Location: Malanje Province Map
Area: 600 km²
Cangandala National Park is a protected reserve situated in Malanje
Province of Angola. It covers a total area of 600 square kilometers.
Cangandala National Park that is located in Malanje Province and
covers 600 square km is the smallest national park in the country.
Yet it is fairly well developed comparing to the rest of the
country. You can buy supplies that you might need in the towns of
Techongolola and Culamagia. Although it is not advisable to buy
locally prepared food. It is not much different from playing Russian
Roulette with a semi- automatic pistol.
Cangandala National
Park was found in 1963, while Angola was under Portuguese control in
order to preserve Giant Sable Antelope that was discovered here the
same year. Additionally it was intended to protect the habitat of
this rear and beautiful animal. On June 25th 1970 Cangandala
National Park was officially established. During the Civil war in
Angola the park was closed and its services suspended. Only in 2006
the administartion of the Cangandala National Park was returned to
park.
The park is located in the north of Malange
province. The northern border runs along the Cuije River, while the
eastern and western borders are two unnamed tributaries of the
Kwanza River. To the east of the park is the city of Culamagia, and
to the south is Techongolola. The park is located in a flat area at
an altitude of 1000 meters above sea level. The area of the park
is 630 km², it is the smallest national park in Angola.
The
basis of the park is sparse forest, gallery forests can be found
along the rivers, part of the park is represented by flooded meadows
and swamps. Woodland Park has thicker undergrowth than miombo. The
flora of the park is mainly represented by Brachystegia
wangermeeana, Brachystegia boehmii and Julbernardia, there are also
Piliostigma, Burkea, Monotes, strychnos, sterculia and Dombeya. In
the area between meadows and woodlands, you can find lone trees
Uapaca benguelensis, Piliostigma, Annona, Entadopsis and Erythrina
abyssinica. Papyrus is widespread in the marshy part.
A large
number of birds live in the park. During the observation period from
August to September, the researchers noted more than 170 species.
Due to the nature of the woodland, the typical inhabitants of the
miombo are not typical for it. A large endangered herbivore species,
the black antelope (Hippotragus niger variani), lives in the park.
From 1982 to 2005, there was no direct evidence that antelopes still
existed. In April 2005, an expedition from the Catholic University's
Center for Scientific Studies and Investigation managed to
photograph animals in the park. In September 2014, there were 35 of
them. In addition, 15 species of mammals, 3 species of reptiles and
one species of amphibians live in the park.
The park was
formed in 1970, its main task is to preserve the black antelope
(Hippotragus niger variani). During the war, the administration of
the park was abolished and only in 2006 the administrative building
was restored on the territory of the park. In 2014, equipment for
monitoring the animal population was delivered to the park.