"Located in the far north-east of the DRC, the Garamba National Park (PNG) was created in 1938. It protects a block of very open savannahs, covering 512,736 ha. It backs onto the border of South Sudan and is surrounded by three hunting estates created in 1974. To the west, the Azande DC covers 405,294 ha. In the south, the Gangala-na-Bodio DC covers 377,367 ha. To the east, the Mondo-Missa DC covers 182,762 ha. The whole, the Garamba complex, therefore covers 1,478,159 ha. In 1980, the PNG was included on the UNESCO World Heritage List, mainly because it was home to the last population of the northern white rhino Ceratotherium simum cottoni. This species has not been seen in the wild since 2008 following uncontrollable poaching. However, the PNG has other values which give it exceptional universal value. It represents in fact the largest relatively intact protected area in the north of the DRC and is the richest protected area in this region. It is highly representative for the mosaic transition between the northeastern Congolese forest and the Sudanese savannahs. It includes the full range of habitats that characterize this transition and, with the exception of the disappearance of the wild dog and the northern white rhino, its fauna is complete and its savannah ecosystem is functional."
Source: UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List
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