Makalondi is a rural commune in the

Torodi Torodi is a small town and a rural commune in Niger. As of 2012, it had a population of 109,342. As a rural center, Torodi hosts a large weekly market and the seat of local tribal authority (canton). Torodi is in the Say Department of the Tillab ...

department of

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

. As of 2012, it had a population of 73,271.

Geography

Makalondi is located in the

Sahel The Sahel region (; ), or Sahelian acacia savanna, is a Biogeography, biogeographical region in Africa. It is the Ecotone, transition zone between the more humid Sudanian savannas to its south and the drier Sahara to the north. The Sahel has a ...

. It borders

Burkina Faso Burkina Faso is a landlocked country in West Africa, bordered by Mali to the northwest, Niger to the northeast, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Ivory Coast to the southwest. It covers an area of 274,223 km2 (105,87 ...

in the south and west.

Flora and fauna

On the higher plains of Makalondi, for which tiger bush is typical as a vegetation form, grow winged seed plants, acacias, monkey bread trees, doum palms and caritat trees. ''

Khaya senegalensis ''Khaya senegalensis'' is a species of tree in the Meliaceae family that is native to Africa. Common names include African mahogany, dry zone mahogany, Gambia mahogany, khaya wood, Senegal mahogany, ''cailcedrat'', ''acajou'', ''djalla'', and '' ...

'' and

Tamarind Tamarind (''Tamarindus indica'') is a Legume, leguminous tree bearing edible fruit that is indigenous to tropical Africa and naturalized in Asia. The genus ''Tamarindus'' is monotypic taxon, monotypic, meaning that it contains only this spe ...

thrive in the lowlands. The average rainfall level between 1961 and 1990 was about 600 mm (23 in). The Makalondi District is recognized as an

Important Bird Area An Important Bird and Biodiversity Area (IBA) is an area identified using an internationally agreed set of criteria as being globally important for the conservation of bird populations. IBA was developed and sites are identified by BirdLife Int ...

. The major birds include the Long-tailed glossy starling and the Savile's bustard. The birds were studied mainly by Pierre Souvairan, who lived in the area for 30 years between 1968 and 1998. Until the 1970s, large mammals, including Loxodonta africana, Panthera leo and Syncerus caffer were common, particularly in the western part of the area. Most disappeared following extensive clearance of land for agriculture during the 1980s.

History

Makalondi was separated from the territory of the rural community of Torodi on 18 August 2009 as a separate commune. The reasons for the separation of Torodi included the high population density in this area and in particular the position of Makalondi as an important border town. Since 2011, Makalondi has not belonged to the Say department, but to the newly founded department of Torodi.

Population

Makalondi had 73,271 inhabitants as of the 2012 census, which lived in 8975 households.

Culture

In Makalondi there are two Roman Catholic parishes belonging to the Archdiocese of Niamey: the parish of St. Francis in the main town, founded in 1967, and the parish of St. Spirit in the village of Bomanga (Bomoanga), founded in 1994. Its members are mainly members of the

Gurma people Gurma (also called Gourma or Gourmantché) is an ethnic group living mainly in northeastern Ghana, Burkina Faso, around Fada N'Gourma, and also in northern areas of Togo and Benin, as well as southwestern Niger. They might include the Bassar ...

ethnic group.

References

{{coord, 12, 50, 10, N, 1, 41, 20, E, display=title, region:NE_type:city Communes of Niger