Pendjari Hunting Zone

Description

The Pendjari National Park (French: Parc National de la Pandjari) 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, including elephants, monkeys, lions, hippopotamuses, buffalo and various antelopes and most prominently birds.

The Pendjari National Park is an area of 2755 square kilometres in the far north-west of Benin. The park is part of the WAP complex (W-Arli-Pendjari) 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 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.

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 Isoberlina 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 are also large stocks of game including Elephant, Lion, Leopard, Buffalo, Roan Antelope and Hippopotamus. There is a high annual rainfall of around 1100 mm; the park is closed from May-December when it is flooded. In historic times the endangered Painted Hunting Dog, Lycaon pictus, has been found in Pendjari National Park; however, this canid, also historically found in the adjacent Arli National Park in Burkina Faso, is considered as possibly locally extirpated.

The Park is renowned for its abundance of birds with some 300 different species in total. Pallid Harrier (Circus macrourus) and Lesser Kestrel (Falco naumanni) are occasionally recorded and there are a few isolated records for Lappet-faced Vulture (Torgos tracheliotus). Fox Kestrel (Falco alopex) is not uncommon, while the African Swallow-tailed Kite (Chelictinia riocourii) is a not uncommon dry season visitor. The Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) has also been recorded here. BirdLife notes that "the Pendjari is notable for large conspicuous species such as African Openbill Stork (Anastomus lamelligerus), Abdim's Stork (Ciconia abdimii), Saddle-billed Stork (Ephippiorhynchus senegalensis), and seasonally, flocks of up to 60 European White Stork (Ciconia ciconia). The African Fish Eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) and Pel's Fishing-owl (Scotopelia peli) can also be found."

Among the more notable species recorded are Pied-winged Swallow (Hirundo leucosoma), White-crowned Robin-chat (Cossypha albicapillus), Botta's Wheatear (Oenanthe bottae), Familiar Chat (Cercomela familiaris), White-fronted Black-chat (Myrmecocichla albifrons), Mocking Cliff-chat (Thamnolaea cinnamomeiventris), Common Rock Thrush (Monticola saxitilis), Senegal Eremomela (Eremomela pusilla), Blackcap Babbler (Turdoides reinwardtii), Red-winged Pytilia (Pytilia phoenicoptera), Black-rumped Waxbill (Estrilda troglodytes), Bush Petronia (Petronia dentata) and Togo Paradise-whydah (Vidua togoensis).

Grey Tit-flycatcher (Myioparus plumbeus) has been recorded as well as several other species of the undergrowth. White-throated Greenbul (Phyllastrephus albigularis) has been recorded at Tanguiéta and the White-throated Francolin (Francolinus albogularis), 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