Parks classified as World Heritage by UNESCO
Benin boasts two major wildlife sanctuaries in West Africa. The Pendjari National Park and the W Regional Park form an ecosystem of nearly 2,400,000 hectares, consisting mainly of shrub and tree savannah.
The Pendjari National Park was created in 1961 and is on the World List of Biosphere Reserves and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its management was handed over to the South African NGO African Parks in the summer of 2017. The Pendjari, which covers an area of 266,000 ha, also has hunting areas that are protected territories. March and April are the best time to see the animals, as the weather is dry and clear.
The history of the W National Park is more complicated and the security situation does not allow for visits at the time of writing (summer 2022). As for the Pendjari, it is African Parks that took over the management in 2020. And it is to be hoped that the instability due to poaching and terrorism will soon cease, because the natural wealth is exceptional. Etymologically, the park owes its name to the sinuous shape of the Niger River. It is in fact a transboundary park of 502,000 ha spread over Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. This has contributed to its tumultuous history.
To note, the W-Arly-Pendjari complex (Arly Park is located in Burkina Faso), straddling Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site on June1, 2018.
A fauna mainly concentrated in the parks
The wildlife is mainly concentrated in Pendjari National Park and, to a lesser extent, in Regional Park W, which has suffered more from poaching.
Antelopes.
Antelopes are the most commonly encountered species and several species can be observed. Starting with the horse antelope, also called hippotrague, which is one of the largest antelopes in Africa. Recognizable by its fawn and white coat on its belly and its long horns curved towards the back, it lives in groups of about thirty individuals. In the Pendjari Park, we also regularly come across the hartebeest, which is in fact a large antelope with an elongated head, like a donkey's snout, with large ears and curved horns. It lives sedentary or in small herds of 5 to 15 individuals. Smaller than the hartebeest, the damalisque is distinguished by its reddish coat and lives in large herds of up to 50 individuals! Very visible in parks, the Buffon's kob is a small and not very shy antelope. The male lives rather sedentary, while the female, accompanied by the young, is more often found in groups of about ten individuals. Finally, the waterbuck also lives in large numbers in parks. This antelope differs from its cousin, the cynomolgus kob, by its larger size and its long and straight horns. You will have understood that you will see antelopes without any problem during safaris. To your cameras!Monkeys
. In the parks of the country, it is the baboon which is the most common monkey. It lives in groups of 40 to 70 individuals, especially in wooded areas. Smaller than the baboon, the vervet has yellowish hair on its back and lives in groups of 6 to 25 individuals, mainly along ponds and streams. Otherwise, the limpet is a monkey with red hair on its back and white on its belly. And, if it lives in groups of about sixty individuals, it is still more difficult to see because it evolves essentially in the high grass.The buffalo,
with its imposing horns and its black coat, gathers in herds of sometimes more than 150 individuals. Be careful though, the buffalo, reputedly irascible, can be dangerous... It is therefore advisable to keep your distance!Elephants
are not always easy to see because they are fearful and live in small herds. Even if, thanks to the protection measures implemented over the years, they are now more numerous and therefore more visible. Note that these elephants are smaller than those of East Africa.The hippopotamus
is frequent in the ponds, it lives all day in the water and can be observed without difficulty. The Mono River, for example, still has a population of hippos. East of Dassa, the hippos of Betekoukou are perhaps more easily observed and, in Alfakoara, north of Kandi, a specially developed site allows an easier approach than in the park.The leopard,
although present in the Pendjari Park, is obviously very rare to observe. It must be said that it is a solitary animal, which lives at night and takes refuge in the treetops during the day ... Not easy to get a picture!The lion
is surely the most sought after species by visitors... but also one of the most difficult to observe. The king of the bush lives in packs or stays alone, but as a general rule, if you see a lone lion, you should expect a group to be nearby, often hidden in the tall grass. For this reason, caution should be exercised! You will also notice that, in the Pendjari National Park, the male has almost no mane, unlike his cousin in East Africa.The warthog
lives in a family with the female and her cubs who follow the long erect tail of the male in case of escape. Once again, it is in the high grass that we will have a chance to observe it!The termite mounds
are unavoidable as soon as you enter the savannah! We can see dozens of them which, from far, look like rocks. They live in colonies of hundreds of thousands of individuals. They belong to the species of isopterans, a rather primitive strain of insects that has evolved little over the last 60 million years. Practically blind and quickly affected by the open air, termites are so-called social insects (like ants), having formed an organization in castes. The royal couple, founder of the colony, is surrounded by alternate reproducers, workers and sexual workers, and a military caste comprising the nasute, soldiers equipped with a frontal gland that contains an adhesive and toxic liquid. They live, with a few exceptions, only in tropical and subtropical areas, where the most developed species have created these earthen buildings. There are several types of termite mounds. The mushroom termite mound is topped by one or more cones that serve to protect the building from rain and sun, forming a kind of umbrella. As for the cathedral termite mound, it is sometimes more than... 6 meters high! Also built in earth, it is so resistant that it is almost impossible to destroy it. Some of these cathedral termite mounds are topped by a tree or a shrub (termite mound vegetation) which draws from the micro-ecological environment of the termite mound the conditions favorable to the ventilation of its roots. Don't look for the entrance to the termite mound or the termites: they live practically cloistered and move through a network of underground tunnels of several dozen meters.Birds number about 250 species recorded in the parks. Among them are the marabou, the Senegalese jabiru, the crowned crane, the fishing eagle, the vulture, the great hornbill and the numerous guinea fowl whose background song, characteristic of the great African natural spaces, will often accompany you during your visit to the park! It is possible to see some of these animals outside the parks, but obviously in less good conditions. On the coast, for example, the areas bordering the rivers Ouémé and Mono are very rich in birds. Further inland, hornbills can be distinguished by their cry of varying tones.
A flora of great diversity
In this intertropical zone, where rainfall is abundant, trees often reach astonishing dimensions. However, the vegetation differs between the North and the South because of the diversity of the soils, the climate, but above all, the human activity.
In the South and in the center,
the primary vegetation has practically disappeared, except for a few patches of forest which indicate more or less what the original vegetation cover of these regions was. There is a mosaic of crops and fallow land with some deciduous and evergreen trees and areas of savanna. The flooded areas of the south are characterized by vegetation specific to swampy areas with some remnants of mangrove, and are sometimes planted with coconut trees, teak (recognizable by their large leaves) and oil palm. The raffia palm, which grows in a semi-aquatic environment, is very useful. Its leaves are used to make huts and racks, while its bamboos are used as poles by pirogues. Finally, its sap is used to make palm wine. Several reserves and classified forests, with deciduous or evergreen species, punctuate this landscape. Along the rivers, the gallery forest develops with a denser cover. There are a few mango, teak and cashew tree plantations that produce cashew nuts.In the north of the country,
the most common trees are the néré, the karité, the baobab and the kapok tree. The white-flowered kapok tree, with thorns on the trunk that discourage climbing animals, is very often considered sacred. Like the cheese tree of the same family, it produces kapok which is used to fill pillows. We also find the kaïlcédrat, which, despite its impressive size, does not have solid roots. Its wood is very appreciated for furniture making, which almost led to its disappearance once upon a time! Finally, we must not forget to mention the flamboyant tree whose red flowers make it one of the most beautiful trees in Africa!In the northeast,
after Kandi, the savannah landscape with thorny trees and roasters clearly marks the transition to the nearby Sahel. In the region, the leaves of the roast tree are used to make hats by the Fulani and the Bariba, as well as jewelry such as bracelets. The kolatier tree, just as majestic, produces its famous fruit, the kola nut, which contains alkaloids and is chewed for its stimulating properties. This fruit is also a ritual gift offered during various ceremonies. During the rainy season, the trees break down and the vegetation cover takes on a soft green hue that contrasts strongly, especially in the south of the region, with the red laterite of the tracks. During the dry season, the ochre and yellow color dominates the savannah landscape, which is practically defoliated.
