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Animals in Ghana
Ghana, a country located in West Africa, is situated on the Gulf of Guinea'just above the equator. Ghana's geographical location and tropical climate afford it a rich environment made up of both low and high plains, a forested plateau region, mountain ranges, and rivers. These regions lend themselves as thriving habitats for the animals that reside within them.

The list of animals native to Ghana is a long one that includes mammals, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic and marine animals, birds, insects, and spiders. So far 504 species of fish, 728 of birds, 225 of mammals, and 221 of amphibians and reptiles have been recorded in the country of Ghana. These include, of course, the antelope, baboons, buffalo, cobras, gazelle, hippos, hyenas, lions, leopards, jackals, and pythons for which Africa is famous'thanks in part to modern movies such as The Lion King.

Poaching, human settlement, and habitat loss brought on by deforestation, overgrazing, and periodic drought threaten Ghana's wildlife. Today, only around 33 percent of Ghana is still forested, and this number depletes by about 1.3 percent each year, which will significantly affect Ghana's ecosystem.

There are an unfortunate number of threatened species within Ghana, which are categorized as Critically Endangered, Endangered, and Vulnerable. The grove-toothed forest Mouse is the only Critically Endangered species. Endangered species include the
African elephant
African elephant, the
chimpanzee
chimpanzee, the
Diana monkey
Diana monkey, the red colobus, and the wild dog. Finally, the African golden cat, the Buettikofer's epauletted fruit bat, the fat mouse species, the lion, the pied bat, the red-fronted gazelle, the spotted-necked otter, the West
African manatee
African manatee, the white-thighed black-and-white colobus, and the white-toothed shrew species are all Vulnerable.

To protect the animals and their natural habitats, multiple nature preserves and national parks have been established. The Kakum National Park, for example, is a natural rainforest housing rare and endangered species of plants and animals where visitors can observe the wild from a Canopy Walkway around 40m/130ft off the ground. Kakum protects an especially rare and endangered animal called the Mona-
meerkat
meerkat. Other Ghanaian national parks include Ankassa, Bia, Bui, Digya, Kyabobo, Mole, and Nini-Suhien. These are used not only for conservation, but for research and study as well.


Click here for a list of endangered animals in Ghana.
Even-toed ungulates in Ghana
Bay duiker
Waterbuck
Maxwell's duiker
Kob
Black duiker
Ogilby's duiker
Red-flanked duiker
Yellow-backed duiker
Grey duiker
Common warthog
African buffalo
Red-fronted gazelle
Giant forest hog
Red river hog
Bongo
Marshbuck
Common hippopotamus
Bushbuck
Oribi
Bohar reedbuck
Common hartebeest
Roan antelope
Tsessebe
Water chevrotain
Carnivores in Ghana
Common cusimanse
Side-striped jackal
Gambian mongoose
Slender mongoose
African caracal
African golden cat
Egyptian mongoose
White-tailed mongoose
Honey badger
Striped polecat
Wild cat
Common genet
Panther genet
Haussa genet
Serval
Johnston's genet
Speckle-throated otter
African wild dog
African lion
Leopard
Spotted hyaena
African clawless otter
African palm civet
Dolphins, porpoises, and whales in Ghana
Fraser's dolphin
Atlantic hump-backed dolphin
Pygmy killer whale
Atlantic spinner dolphin
Bats in Ghana
Trevor's free-tailed bat
Lesser woolly bat
African yellow bat
Hammer-headed fruit bat
Spurrell's woolly bat
White-bellied yellow bat
Gambian epauletted fruit bat
Schreber's yellow bat
Buettikofer's epauletted fruit bat
Nut-colored yellow bat
Franquet's epauletted fruit bat
Greenish yellow bat
Yellow-winged bat
Little collared fruit bat
Bini free-tailed bat
Veldkamp's bat
Bate's slit-faced bat
Mauritian tomb bat
Gambian slit-faced bat
Naked-rumped tomb bat
Egyptian tomb bat
Large slit-faced bat
Hairy slit-faced bat
Duke of abruzzi's free-tailed bat
Intermediate slit-faced bat
Chapin's free-tailed bat
Large-eared slit-faced bat
Lappet-eared free-tailed bat
Dwarf slit-faced bat
Little free-tailed bat
Egyptian slit-faced bat
Russet free-tailed bat
Aba roundleaf bat
African sheath-tailed bat
Large-eared free-tailed bat
Woermann's bat
Benito roundleaf bat
Peter's dwarf epauletted fruit bat
Sundevall's roundleaf bat
Moloney's flat-headed bat
Halcyon horseshoe bat
Cyclops roundleaf bat
Sierra leone free-tailed bat
Dent's horseshoe bat
Sooty roundleaf bat
Angolan free-tailed bat
Rüppell's horseshoe bat
Jones's roundleaf bat
Mongalla free-tailed bat
Lander's horseshoe bat
Noack's roundleaf bat
Aellen's pipistrelle
Midas free-tailed bat
Pel's pouched bat
Tiny pipistrelle
Dwarf free-tailed bat
Light-winged lesser house bat
Rusty pipistrelle
Peterson's free-tailed bat
Dark-winged lesser house bat
Spurrell's free-tailed bat
Pohle's fruit bat
Railer bat
Zenker's fruit bat
Straw-coloured fruit bat
Hyraxes in Ghana
Rock dassie
Western tree dassie
Hares, pikas, and rabbits in Ghana
Cape hare
Pangolins in Ghana
Giant ground pangolin
Black-bellied pangolin
Three-cusped pangolin
Primates in Ghana
Red colobus
Olive colobus
Patas monkey
Collared mangabey
Lesser bushbaby
Campbell's guenon
Diana guenon
Mona guenon
Lesser spot-nosed guenon
King colobus
Chimpanzee
Potto gibbon
Elephants in Ghana
African elephant
Rodents in Ghana
Ebian's palm squirrel
Hausa mouse
Slender-tailed squirrel
Matthey's mouse
Forest giant squirrel
Pygmy mouse
Peter's mouse
Bellier's lemniscomys
Jackson's fat mouse
Red-cheeked rope squirrel
Senegal lemniscomys
Northwestern fat mouse
Fire-footed rope squirrel
Typical lemniscomys
Kintampo rope squirrel
Rusty-bellied brush-furred rat
Shining thicket rat
African groove-toothed rat
Guinea gerbil
Jentink's dormouse
Cansdale's swamp rat
Kemp's gerbil
Lorrain dormouse
Edward's swamp rat
Gracile tateril
Gambian sun squirrel
Greater cane rat
Small sun squirrel
Red-legged sun squirrel
Ghana rufous-nosed rat
Guinea multimammate mouse
Natal multimammate mouse
Rudd's bristle-furred rat
Striped ground squirrel
Giant rat
Gambian rat
Green bush squirrel
Ghana mole rat
Lord derby's flying squirrel
Temminck's striped mouse
West african shaggy rat
Pel's flying squirrel
Forest soft-furred mouse
Crested porcupine
Baer's hylomyscus
Defua rat
African grass rat
Tullberg's praomys
Long-eared flying squirrel
Allen's hylomyscus
African brush-tailed porcupine
Dugongs, manatees, and sea cows in Ghana
African manatee
Aardvark in Ghana
Aardvark
Information about the animals living in Ghana is brought to you by "List of countries of the world", your first stop in discovering all countries and animals of the world.

The animals displayed on this page are grouped in their scientific order. View also countries of the world ordered by:
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