Ghana for mammals and herps – January or March?
Hello,
I am thinking of going to Ghana the next year. It is still very unsure, but if so, I would probably have a windows between February 28th till end of March. Alternatively, and less probably, I would have time in January till 25th (or possibly 26th till February 11).
I am thinking of the classic itinerary Hospital 37 – Mole – Boabeng – Techiman for crocodiles – Bobiri – Bonkro – Kakum – Ankasa – possibly Shai.
My main interest are mammals, but frogs and reptiles (and even interesting invertebrates) come very close behind.
From what I gathered:
January: Dry, cool, no rain, best in Mole (but that’s just a few days out of two weeks), decent for forest mammals (and probably good for crocodiles as well), but herps are fairly hidden and inactive, especially frogs. There is Harmattan, which I feel might be advantageous in Mole as it allows for diffused light even later in the day.
March: Hot, humidity starts, Mole gets fairly unbearable given high temperatures, forests are super humid and hot, but there can be occasional rain which draws the herps out. Of course, if first rains come later, then probably everything stays dormant.
(February: warmer, no rain, still dry, still no herps, no advantage for mammals over January)
Ghana intrigues me the most, but alternatively I am considering Ecuador (or possibly another Colombia, but that would be better for a longer trip), as I have not been to the Neotropics quite long.
As a second alternative, I am considering Western Ghats, Sulawesi (probably not given just two weeks) or Borneo.
I would also like to bring some decent pictures home, which I know is quite hard in Ghana, especially considering mammals.
Would you please be able to advise, it is makes sense to consider beginning of March? Or is it quite probably lost cause for herps anyway and I just loose weather comfort and better mammals chance?
Thank you.
Post author
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.