Benin -- Parc Pendjari

Here are a few of the animals I saw in Benin's Parc Pendjari, one of the larger animal reserves in West Africa. Unlike eastern or South Africa, there aren't a lot of animals left in West Africa and just a few national parks. So I was pleasantly surprised at the number and variety of animals I saw quite easily here. At this park you had to stay on the park roads and hope to see animals in the bush to the side, whereas in larger parks in eastern and South Africa I think you can generally approach the animals quite closely in 4wd vehicles. Pictured here are a warthog, baboon and an elephant. I also saw several varieties of antelope-like creatures, monkeys, hippos and crocodiles.