Cross River National Park is a park in Cross River State in southeastern Nigeria. The park includes one of the richest tropical rain forests in western Africa. It forms a collection of protected areas covering about 1,544 square miles (4,000 square kilometers). The park consists largely of rain forest. Along the Atlantic coast, the park has mangrove swamps, saltwater swamps where the spreading roots of mangrove trees catch and hold soil. Rugged hills and valleys cover much of the park, which is drained by four rivers—the Calabar, Cross, Korup, and Kwa. Nigeria established the park in 1991. The Nigeria National Park Service maintains it.
Cross River National Park is divided into two parts: Okwangwo in the north and Oban Hills to the south. A variety of mammals roam the park, including baboons, chimpanzees, forest elephants, gorillas, and leopards. Hundreds of kinds of birds live in the park, including guineafowl, grey parrots, and green ibises. There are also numerous kinds of snakes and butterflies. Vegetation includes ferns, orchids, and rare plants.
Cross River National Park extends across the Cameroon border, where it divides into Korup National Park and the Takamanda Forest Reserve. The areas are part of the Guinean Forests of West Africa, an official United Nations biodiversity hotspot. Such hotspots are regions with a high number of endemic species—plants and animals unique to that area.
Human activity continually threatens and damages Cross River National Park. Conservation efforts aim to stop deforestation caused by illegal logging and slash-and-burn farming, in which farmers clear a small area by cutting down trees and vegetation and burning them. The Park Service polices the area to help prevent illegal fishing and hunting.
