Gambia Armed Forces defence and security in The Gambia was the responsibility of the Field Force. The Field Force was a paramilitary unit of the police, consisting of roughly 140 men at independence and rising to around 500 in 1980. It has been formed in 1958 following the disbandment of the Gambia Regiment, part of the British Army. There was little concern about security in The Gambia due to its small size and the safety provided by being totally surrounded by Senegal, with which it had signed a mutual defence pact in 1965. This lax attitude to defence changed following the 1981 coup
Wildlife of the Gambia are common shrubs in the savanna areas of the country. "Combretum Paniculatum" may be found on the edges of the forests in the north of the country. These plants usually have red petals and the "Combretum racemosum" has red 4-part flowers, but with infloresence rimmed by white bracts. Wildlife of the Gambia Wildlife of the Gambia is dictated by several habitat zones over its total land area of about 10,000 km. It is bound in the south by the savanna and on the north by the Sudanian woodlands. The habitats host abundant indigenous plants and animals, in addition to migrant