20 / 74
20
congregate around the mouths of rivers and estuaries on
mud and sand foreshores which provide good feeding and
nesting areas.
According to WIWO there are 89 species of marine and
coastal birds. Also Sierra Leone lies on the Eastern Atlantic
Flyway making it very important internationally.
2
3.6. Turtles and Reptiles
Sierra Leone’s coast is home to five species of marine
turtles: the Green Olive Ridley (
Lepidochelys olivecea
),
Loggerhead (
Caretta caretta
), Leatherback (
Dermochelys
coriacea
) and Hawksbill (
Eretmochelys imbricate
). These
species nest directly on the beaches mainly in the south,
around Turtle and Sherbro islands (Fretey 2001). Turtles in
Sierra Leone are reported to be endangered. Nesting sites
have been reported along the Peninsula but the expanding
tourism industry have driven away much of these species
from the beaches.
There are three species of Crocodiles: the Nile crocodile
(
Crocodylus niloticus
), the Slender-snouted Crocodile
(
Mecistops cataphractus
) which lives in streams found in the
coastal areas for exampleNo II River and theDwarf crocodile
(
Osteolaemus tetraspis
) found in mangrove swamps.
2.
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2011/cr11195.pdfCommon name
Ducks, geese and swans
Storks
Cormorants
Boobies and gannets
Darters
Bitterns, herons and egrets
Storm petrels
Shearwaters and petrels
Family/Order
Anatidae/Anseriformes
Ciconidae
Phalacrocoracidae
Sulidae
Anhingidae
Ardeidae
Hydrobatidae
Procellariidae
World
14
19
38
9
4
61
21
75
Number of species
Sierra Leone
7
1
2
1
16
5
4
Table 3.1:
List of sea- and waterbird species groups in the world and Sierra Leone