Parks classified as World Heritage by UNESCO
Benin boasts two of West Africa's great wildlife sanctuaries. The Parc national de la Pendjari and the Parc régional W form an ecosystem of almost 2,400,000 hectares, made up mainly of shrub and tree savannah. Unfortunately, at the time of writing (summer 2024), they were still closed for security reasons.
The Pendjari National Park was created in 1961 and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a World Biosphere Reserve. Its management was entrusted to the South African NGO African Parks in summer 2017. The Pendjari, which covers an area of 266,000 ha, also has hunting zones that are protected territories. March and April are the best months to see the animals, as the weather is dry and clear.
As for the Parc national du W, as with Pendjari, it was African Parks that took over management in 2020. Etymologically, the park owes its name to the winding shape of the Niger River. It is in fact a cross-border park covering 502,000 ha in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. This has contributed to its tumultuous history.
Of 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
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 known as the hippotrague, one of Africa's largest antelopes. Recognizable by its fawn and white belly and long, backward-curving horns, it lives in groups of around 30 individuals. In the Parc de la Pendjari, we also regularly come across the hartebeest, a large antelope with an elongated head like a donkey's snout, large ears and curved horns. It lives sedentary or in small herds of 5 to 15 individuals. Smaller than the hartebeest, the damalisque has a distinctive reddish coat and lives in large herds of up to 50 individuals! Highly visible in parks, the Buffon's kob is a small, shy antelope. Males tend to be sedentary, while females, accompanied by their young, are more likely to be found in groups of ten or so. Finally, the waterbuck also lives in large numbers in parks. This antelope can be distinguished from its cousin, the cynomolgus kob, by its larger size and long, straight horns. As you can see, you'll have no trouble seeing antelopes on safari. Get your cameras ready!
Monkeys. In the country's parks, the baboon is the most common monkey. They live in groups of 40 to 70, mostly 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 reddish hair on its back and white on its belly. Although they live in groups of around sixty, they are more difficult to spot because they live mainly in tall grass.
The buffalo, with its imposing horns and black coat, lives in herds of up to 150 individuals. But beware: buffaloes are known to be irascible and can be dangerous, so keep your distance!
Elephants are not always easy to see, as they are fearful and live in small herds. However, thanks to years of protection measures, they are now more numerous and therefore more visible. Note that these elephants are smaller than those of East Africa.
The hippopotamus is a common sight in ponds, living all day in the water and easy to observe. The Mono River, for example, is still home to a population of hippos. To the east of Dassa, the hippos of Bétékoukou are perhaps easier to observe, and at Alfakoara, north of Kandi, a specially developed site makes for an easier approach than in the park.
The leopard , although present in Pendjari Park, is obviously very rare to observe. It's a solitary animal, which lives at night and takes refuge in the treetops during the day... So it's not easy to get a shot!
The lion is surely the most sought-after species among visitors... but also one of the most difficult to observe. The king of the bush may live in packs or stand alone, but as a general rule, if you see a lone lion, expect a group to be nearby, often hiding in the tall grass. For this reason, caution is the order of the day! You'll also notice that, in Pendjari National Park, the male lion has virtually no mane, unlike its East African cousin.
Warthogs live as a family, with the female and her young following the male's long, erect tail in case of escape. Once again, it's in the tall grass that you'll have the best chance of spotting it!
Termite mounds are a must as soon as you enter the savannah! Dozens of them can be seen, looking like rocks from a distance. They live in colonies of hundreds of thousands of individuals. They belong to the isopteran species, a fairly primitive strain of insect that has evolved little over the last 60 million years. Virtually blind and quickly affected by the open air, termites are so-called social insects (like ants), having formed a caste-like organization. The royal couple, founders of the colony, are surrounded by alternate reproductives, sexed or sexually arrested workers, and a military caste comprising the nasutés, soldiers equipped with a frontal gland containing an adhesive and toxic liquid. With a few exceptions, they live only in tropical and subtropical zones, where the most highly-developed species have created these earthen edifices.
There are several types of termite mound. The mushroom termite mound is topped by one or more cones that protect the building from rain and sun, forming a kind of umbrella. As for the cathedral termite mound, it is sometimes over... 6 meters high! Also made of earth, they are so resistant that they are almost impossible to destroy. Some of these cathedral termite mounds are topped by a tree or shrub (termite mound vegetation), which draws on the termite mound's micro-ecological environment to provide the right conditions for aerating its roots. Don't look for the entrance to the termite mound, nor for the termites: they live practically cloistered, moving through a network of underground tunnels several dozen meters long.
Around 250 species ofbirds have been recorded in the parks. Among them are the marabou, the Senegal jabiru, the crowned crane, the fish eagle, the vulture, the Abyssinian hornbill and the numerous guinea fowl whose background song, characteristic of the great African wilderness, will often accompany you on your visit to the park! It is possible to see some of these animals outside the parks, but obviously under less favourable conditions. On the coast, for example, the areas bordering the Ouémé and Mono rivers are very rich in birdlife. Further inland, hornbills can be heard calling out in varying tones.
A flora of great diversity
In this intertropical zone, where rainfall is abundant, trees often reach astonishing dimensions. However, vegetation differs between the North and South, due to the diversity of soils, climate and, above all, human activity.
In the south and center, primary vegetation has all but disappeared, with the exception of a few patches of forest that provide a rough indication of the original plant cover of these regions. There is a mosaic of crops and fallow land, with a few deciduous and evergreen trees and areas of savannah. The flooded areas in the south are characterized by swamp vegetation, with some mangrove remnants, and are sometimes planted with coconut palms, teak trees (recognizable by their broad leaves) and oil palms. The raffia palm, which grows in a semi-aquatic environment, is very useful. Its leaves are used to make huts and trellises, while its bamboo serves as a pole for pirogues. Finally, its sap is used to make palm wine. Several reserves and classified forests, both deciduous and evergreen, dot the landscape. The gallery forest, with its denser canopy, grows along the watercourses. There are plantations of mango, teak and cashew trees.
In the north of the country, the most common trees are néré, karité, baobab and kapok. The white-flowered kapok tree, with thorns on its trunk that discourage climbing animals, is often considered sacred. Like the cheese tree in the same family, it produces kapok, which is used to fill cushions. We also find the kaïlcédrat, which, despite its impressive size, has no solid roots. Its wood is highly prized for making furniture, which once almost led to its disappearance! Last but not least, we mustn't forget to mention the flamboyant, whose red flowers make it one of the most beautiful trees in Africa!
In the northeast, after Kandi, the savannah landscape of thorn and roast trees clearly marks the transition to the nearby Sahel. In this region, the leaves of the rônier are used by the Peuls and Bariba to make hats, as well as jewelry such as bracelets. The kola tree, just as majestic, yields its famous fruit, the kola nut, which contains alkaloids and is chewed for its stimulating properties. This fruit is also a ritual gift offered on the occasion of various ceremonies. During the rainy season, the trees break bud and the plant cover takes on a soft green hue that contrasts sharply, especially in the south of the region, with the red laterite of the tracks. In the dry season, ochre and yellow dominate the virtually defoliated savannah landscape.
