Comoé National Park in the north-east of Ivory Coast is one of the largest national parks in Africa, covering an area of approximately 11,500 km². It is named after the Comoé River, which flows through the park for a length of about 220 km from north to south. Major tributaries are the Boin, Iringou and Congo (not to be confused with the Central African river). Most of the park is covered by a granite plateau with a height of 250 m to 300 m above sea level. Higher elevations are the Monts Yévélé (635 m), Monts Potrou (625 m), Monts Boutourou (589 m) and the Monts de Tehini (566 m).

The boundaries between different savannah zones run through the park. A narrow strip in the north belongs to the drier Sudan savannah zone, most of the central area is taken up by the Sub-Sudan savannah zone, and the southwest of the park is already in the humid Guinea savannah zone. The climate is characterized by the alternation between dry and rainy seasons. The dry season begins in October and lasts until March. The subsequent rainy season delivers the maximum amount of rainfall in August and September. During the dry season and especially between December and February, the Harmattan blows, a dry, hot wind from the Sahara, which brings a lot of dust from there.

The landscape of the Comoé National Park is characterized by a mosaic of different savannah formations, forests and bodies of water. Various types of savannah and open savannah forests, which differ in their tree density, cover most of the park and take up about 90% of its area. In the south in particular, there are island forests scattered throughout the savannah, which make up about 5% of the park area. Other forests are gallery forests (about 2%) along the Comoé and Iringous. Additional landscape components are bowals, areas along the rivers that are almost devoid of woodland and, in large areas, vegetation, as well as rocky plateaus that are also vegetation-free.

Finds of Neolithic tools and the remains of dwellings show that the park has long been a settlement area. However, the density of human settlement in the area of the later park was always low, which is probably related to the infertility of the soil, the high occurrence of the tsetse fly and the spread of river blindness. The sparse settlement of the north-east of the Ivory Coast has allowed large areas of original savannah habitats with a rich flora and fauna to survive here longer than in other parts of the country. A large part of the current park, located east of the Comoé, was placed under protection as early as 1926 as the "Refuge Nord de la Côte d'Ivoire" and renamed the "Réserve Totale de Faune de Bouna" in 1953. This was expanded in 1968 to include the areas west of the Comoé and declared a national park by presidential decree. Since 1983, the Comoé National Park has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a biosphere reserve. The temporary classification as a World Heritage Site in Danger at a time of political instability was lifted in 2017.

Comoé National Park is characterized by an astonishing diversity of plants and animals for the region, which is due to the variety of habitats. The forest formations are similar to the southern rainforests in terms of their species inventory, but are not quite as diverse. The gallery forests in particular serve as corridors through which many species from the southern rainforest zone can penetrate far into the more northern savannah habitats. As a result, elements from different zones that are actually far apart meet in the park.

At least 135 species of mammals have been identified in the park so far. There are certainly still many new species to be discovered among small mammals, such as mice. Among the large mammals, there are elephants, buffaloes and hippos, as well as 14 species of antelope, from the red-flanked duiker, which is barely bigger than a hare, to the roan antelope, which, as its name suggests, is the same size as horses. The bongo and yellow-backed duiker reach their northernmost distribution limit in the park.

Of the eleven monkey species, the chimpanzee, the smoky mangabey and the black-and-white colobus monkey are classified as "endangered" or "critically endangered" according to the IUCN criteria. Large predators include the leopard and the spotted hyena, but they are rarely seen. With a little luck, however, various species of mongoose can be observed.

The bird fauna is particularly rich, with around 500 species identified to date. This is due not only to the diversity of habitats but also to the mobility of these species. In addition to the many resident birds, there are 74 species that breed in Europe and spend the Nordic winter months in the park (e.g. willow warbler, pied flycatcher). They also encounter migratory birds from the Sahel zone, which is very dry at that time. The park is one of the last refuges in West Africa for various vulture species classified as "critically endangered" by the IUCN.

The 44 species of snakes, 18 lizards, 3 crocodiles and 4 turtles identified so far make Comoé National Park one of the regions in Africa with the richest reptiles. In addition, 35 species of amphibians have been found so far.

It is certain that some large mammals originally found in the region had already disappeared before the national park was established. There are reports that several black rhinos were shot near Bouna [link map] in 1905. Today, this species has disappeared from all of West Africa. Cheetahs and eland share a similar fate, and the hyena dog has also not been seen for at least several decades. Lions were still regularly seen in the 1970s; the last evidence dates back to around the turn of the millennium. However, a targeted search in 2010 revealed no evidence of the presence of lions, nor did extensive walks and trips through the southwest of the park between 2016 and 2020. A comparison of standardized counts and reports from the 1970s with current conditions shows that species still found today must have declined significantly in numbers in recent decades. This affects, among others, hippopotamus, baboon, hartebeest, oribi (a delicate species of antelope) and buffalo. Large bird species such as the goliath heron and the grey-cheeked hornbill are also becoming increasingly rare.

The greatest threat to the park's wildlife has always been poaching. Decades of unsustainable use of the park's animal population has certainly led to the disappearance and significant, ongoing decline of some charismatic large mammal species. Signs of poaching and illegal fishing are regularly found in the park. Other threats include the illegal use of the park for cattle grazing, especially in the north, and gold mining in the central areas. Sustainable protection of the habitats with their diverse flora and fauna can only be ensured if these problems can be brought under control.