Fada Archei Faunal Reserve
The Fada Archei Faunal Reserve is a protected area in north-eastern Chad, in its Ennedi administrative region.
History
The reserve was established in 1967, covering an area of, with terrain in the elevation range of. Its primary aim was to protect Barbary sheep.Geography
The reserve is located to the south-east of Fada town. Its terrain, in the elevation range of, forms part of the transition zone between the Sahelian and Saharan zones. It is marked by a rocky ridge divided by deep gorges. Barren sand dunes are interlaced with a few wadis. Mean annual rainfall is very scanty, with about falling in July and August. The escarpment opens into a north-facing gorge, in length, where there are six large ponds sourced by springs.Environment
The gorges in the reserve are characterised by riparian forest of Vachellia nilotica, Vachellia seyal, Breonadia salicina, Balanites aegyptiaca, Boscia angustifolia, Ficus spp., and Vitex doniana. The ponds in the reserve are vegetated with Cyperus, Juncus, Phragmites, Scirpus, Typha, Nymphaea and Potamogeton spp. It is considered a depauperate ecosystem, with vegetation of mostly Vachellia and Balanites on the banks of the wadis.Fauna
The reserve has been designated an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of African collared-doves, crowned and Lichtenstein's sandgrouse, Egyptian nightjars, Pharaoh eagle-owls, Sennar penduline-tits, greater hoopoe-larks, bar-tailed and desert larks, cricket warblers, fulvous babblers chestnut-bellied starlings, black scrub-robins, blackstarts, white-crowned wheatears and Sudan golden sparrows.Mammals include lions, Northeast African cheetahs, addaxes, Barbary sheep and Dorcas gazelles.
Species of fish present include blackstripe barb and redbelly tilapia.