Classroom lesson · Sapo National Park · 🇱🇷 Liberia

Sapo National Park

The largest rainforest reserve in West Africa

Photo · Wikimedia Commons

What is it?

Sapo National Park is a vast, lush rainforest in the south-east of Liberia. It is the biggest protected rainforest in West Africa — a huge jungle full of giant trees, singing birds, rivers and rare animals. Walking through Sapo feels like exploring a living green cathedral.

Tell me more

The park covers about 1,800 square kilometres — that is roughly the size of London and all its suburbs put together. Deep inside, the trees grow so tall and close together that their leaves make a roof called a canopy, and the forest floor stays cool and shadowy even on the hottest day.

Sapo is home to some of Africa's rarest creatures. Pygmy hippos splash in its rivers, chimpanzees swing through the trees, and African forest elephants quietly wander between the giant roots. Hundreds of bird species live here too, including brilliantly coloured kingfishers and the peculiar-looking hornbill with its massive beak.

The Sinoe River winds all the way through the park, and local Sapo people have lived close to this forest for generations. They know the names of every tree and how to read the sounds of the jungle. Their knowledge helps scientists who come to study the wildlife.

Rangers patrol Sapo every day to keep it safe and healthy. Because the park is so large and remote, many parts have never been fully explored by scientists, which means there could still be plant and animal species waiting to be discovered.

In the classroom

Walk your class through this in 15 minutes.

Talk together

Discussion prompts

  1. 01Why do you think it is important to protect a big area of forest and not allow building inside it?
  2. 02If you were a ranger in Sapo National Park, what is the first animal you would hope to see?
  3. 03How do you think local people's knowledge of the forest could help scientists?
  4. 04What sounds do you imagine you might hear if you stood in the middle of Sapo at night?
Try this

Classroom activity

Draw a cross-section of the rainforest showing four layers: the forest floor, the understorey, the canopy, and the emergent layer (the very tallest trees). Place at least one Sapo animal in each layer and label which animal lives where.