MAGO NATIONAL PARK

Located about 800 kilometers south of Addis Ababa and on east bank
of Omo river, the 2,162 square kilometers of this park are divided by
the Mago River, a tributary of the Omo, into two parts. To the west is
the Tama Wildlife Reserve, with the Tama river defining the boundary
between the two. To the south is the Murle Controlled Hunting Area,
distinguished by Lake Dipa which stretches along the left side of the
lower Omo. The park office is 115 kilometers north of Omorate and 26
kilometers southwest of Jinka. The park has about 200km internal roads,
which lead to the different attractions sites of the park. All roads to
and from the park are unpaved.

Most easily accessed from the town of Jinka, Mago National Park is
mainly savannah, with some forested areas around the rivers. It was set
up to conserve the large numbers of plains animals in the area,
particularly buffalo, giraffe, and elephant. Also seen here are topi and
lelwel hartebeest, as well as lion, leopard, Burchell’s zebra, gerenuk,
and greater and lesser kudu. The birds are also typical of the dry
grassland habitat, featuring bustards, hornbills, weavers, and
starlings. Kingfishers and her-ons feed in and around the Neri River,
which provides an alternative habitat.

The major environments in and around the Mago Park are the rivers and
riverine forest, the wetlands along the lower Mago and around Lake
Dipa, the various grasslands on the more level areas, and scrub on the
sides of the hills. Open grassland comprises about 9% of the park’s
area. The largest trees are found in the riverine forest beside the Omo,
Mago and Neri. Areas along the lower Omo (within the park) are
populated with a rich diversity of ethnic groups, including the Aari,
Banna, Bongoso, Hamer, Karo, Kwegu, Male and Mursi peoples. The park’s
perhaps best known attraction are the Mursi, known for piercing their
lips and inserting disks made of clay.

Wildlife: the Park supports a typical bush savanna
fauna with 81 larger mammals & 237 species of bird. Among mammals:
African elephant, buffalo, lesser-kudu, greater-kudu, duiker, warthog,
tiang, lewel’s hartebeests, Oryx, grant’s gazelle, gerenuk, giraffe,
cheetah, wild dog, lions, leopards, gureza, common baboon and verevt
monkey are common & conspicuous.

Access:The Park is 800km and 500 km from to the
south of Addis Ababa and Hawassa, respectively. The road from Jinka town
to the park covers a distance of 34km all weather gravel road. The park
has about 200km internal roads, which lead to the different attractions
sites of the park.

Surrounding Community

MNP area is also very well-known for its rich cultural diversity,
where many elements of the earliest nomadic lifestyles are still
continued. Hammer, Benna, Mursi, Ngagatom, Ari, Karo, Body, Kwegu are
communities very well known for their traditional culture, lifestyles,
colorful body decoration, ceremonies, festivals, rituals, and other
living expressions.