African Parks Turn To Private Management To Protect Wildlife

PENDJARI NATIONAL PARK, BENIN, MAY 2019: African Parks lion specialist Aurlus, is employed from the local area. He has a masters in conservation science and has been monitoring West African Lions inside Pendjari for the last 6 months. He is part of a AP staff that has been deliberately recruited from local areas as a means of strengthening communinty relations. Pendjari NP serves to anchor the transnational W-Arly Pendjari (WAP) complex of over 35,000 km2. This is the biggest remaining intact ecosystem in West Africa and is still in a state of mismanagement. AP hopes to resolve that by initially addressing Pendjari. Pendjari is also home to the critically endangered West African Lion. There are around 120 in Pendjari topday including 7 collared lions. It is also an important wetland and the Benin government is keen to realize the potential of the region. They have included Pendjari in their "Revealing Benin" plan to bring in tourism and investors. They invited AP in after seeing Zakouma's success in Chad which they would like to replicate. (Photo by Brent Stirton/Getty Images Reportage)