Pendjari National Park
The Pendjari National Park lies in north western Benin, adjoining the Arli National Park in Burkina Faso. Named for the Pendjari River, the national park is known for its wildlife and is home to some of the last populations of big game like the African forest elephant, West African lion, hippopotamus, buffalo, and various antelopes in West Africa. The park is also famous for its richness in birds.
The Pendjari National Park is an area of in the far north-west of Benin. The park is part of the WAP complex which is a vast protected area in Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger. The hills and cliffs of the Atakora range make the north-west one of the most scenic areas of Benin. They provide a wonderful backdrop to the Pendjari National Park, which, in its isolation, remains one of the most interesting in West Africa.
In March 2009 it was nominated as a tentative site for UNESCO's World Heritage Site program, and in July 2017 it was officially inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site as part of a transnational extension of the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex.
Ecology
The rocky cliffs of the area are sparsely wooded with Burkea africana, Detarium microcarpum, Lannea acida, Sterculia setigera and Combretum ghasalense. On the deep soils of some of the summits and the Atakora escarpment one finds a greater variety of plant species with Isoberlinia doka and Afzelia africana. The Pendjari River has an impressive gallery forest. The park includes both Sudan and Northern Guinea savannas, with areas of grassland dominated by Acacia sieberiana and Mitragyna inermis or Terminalia macroptera. There is a high annual rainfall of around ; The park is open year-round, although from June–November rainfall can be heavy and certain parts of the park may be inaccessible.Fauna and Flora
Mammals
Pendjari National Park has a relatively large population of elephants, which was stable over the last decades and counted more than 800 individuals between 2005 and 2010. Including neighboring W National Park and Arly National Park, the whole population includes more than 3,800 elephants, making it the largest elephant concentration in all of western Africa.The second largest species of the park is the hippopotamus. There are also large populations of several other large herbivores like African buffalo, western hartebeests, roan antelope, kob antelope, and warthogs. Some other antelope species like korrigum, bushbuck, and reedbuck are relatively rare. Smaller bovids are the red-flanked duiker, oribi, and common duiker. Primates are represented by olive baboon, patas monkey, and tantalus monkey.
One of the rarest large predator in the protected area is the Northwest African cheetah. As of 2007, there were only about 5–13 individuals left in the national park and neighboring W National Park.
The West African lion population in the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex comprised about 100 animals and is possibly the largest in West Africa.
The endangered West African wild dog was recorded in Pendjari National Park during a survey in April 2000, as well as African leopard, spotted hyena, side-striped jackal, and African civet.
The number of waterbucks decreased from about 3,000 in the 1970s to only 120 in 2004.
In 2014 and 2015, camera-traps recorded caracal, serval, African wildcat, African civet, Genetta species, Egyptian mongoose, white-tailed mongoose, marsh mongoose, golden jackal and honey badger.
Birdlife
The hooded vulture is resident in the protected area, but in small numbers.The park is renowned for its abundance of bird species.
Some 300 different species are present. Pallid harrier and lesser kestrel are occasionally recorded and there are a few isolated records for lappet-faced vulture. Fox kestrel is not uncommon, while the African swallow-tailed kite is a not uncommon dry season visitor. The booted eagle has also been recorded here. BirdLife notes that "the Pendjari is notable for large conspicuous species such as African openbill stork, Abdim's stork, saddle-billed stork, and seasonally, flocks of up to 60 European white storks. The African fish eagle and Pel's fishing-owl can also be found."
Among the more notable species recorded are pied-winged swallow, white-crowned robin-chat, Botta's wheatear, familiar chat, white-fronted black-chat, mocking cliff-chat, common rock thrush, Senegal eremomela, blackcap babbler, red-winged pytilia, black-rumped waxbill, bush petronia and Togo paradise-whydah.
Grey tit-flycatcher has been recorded as well as several other species of the undergrowth. White-throated greenbul has been recorded at Tanguiéta and the white-throated francolin, a rare resident, has been spotted in farmland south of Natitingou. South of the park there is a large semi-protected zone known in French as La zone cygnetique de la Pendjari where a number of other species have been spotted. The National park and the bird habitat is protected by the government in Benin.
Other bird species include:
- Fox kestrel resident 1998 - A3
- Red-thighed sparrowhawk resident 1998
- Senegal parrot resident 1998 - A3
- Violet turaco resident 1998 - A3
- Blue-bellied roller resident 1998 - A3
- Red-throated bee-eater resident 1998 - A3
- Bearded barbet resident 1998 - A3
- Yellow-billed shrike resident 1998 - A3
- Piapiac resident 1998 - A3
- Yellow penduline-tit resident 1998 - A3
- Fanti saw-wing resident 1998
- Pied-winged swallow resident 1998 - A3
- Senegal eremomela resident 1998 - A3
- Blackcap babbler resident 1998 - A3
- Purple glossy-starling resident 1998 - A3
- White-crowned robin-chat resident 1998 - A3
- Bush petronia resident 1998 - A3
- Red-winged pytilia resident 1998 - A3
- Red-faced pytilia resident 1998 - A3
- Lavender waxbill resident 1998 - A3
- Black-rumped waxbill resident 1998 - A3
- Togo paradise-whydah resident 1998 - A3