There are a total of 27 protected areas within Niger, which include a total of 11 which are properly protected. Perhaps the jewel in the crown of west Africa, is the WAP complex. The W national park is shared between 3 countries, one of which is Niger. This reserve contains roughly 80-90% of the remaining west African lions (around 350 individuals within this reserve). Also containing a large portion of the remaining Northwest African cheetah, African elephant in this part of Africa, and a whole host of other species which are no longer found in west Africa. It was also one of the last stronghold of the west African wild dog. This subspecies only has roughly 70 individuals in the wild, split evenly between here and Niokolo-Koba National Park of Senegal.

While the WAP complex is by no means the only place to visit in Niger, a wildlife, however, if you are interested in wildlife and visit the country, it is hard to argue that it is not worth visiting the WAP complex for at least a little time.