East Nimba Nature Reserve — the Liberian side of Mount Nimba
Western chimpanzee, Nimba otter shrew, Lamotte's roundleaf bat and other cave-roosting bats, Nimba flycatcher, montane frogs; hornbills in the lower forest. East Nimba Nature Reserve, Nimba county (Yekepa), Liberia.
Best time: 15 Dec – 15 Mar (December to March). Where: East Nimba Nature Reserve office, Yekepa, Nimba ridge and old mine adits (Blue Lake area) (Liberia). Time of day: Dusk emergence from the mine tunnels and caves in the 30 minutes after sunset.
- Partly on your own
- Low cost
- No binoculars needed
- Sound 3/5
Open it in the interactive calendarSunrise and sunset listening times for the day you pick, and the map.
When is the best time?
Peak: 15 Dec – 15 Mar. Mid December to mid March; bat emergences from the old mine adits at dusk year-round
Active from 15 Nov to 30 Apr (November to April) in a typical year.
Time of day
Dusk emergence from the mine tunnels and caves in the 30 minutes after sunset; forest dawn chorus on the lower slopes
- Bat emergence: sunset → 45 min after last light
- Forest dawn: 30 min before sunrise → 2 h after sunrise
What will you hear?
Bat emergences from the disused iron-mine adits below the Nimba ridge (a full-spectrum recorder finds far more than the ear), chimps and hornbills in the remnant forest, and the wind on the grassland summit.
Binoculars?
No binoculars needed. Bats stream out of the adits at dusk; a full-spectrum detector matters, binoculars do not.
Where to go
- East Nimba Nature Reserve office, Yekepa — FDA reserve co-managed with the mining company (ArcelorMittal) and communities; permits and guides here. Map
- Nimba ridge and old mine adits (Blue Lake area) — Flooded open pit ('Blue Lake') and tunnels; bat roosts — no entry into tunnels, record the emergence from outside. Map
How to go on your own, and what it costs
Bush taxi to Yekepa (via Ganta/Sanniquellie); register at the reserve office, pay the small fee and take a community guide for the ridge (reserve rule); the Blue Lake and the lower roads are visited freely.
Cost: Reserve fee and community guide — check current prices at the Yekepa office.
Free or no-guide alternative: The public road up to the Blue Lake viewpoint and the roads around Yekepa give the dusk bat emergence and the ridge for free without a guide.
Field-recording notes
Iron mining shaped and still surrounds this reserve: haul roads, blasting on the Guinean side, and the company town of Yekepa. The ridge is degraded but the bat fauna is exceptional (Lamotte's roundleaf bat was described from a mine here). Tunnels are dangerous and off-limits — emergence from outside only, with a full-spectrum rig. Harmattan haze; cold nights at 1,000 m+.
Sources
- Wikipedia – Mount Nimba Strict Nature Reserve (Lamotte's roundleaf bat, Liberian sector)
- Forestry Development Authority of Liberia
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More: all spectacles in Liberia · chimpanzees · bats · Liberia in January · Liberia in February · Liberia in March · Liberia in December