13 Wild Animals in Sierra Leone [Wildlife in Sierra Leone]

Learn All About Sierra Leonean Animals

Ready to learn all about Sierra Leonean animals?

I’ve always been fascinated by animals and by how they can be so different from one country to another. In this guide, we’ll focus on the many animals Sierra Leone has on the land, in the sky, and underwater.

I’ve split the guide into 4 categories:

• Native animals from Sierra Leone
• Endangered animals of Sierra Leone
• What is Sierra Leone national animal?
• How many animals native to Sierra Leone?

Let’s dive in right away with our first category!

Native Animals from Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone is a small African country located in the western part of the continent, on the southwestern coastline. It is one of the smallest countries in all of Africa, has a tropical climate with a very diverse environment, is home to multiple ethnicities and religions (although about two-thirds of the population is Muslim), and used to be a British colony. It is bordered by Guinea and Liberia, and its capital and largest city is Freetown, which counts more than 1,055,000 inhabitants (but more than 1,500,000 if you include the metropolitan area).

An interesting part of the country that I wanted to tackle is its wildlife. In light of that, I have listed the best of it, and I hope you will love learning what animals live in Sierra Leone.

Here’s the Sierra Leone animals list.

1. Chimpanzee

• Name: Chimpanzee
• Scientific name: Pan troglodytes
• Conservation status: Endangered

The chimpanzee, also simply known as the chimp, is the largest primate found in Sierra Leone. Because of a very worrying trend of decline for this species, it was chosen as the country’s national animal in 2019, in order to raise awareness and to try and save one of the humans’ closest relatives.

There are about 5,500 chimpanzees in Sierra Leone, and they can be found all across the country, but primarily in the Loma area and the Outamba.

2. Giant forest hog

orientalizing / CC BY-NC-ND

• Name: Giant forest hog
• Scientific name: Hylochoerus meinertzhageni
• Conservation status: Least concern

The giant forest hog is a species of wild pig native to small areas of Central and West Africa. It inhabits wooded areas, and is the largest wild member of the pig family, although some specimens of wild boar subspecies can be larger.

This hog is one of three species of wild pig occurring in Sierra Leone, alongside the red river hog and the warthog. It is primarily a herbivore, but also scavenges, and is a nocturnal animal.

3. African leopard

• Name: African leopard
• Scientific name: Panthera pardus pardus
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The African leopard is the most common and widespread subspecies of the leopard, being found across much of sub-Saharan Africa, although its current range is much smaller than it used to be. It is seriously threatened by habitat loss and poaching and is thus considered vulnerable to extinction.

This big cat lives in the grasslands, savannas, and mountainous forests of Sierra Leone, and is highly adaptable: it will feed on any prey within its range and can come close to major cities in the absence of intense persecution.

4. Pygmy hippopotamus

• Name: Pygmy hippopotamus
• Scientific name: Choeropsis liberiensis
• Conservation status: Endangered

The pygmy hippopotamus is a small species of mammal native to West Africa: it can be found in Sierra Leone, as well as Liberia, Guinea, and the Ivory Coast, and has been extirpated from Nigeria.

This ungulate is the lesser known of two species of hippopotamus, and it is much smaller (as its name implies), nocturnal and reclusive. It is difficult to study in the wild because of this naturally alert behavior, and it is found in the Gola Forest Reserve in Sierra Leone.

5. African forest buffalo

• Name: African forest buffalo
• Scientific name: Syncerus caffer nanus
• Conservation status: Least concern

The African forest buffalo, also known as the Congo buffalo or the dwarf buffalo, is the smallest subspecies of the African buffalo. It is native to central and western Africa, where it primarily lives in the rainforests.

This buffalo also inhabits a wide range of areas, from grassy savannas to marshes. This diversity is necessary because of habitat loss and agricultural expansion: these mammals need to adapt to the undisturbed areas that are left.

6. African bush elephant

• Name: African bush elephant
• Scientific name: Loxodonta africana
• Conservation status: Endangered

The African bush elephant, also known as the African savanna elephant, is the largest terrestrial animal on the planet. It is one of two species of elephants in Africa and is seriously endangered due to habitat loss and poaching for its ivory and meat.

This animal of all records can be found throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa, in about 37 countries. It lives in grasslands, savannas, and forests, as well as agricultural land and wetlands.

7. African harrier-hawk

• Name: African harrier-hawk
• Scientific name: Polyboroides typus
• Conservation status: Least concern

The African harrier-hawk, also known as the gymnogene or simply the harrier hawk, is a medium-sized species of bird of prey native to most of sub-Saharan Africa. While its upper parts, breast, and head are pale gray, its belly is mainly white.

This raptor inhabits the tropical regions of Sierra Leone and is more common in western Africa in general. It is fairly adaptable and can be spotted in rural and urban areas, where it breeds palm trees within the cities.

8. African wild dog

• Name: African wild dog
• Scientific name: Lycaon pictus
• Conservation status: Endangered

The African wild dog, also known as the African hunting dog or the African painted dog, is a wild species of canine native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is a very unique animal, being both hypercarnivorous and specialized in hunting antelopes: in order to feed, this dog gathers in packs and chases antelopes to exhaustion, by day.

With very low numbers, the African wild dog might already be extinct in Sierra Leone. Only unconfirmed sightings have been recorded in recent years, and they could inhabit Outamba-Kilimi National Park.

9. African manatee

• Name: African manatee
• Scientific name: Trichechus senegalensis
• Conservation status: Vulnerable

The African manatee, also known as the West African manatee, is a species of manatee native to the western coastline of Africa, as well as some of its inland freshwater streams and rivers. In Sierra Leone, it can be found in the estuaries and rivers, mainly around Bonthe, in the southern part of the country.

This manatee migrates upstream when flooding occurs in June and July. Because of this, it is locally despised for destroying rice fields during the rainy season; on top of that, people think that killing this animal would reduce the expensive repairs of the fishing nets.

10. Diana monkey

• Name: Diana monkey
• Scientific name: Cercopithecus diana
• Conservation status: Endangered

The Diana monkey is a species of Old World monkey endemic to a small area of West Africa, which encompasses Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Ivory Coast. It lives in the high-canopy forests of these countries and was named after the Roman goddess Diana because of the resemblance of its white brow with the goddess’ bow.

This primate lives in the primary forests and is considered endangered because of habitat loss, as well as hunting for the bushmeat trade.

11. North African ostrich

• Name: North African ostrich
• Scientific name: Struthio camelus camelus
• Conservation status: Least concern

The North African ostrich, also known as the Barbary ostrich or the red-necked ostrich, is the largest bird in the world. It is flightless but can reach incredible speeds while running. Standing at 2.74 m / 9 ft in height and as much as 154 kg / 340 lb in weight, it is a spectacularly large bird that lays a very large white egg.

In Sierra Leone, it is fairly rare, and might already be locally extinct.

12. Bongo

• Name: Bongo
• Scientific name: Tragelaphus eurycerus
• Conservation status: Near threatened

The bongo is a species of ungulate native to Central, West, and East Africa. Although this distribution may seem large, it actually lives in small areas, and scattered populations. Because of this, it is considered near threatened with extinction.

This antelope lives in the tropical jungles of Sierra Leone, as well as that of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ivory Coast, and Liberia, among other countries. It can be found at an altitude of up to 4,000 m / 13,000 ft above sea level.

13. Serval

• Name: Serval
• Scientific name: Leptailurus serval
• Conservation status: Least concern

The serval is one of the few relatively large species of wild cat listed as least concern, primarily due to the fact that it mainly inhabits protected areas within its range, as well as bans or regulations of hunting and its elusive, nocturnal habits.

This wild cat has been associated with humans since Ancient Egypt times when it was traded or gifted to kings and pharaohs. Although sometimes kept as a pet nowadays, its wild nature often causes issues.

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So there you have them, these were my 13 wild animals in Sierra Leone. I hope you enjoyed this list and that you learned something new today.

In case you want to learn more about Sierra Leone wildlife, feel free to keep reading, as I still have lots of things to tell you about:

Endangered Animals of Sierra Leone

This is definitely the saddest part of the list, but it is essential to raise awareness. Because of this, let’s go through the list of endangered animals in Sierra Leone.

Here are the animals in danger of extinction in Sierra Leone.

Extinct in the wild

• None

Critically endangered

• Slender-snouted crocodile
• Scalloped hammerhead
• Oceanic whitetip shark
• Hooded vulture
• African forest elephant
• and 22 more…

Endangered

• Diana monkey
• Jentink’s duiker
• Chimpanzee
• Whitespotted eagle ray
• Pygmy hippopotamus
• and 51 more…

To see the full list of endangered species in Sierra Leone, head over to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.

What is the National Animal of Sierra Leone?

The national animal of Sierra Leone is the chimpanzee.

Believe it or not, as surprising as that sounds considering the place of the lion in the country (featured on the national coat of arms and literally part of the name of the country, which means “lion mountains”), it is the chimpanzee that is the national animal of Sierra Leone.

This was a recent choice made by Sierra Leonean authorities because of the increasingly worrying fate of the great ape: more than 80 percent of its population has disappeared across the span of only 3 generations.

How Many Animals Native to Sierra Leone?

What is the diversity of native animals in Sierra Leone?

Let’s look at the total number of species of Chordata (mammals, birds, fishes, and reptiles).

Total number of animal species in Sierra Leone: 2,057 (14,205 in total in sub-Saharan Africa)

More About Animals in the World!

Loved these Sierra Leone animal facts? Want to see what animals live in other countries?

Then check out these posts:

• Wild Animals in Togo
• Wild Animals in Benin
• Wild Animals in Nigeria

Or click here to see ALL the facts up on the blog! Spoiler alert: there’s A LOT of them.

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