The Zakouma National Park is an African national park situated in between Am Timan and Sarh; to be more precise Zakouma is located in the southern part of Chad, a Central African nation. Zakouma was established in the year 1963 and is the first of its kind to be built at Chad. Zakouma National Park covers a total area of around 1,200 square miles or 3,000 sq. km. During the civil conflict the development and maintenance of the park was ignored upto a great extent; however, from 1989 a restoration program was initiated in association with European Union. This restoration program continued for almost two decades, till the year 2006.
In the past few decades, the region within and surrounding the Zakouma National Park has experienced significant decrease in the number of some wildlife species. For instance, during the 1970s the elephant herds exploring this African territory used to be quite substantial; during that time their estimated population was as high as 300,000. But, a survey conducted in the year 2007 revealed that currently the region is home to only around 10,000 elephants. This shows that the initiatives taken by the local government in association with European Union were unsuccessful in stopping poaching in and around the Zakouma National Park. However, even then you will come across significant numbers of elephants during your visit to this national park as it is still one of the biggest wildlife reserves on earth. Other than elephant other major inhabitants of Zakouma are: lions, giraffes, wildebeests, several avian species, antelopes and primates.
The ideal time of planning a trip to The Zakouma National Park is in the summer months of March and April; you will not be able to come to Zakouma between June and October as during this part of the year the region experiences heavy rainfall. The per-head cost of entering the national park is $15 and other than that, the park authority charges $7 for every vehicle entering the park premises.
