BIOSPHERE EXPERIENCES
Reserved for your Experience
Explore the warm waters and the unique flora and fauna of the islands’ diverse eco systems โ home to rare and endangered species โ from elephants, water buffaloes, chimpanzees, antelopes, monkeys in the savannah and forests to sea turtles and aquatic mammals like manatees, hippopotamus, African Clawless Otters, Atlantic Humpbacked Dolphins, Nile Crocodiles and African Grey Parrots in the coastal zone.
Spot a Hippopotamus โ the only predominantly salted water dwelling hippopotamus population along the West coast of Africa is found in the island of Orango.
Swim alongside a Manatee?
โ a mammal (like you), living in the coastal regions.
Catch a glimpse of the globally threatened Green Turtle โ a female laying eggs on a dark tropical beach โ or help a recently hatched baby turtle to reach the sea. The island of Poilรฃo is one of the ten most important Green Turtle nesting sites in the world and was declared “Gift to the Earth” in 2001.
Rest under the shade of the mangrove trees โ in the company of an amazing variety of living organisms taking refuge too. The Mangrove ecosystem is the most typical plant community in the coastal zone. The dense aerial root system provides areas for marine life egg-laying and protection and affords habitats for oyster colonies like the Giant Bloody Cockle.
Due to an amazing oceanographic phenomenon known as upswelling, winds blowing across the Atlantic push away the warm surface waters, allowing the denser, cooler, nutrient-rich waters to be drawn up to the oceanโs surface. Upswelling propagates the productivity of the eco-system by creating unique micro-organisms, enriching the biodiversity of the islands โ the beauty of which is manifested not only in the animal species but in the flora and fauna as well.