Sierra Leone and the head of government. The country's capital and largest city is Freetown. Sierra Leone is made up of five administrative regions: the Northern Province, North West Province, Eastern Province, Southern Province and the Western Area. These regions are subdivided into sixteen districts. Sierra Leone was a British Colony from 1806 to 1961. Sierra Leone became independent from the United Kingdom on 27 April 1961, led by Sir Milton Margai. In May 1962, Sierra Leone held its first general elections as an independent nation. On April 19, 1971, Siaka Stevens' government abolished Sierra Leone's parliamentary government system and declared Sierra
Wildlife of Sierra Leone Wildlife of Sierra Leone The wildlife of Sierra Leone is very diverse due to the variety of different habitats within the country. Sierra Leone is home to approximately 2090 known higher plant species, 147 known species of mammals, 172 known breeding bird species, 67 known reptile species, 35 known amphibian species and 99 known species of fish. There are approximately 147 known species of wild mammals within Sierra Leone. Members of fourteen orders of placental mammals inhabit Sierra Leone. The endangered pygmy hippopotamus has territories around the islands on the Moa River and is widespread in the Gola Forest area.