>{{reflist|1}}</small>
[[Category:World Heritage Sites]]
[[Category:Africa]]
[[Taï National Park]] is the last remaining area of the primary forest that once covered the territories of present-day [[Ghana]], [[Côte d'Ivoire]], [[Liberia]] and [[Sierra Leone]]. This humid tropical forest, located in the south-west of Côte d'Ivoire, has a high level of [[Endemic|endemism]], and over 150 species have been identified as endemic to the Taï region. With an area of around 1274 square miles, the park is predominantly dense primary evergreen [[rain forest]], characterized by tall trees (130-200 feet) with massive trunks and sometimes large stilt roots.<ref>''Taï National Park'' Department of Primatology - Field Research [http://www.eva.mpg.de/primat/files/field_research.htm Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref> It is the largest island of forest remaining in West Africa. Some plants previously thought to be extinct (such as ''Amorphallus staudtii'') have been rediscovered in the area. Of the 54 species of large [[mammal]] known to occur in this type of rain forest, 47 are found in Taï, of which 5 are threatened, including the [[Hippopotamus|Pygmy hippopotamus]] (''Hexaprotodon liberiensis'').
==Indigenous population==
Two main groups of people live in the area, the rural '''Bakoui''' living on the forest edge but having only a marginal impact on the forest, and the [[Aborigine|aboriginal]] '''Baoule''' who are responsible for most of the forest destruction.<ref>''Population'' UNESCO Advisory Body Evaluation (1982)</ref>
==World heritage==
The forest was first declared a "Forest and Wildlife Refuge" in 1926. In 1972 it became a [[National Park]], and was declared a [[Biosphere Reserve]] five years later. In 1982, having been deemed to contain "superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance", constituting "a most important and significant natural habitat for in-situ conservation of biological diversity, including threatened species of outstanding universal value from the point of view of science or conservation", the forest was placed on the list of [[World Heritage Site]]s by [[UNESCO]].<ref>''Selection criteria'' [http://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/ UNESCO]. Accessed 16 January 2008</ref>
==Threats==
The area has suffered extensive [[poaching]]. Species taken include [[elephant]] for [[ivory]], [[monkey]]s and [[antelope]]s for [[bushmeat]] and [[crocodile]] and [[leopard]] for skins. The park has also been severely
affected by gold panning activities in the central region.<ref>''Management Problems'' World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1992)</ref>
==External links==
*[http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/195 UNESCO] Site entry. Accessed 16 January 2008
==References==
<small>{{reflist|1}}</small>
[[Category:World Heritage Sites]]
[[Category:Africa]]