Bafing Faunal Reserve

The Bafing reserve protects wooded savanna and gallery forest along the Bafing river in western Mali, and its significance is the chimpanzee: the West African subspecies reaches its northern limit here, living in drier country than chimpanzees occupy anywhere else, which has made the population a subject of study. Hippo use the river and the reserve also holds antelope and a substantial bird list.

The landscape

• The chimpanzees - the West African subspecies at the northern edge of its range.
• The dry-country adaptation - apes living in savanna rather than rainforest.
• The Bafing river - the water the reserve runs along, with hippo in it.
• The gallery forest - the wooded strips the chimpanzees depend on.

When to go

November to February is the cool dry season and the practical window. The rains from June close access. March to May is extremely hot.

Things to know

Chimpanzee sightings are very unlikely; the population is dispersed and unhabituated. There is no infrastructure of any kind. Visits require an expedition with permits and guides arranged well ahead.

Nearby

Kayes is northwest, and Bamako is east.