Huila province, Angola Photograph by Brian Huntley   Southern Africa: Angola Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands   254,900 square miles (660,100 square kilometers) -- about the size of Montana and Nevada combined Vulnerable

· War-Torn Woodland
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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War-Torn Woodland

This ecoregion is comprised of moist, deciduous broadleaf savannas and woodlands interspersed with open grasslands and meadows. Gently undulating hills are drained by rivers flowing eastward into the Zambezi River basin. The area experiences a tropical climate with most of the rain occurring in the summer months. Here forest and savanna plants and creatures mix and form a diverse ecosystem. Civil war broke out in the 1970s in this ecoregion, however, and its effects are still being felt. Few scientists have access to this area, so no one knows for sure how well its wildlife has survived the conflict.

Special Features

The Miombo Woodlands ecoregion extends from the drier Baikiaea Woodlands, which grow on Kalahari Desert sands at its southern extremes to the Congolian Forests Savanna Mosaics to the north. The Miombo Woodland ecoregion is wetter than the surrounding ecoregions and is distinguished from them by the dominance of certain tree species that are seldom found outside the miombo area. Three such species dominate this landscape: Brachystegia (or mtundu), (or mutundo), and Isoberlinia.

	Arched horns more than 3.3 feet (1 m) long crown the heads of both male and female giant sable antelope.

Wild Side

Before the civil war, large groups of elephants and black rhinos roamed the Miombo Woodlands. They have since been heavily poached, but scientist think they still exist in small numbers in less disturbed areas. Other large mammals of this woodland include giant sable antelope and hippopotamuses. A number of predators may also live in this area, including lions, leopards, cheetahs, African wild dogs, side-striped jackals, and spotted hyenas. Because of low-nutrient soils, a harsh dry season, and long droughts, the number and diversity of large herbivores and other large animals in this ecoregion are relatively low. Roan antelope overcome the problem by specializing on seasonal high-quality shoots of a few types of tall grass. A smaller carnivore, the miombo genet, climbs trees in search of small birds and hunts other small animals from the ground. Birds such as the black-eared canary and red-throated twinspot fly among the woodland’s trees. Other animals in this ecoregion include Angola ornate frogs, Huila forest treefrogs, Bocage’s horned adders, scaled sandveld lizards, and sepsina lizards.

Cause for Concern

Poaching, subsistence agriculture, livestock grazing, and oil and diamond prospecting were all threatening this ecoregion before the civil war began in the 1970s. Today, hunting for subsistence and trophies, much of it illegal, may be the most serious threat to the wildlife in all of Angola. Other concerns include cutting trees for firewood and charcoal production, illegal strip mining, and urbanization. Many large animals are also killed when they walk through areas teeming with abandoned land mines.

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