• The jewel in the crown of Benin, is the WAP complex which consists of 3 national parks: Pendjari National Park in Benin, W National Park which is a transboundary park, shared between Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger and Arli National Park in Burkina Faso. These are the only national parks within Benin, and while wildlife is known to roam outside this reserve, there are currently little tourism infrastructure elsewhere. Having said this, if there are other places which are good for eco-tourism in this country, do get in touch (also any lodges or campsites/tour guides who operate in this area, I would love to make it easier for people to find you.

Why is this an important ecosystem? Well apart from the fact that it is one of the last intact savannah ecosystems in west Africa, Furthermore, it is the last stronghold of the west African lion (recently shown to be part of the so-called Asiatic lion) or indeed now known as the Northern Lion (as opposed to the Southern lion, which inhabits East and Southern Africa). 

There are 246-466 living in the WAP complex, and this represents roughly 90% of the whole population. It should be noted, that the remaining 10% would number between 24 and 46 animals. There are currently thought to be 3 other reserves with west African lions remaining (these will be covered in their country pages) in Senegal with 30-50 lion,  and two populations in Nigeria- one with 30 lions and the other with just 2. As such if the  numbers in other reserves are anywhere near these figures, the WAP complex could support around 80%, of the west African Lions.

Other animals that live in this reserve include 

• 85% of the savannah elephants in west Africa (around 1700 individuals)
• African manatees are thought to number around 10,000 – there is not a forthcoming estimate for those in this reserve, but it is definitely an important population for the survival of the species. It should be noted that all 3 Manatee subspecies have small populations in the wild. Spotting one should be considered a special treat.
• It is thought to be the last population of North-west African Cheetah (often referred to as Saharan cheetah) are present in the reserve, at a density of roughly 0.4 per 100 square km, or around 130 in the reserve (for reference, the Kruger is around 66% of this reserves size, and its Cheetah population varies between a low of around 70 and a high of around 400).
• The leopard population is thought to be relatively healthy but they are rarely seen.
• Wild dog are definitely present, though again, their population is hard to estimate
• There are a variety of herbivores, including a large population of Topi Antelope, and the largest west African population of both the Giraffe and the Buffalo.
• The west African Black rhino was probably present in the past, but is now extinct.