Falgore Game Reserve is

protected ecosystem Protection is any measure taken to guard something against damage caused by outside forces. Protection can be provided to physical objects, including organisms, to systems, and to intangible things like civil and political rights. Although ...

designated mainly for games protection in southern

Kano State Kano (Hausa language, Hausa: ) is one of the 36 States of Nigeria, states of Nigeria, located in the Northern Region, Nigeria, northern region of the country. According to the national census done in 2006, Kano State is the List of Nigerian st ...

of northern

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. This

game reserve A game reserve (also known as a game park) is a large area of land where wild animals are hunted in a controlled way for sport. If hunting is prohibited, a game reserve may be considered a nature reserve; however, the focus of a game reserve ...

is located about 150 kilometers away from Kano city. It lies in Tudun Wada, Doguwa and Sumaila local government areas. It extends to the boundary line between

Kano Kano may refer to: Places *Kano State, a state in Northern Nigeria *Kano (city), a city in Nigeria, and the capital of Kano State ** Kingdom of Kano, a Hausa kingdom between the 10th and 14th centuries ** Sultanate of Kano, a Hausa kingdom betwee ...

Kaduna Kaduna is the capital city of Kaduna State, and the former political capital of Northern Nigeria. It is located in north-western Nigeria, on the Kaduna River. It is a trade center and a major transportation hub as the gateway to northern state ...

and

Bauchi Bauchi (Fula: ''Leydi Bauchi'' 𞤤𞤫𞤴𞤣𞤭 𞤦𞤢𞤵𞤷𞥅𞤭) is a States of Nigeria, state in the North East (Nigeria), North-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria. It is bordered by Jigawa State, Jigawa to the north, Yobe State, Y ...

states respectively. It covers an area of about 1000 square kilometers and is traversed by the

River Kano A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of its course if it run ...

. Falgore game reserve lies on northern

guinea savanna Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

ecological belt. This

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...

is bisected by River Kano. Falgore game reserve started as Kogin Kano forest reserve which was developed since the British colonial era in the 1940s. The forest reserve was only upgraded into a game reserve in the 1960s and subsequently called Falgore game reserve.Falgore Baseline Report 2008 edited and compiled by Adnan Abdul Hamid, Aliyu Salisu Barau and Murtala Muhammad Badamasi. Research and Documentation Directorate Commissioned Research

Ecological Functions

Falgore game reserve conserves the savanna floral faunal species within their natural habitat. However, one of the main objectives of the game reserve is to serve as regulator of silting and sedimentation that threatens the multipurpose

Tiga Dam The Tiga Dam is located in southern part of Kano State in the Northwest of Nigeria, constructed in 1971–1974. It is a major reservoir on the Kano River, the main tributary of the Hadejia River. The dam was built during the administration of Gov ...

which is the backbone of the Kano River Project. The villages located around Falgore game reserve believe it offers them a good microclimate and protects them against destructive windstorms.

Socioeconomic function

Falgore game reserve has high potentials for the tourism and recreation industry of Kano State and Nigeria. Inside the reserve, there are beautiful physical features of fascinating attractions, which include a number of rocks and the breathtaking rapids of the river Kano. Still within the park, visitors can also explore the ghost town of Falgore, which is nearly as old as Kano City and has traditional architecture. Accommodation and camping facilities are available around the game reserve. Additionally, during the wet season, Falgore is navigable from Tiga Lake.

Challenges

The main challenges to this important ecosystem is poaching,

overgrazing Overgrazing occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods. It can be caused by either livestock in poorly managed agricultural applications, game reserves, or nature ...

, kidnapping, land encroachment and the unenthusiastic attitude of state government to the socio-ecological values which is rarely found in dryland areas.

References

Game Reserves of Nigeria