In southeastern Senegal, Niokolo-Koba National Park protects a broad sweep of savannah, gallery forest, wetlands and rocky ground. The Gambia, Sereko, Niokolo and Koulountou rivers and their seasonal waters shape a landscape where habitats change over short distances. UNESCO records the park at 913,000 hectares, large enough to preserve a substantial Sudano-Guinean ecosystem rather than a small viewing reserve built around one attraction.
Water defines the park’s ecological rhythm. Flooded grasslands, pools and gallery forests provide contrasts with dry woodland, open savannah, bare bowé plateaus and rocky slopes. The diversity of environments supports a varied plant community and wildlife adapted to different seasons. A visitor may cross a landscape that feels open and dry, then encounter riverine vegetation or a wetland, but sightings and conditions vary with rainfall and the time of year.