Guinea Wildlife and Economy

by ebizdir · Published June 7, 2021 · Updated June 6, 2021

Animals and Plants

What is growing in Guinea?

There are four regions in Guinea, which differ greatly in terms of their landscape. In the coastal region, forests and grasslands alternate. They form the Guinea Forest Savannah mosaic because from the air it looks like a mosaic.

Mangroves grow directly on the coast. It looks very different here than in the mountainous highlands in the middle. Trees such as the baobab or teak trees can be found there. The tropical rainforest predominates in the southeast, while the northeast is predominantly savannah.

For example, one plant that grows in Guinea is the desert rose. Trees are for example Annona senegalensis in the savannah, the black mangrove on the coast and lavender croton (Croton gratissimus) and Pitcairnia feliciana in the mountainous highlands.

Carnivorous plants are found in many types of water tubes, but also as Drosera madagascariensis. Khaya senegalensis, a mahogany species, is widespread.

Which animals live in Guinea?

The animals that live in Guinea have also adapted to the different landscapes. There is a particularly high biodiversity in the rainforest.

There are several species of monkeys. The Guinea baboon, for example, lives in the coastal region, the Senegal Galego and the vervet monkey can be found throughout the country, and the hussar monkey almost everywhere. The chimpanzee is critically endangered.

The warthog, the brush-eared pig and the aardvark are widespread. The predators of Guinea include the wild cat, serval, leopard, civet cat and spotted hyena. Do you know the leopard roller? He lives in the west of the country. Zebra mongooses feel at home in the north.

Cape buffalo, hyrax, Mozambique hare and white-bellied pangolin are other mammals that can be encountered in Guinea. The elephant and hippopotamus, which can only be found in protected areas, are threatened. Red hartebeest, rascals and yellow-bridge duiker are some of several species of antelope in Guinea.

The African manatee lives off the coast, a little further in the sea there are various species of whale such as the porpoise or the humpback whale. The West African crocodile lives in the rivers and mangrove forests of the coast.

There are many species of birds in Guinea. Petrels and the red-billed tropical bird, for example, feel at home on the coast, as do the great white pelican, the white-bellied booby and the red-bellied cormorant. Herons, storks, ibises and guinea fowl come in several species as well as hornbills, vultures and bee-eaters. The hammer head actually has a head like a hammer, doesn’t it? The blue-fronted jacana is particularly pretty. Parrots, turacos and trogons are colorful representatives of the Guinea bird family. Below are photos of some of these animals.

Among the endemic species of Guinea, that is, species that only occur in Guinea, there are mainly butterflies and frogs such as the Mount Nimba screeching frog. Add to this the Maclaud’s horseshoe bat, a species of bat, and several species of catfish in the rivers.

Economy

Bauxite

Bauxite is an aluminum ore. It got its name after its first place of discovery in France: Les Baux-de-Provence. Aluminum is made from bauxite.

Bauxite – a valuable mineral resource

Guinea has valuable mineral resources such as bauxite, gold, diamonds and iron ore. Uranium was also discovered in 2008. The extraction of these natural resources creates only a few jobs. Guinea owns a quarter of the world’s reserves of bauxite and is one of the world’s largest producers of this aluminum ore. However, the performance decreased compared to other states. Guinea slipped from second place to fourth place, and in some years also to fifth place. In 2017, it made it back to third place in global bauxite mining.

Agriculture

The conditions for agriculture are quite good in Guinea because it rains enough. Nevertheless, agriculture only generates just under 20 percent for the state (gross domestic product). However, 76 percent of the population work in this area. For more articles on Guinea and Africa, please visit pharmacylib.

Nevertheless, the production is not enough for the own population: Food has to be imported. Many smallholders only produce for their own needs and sell surpluses on the market. Meat production is also insufficient. Fishing is becoming more and more important. However, like field cultivation, it can still be greatly expanded.

The main crops are cassava and rice, sweet potatoes, yams and corn. Coffee, palm oil, bananas, pineapples, coconuts, sugar cane and cotton are exported. The share in the export of these products is only 2 percent.

Industry in Guinea

32.1 percent is generated in industry. Above all, the extraction of natural resources ensures this high proportion. In addition to the bauxite mentioned, diamonds, iron ore and gold are also mined and exported. The export goods are shipped in the port of Conakry.

While bauxite is mined in Boké in Lower Guinea, diamonds and iron ore are mainly found in forest Guinea, i.e. in the southeast of the country. Most of the gold mines are located in Siguiri, in the east of the country. The British valued the gold from Guinea as early as the 17th century and named their gold coins after their origin, namely Guinea – at that time Guinea referred to the whole of southern West Africa.