Fougoumba, Fouta Djallon, Guinea Photograph by Rebecca Ham   West Africa: Scattered across Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, and Sierra Leone Tropical and Subtropical Moist Broadleaf Forests   12,000 square miles (31,100 square kilometers) -- about half the size of West Virginia Critical/Endangered

· West Africa's Mountain Forests
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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West Africa's Mountain Forests

In West Africa, scattered mountains and high, flat plains rise up out of the lowland forests and savannas. These mountains and plains are home to an especially diverse assemblage of plants and animals, including chimpanzees that use stones and twigs as tools and endemic species such as the viviparous toad.

Special Features

The mountains and high plains of this ecoregion occur across an area from Guinea east to Côte d'Ivoire. The highest peaks are Mt. Bintumani at 6,385 feet (1,946 m), Mt. Loma at 6,070 feet (1,850 m), and Mt. Nimba at 5,748 feet (1,752 m). Most of the mountains are rounded due to millions of years of weathering. Temperatures vary considerably because of the elevational changes within the region. Average rainfall is high: ranging from 60 to 95 inches (1,600-2,400 mm) per year. Lower elevations tend to support lowland forests, mid-altitudes often contain cloud forests, and the highest elevations are covered in grasslands intermixed with bamboo thickets, wetlands, and gallery forests.

	In the foothills in Guinea, chimpanzees have been recorded using twigs as tools to catch termites. Chimpanzees have also been observed using two stones as tools to crack open nuts.

Wild Side

Scientists have documented extraordinary diversity in some parts of this ecoregion. For example, more than 500 new species have been discovered on Mt. Nimba, many of them endemic. Several species of antelope called duikers feed in the forests. Leopards prowl in search of prey. Pottos (small, nocturnal primates) feed on fruits and insects, while chimpanzees and red colobus monkeys chatter in the trees. White-breasted guinea-fowl walk quietly in the undergrowth. Viviparous toads, which give birth to babies rather than lay eggs, hop along the ground.

Cause for Concern

The two biggest threats to this region are mining and deforestation. Although some mountain zones remain largely untouched, others have been severely degraded and fragmented.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.