W National Park
The W Regional Park is a major national park in West Africa. It is formed around a meander in the River Niger shaped like a "W". The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso.
| W Transborder Park | |
|---|---|
IUCN Category II (National Park) | |
 Mekrou River in the W-National Park | |
| Location | Niger-Burkina Faso-Benin |
| Nearest city | Kandi (Benin), Diapaga (Burkina Faso), Tapoa (Niger) |
| Area | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1850: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Official name | W Regional Park |
| Type | Natural |
| Criteria | vii, ix, x |
| Designated | 1996 (20th session) |
| Reference no. | 749bis |
| State Party | Niger |
| Region | Africa |
Invalid designation | |
| Official name | Parc national du W |
| Designated | 30 April 1987 |
| Reference no. | 355 |
Invalid designation | |
| Official name | Parc National du W |
| Designated | 27 June 1990 |
| Reference no. | 492 |
Invalid designation | |
| Official name | Site Ramsar du Complexe W |
| Designated | 2 February 2007 |
| Reference no. | 1668 |
The W National Park of Niger was formed by decree on 4 August 1954. In 1996 it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
In the three nations, the Regional park covers about 10,000 km². Almost no people live in this area.
Fauna
The park is known for its large mammals, including aardvarks, baboons, buffalo, caracal, cheetahs, elephants, hippopotamuses, leopards, lions, serval and warthogs. The park has a home for some of West Africa's last wild African Elephants. The W Park used to have packs of the endangered Painted Hunting Dog. The National Park is one of the last strongholds for the Northwest African cheetah. There is a small but increasing population of at least 15-25 animals of this rare cat in the park.[1]
The W area is also known for its bird populations. There are over 350 species identified in the park.[2]
W National Park Media
Elephants photographed in the Niger section of the Parc W du Niger complex of protected areas. Given the size a topography, this is likely a smaller river, not the Niger itself
Kob antelope 
Oribi photographed in the Niger section of the Parc W du Niger complex of protected areas.
A partially dry steam in the W National Park, Niger. Note, the photgraph was taken at the end of March, in the midst of the driest -- and hottest -- months of the year. The stream seen here could well be a good sized river at other times.
References
- ↑ Belbachir, F. (2008). Acinonyx jubatus ssp. hecki. 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2008. Retrieved on 4 February 2009.
- ↑ United Nations Environment Programme-World Conservation Monitoring Centre (Content Partner); Mark McGinley (Topic Editor). 2009. "'W' National Park, Niger." In: Encyclopedia of Earth. Eds. Cutler J. Cleveland (Washington, D.C.: Environmental Information Coalition, National Council for Science and the Environment). online Archived 2009-11-29 at the Wayback Machine
Other websites
Media related to W National Park at Wikimedia Commons