Republic of Benin

Benin is a country in Western Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north; its short coastline to the south leads to the Bight of Benin. Its size is just over 110,000 km² so is roughly the size of Pennsylvania, Benin extends from the Niger River in the north to the Atlantic Ocean in the south, a distance of 700 kilometres (c.500 miles). There is a population of a little over 14 million people, mostly living in the south. Its capital is the Yoruba founded city of Porto Novo, but the seat of government is the Fon City of Cotonou. (Benin was known as Dahomey until 1975). Although the coastline measures 121 kilometres (about 80 miles) the country measures about 325 kilometres (about 215 miles) at its widest point. It is one of the smaller countries in West Africa: eight times smaller than Nigeria, its neighbour to the east, but, twice the size of Togo, its neighbour to the west.

A relief map of Benin shows that it has little variation in elevation (average elevation 200 meters). The country can be divided into four areas from the south to the north. The low-lying, sandy, coastal plain (highest elevation 10 meters) is, at most, 10 kilometres wide. It is marshy and dotted with lakes and lagoons communicating with the ocean. The plateaus of southern Benin (altitude between 20 meters and 200 meters) are split by valleys running north to south along the Couffo, Zou, and Oueme Rivers. An area of flat lands dotted with rocky hills whose altitude seldom reaches 400 meters extends around Nikki and Save. Finally, a range of mountains extends along the northwest border and into Togo; this is the Atacora, with the highest point, Mont Sokbaro, at 658 meters. Two types of landscape predominate in the south. Benin has fields of lying fallow, mangroves, and remnants of large sacred forests. In the rest of the country, the savanna is covered with thorny scrubs and dotted with huge baobab trees. Some forests line the banks of rivers. In the north and the northwest of Benin the Reserve du W du Niger and Pendjari National Park attract tourists eager to see elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos, and monkeys.

Mekrou River – ©Marco Schmidt, CC BY-SA 3.0 < >, via Wikimedia Commons

Benin’s climate is hot and humid. Annual rainfall in the coastal area averages 14 inches, not high for coastal West Africa. Benin has two rainy and two dry seasons. The principal rainy season is from April to late July, with a shorter less intense rainy period from late September to November. The main dry season is from December to April, with a short cooler dry season from late July to early September. Temperatures and humidity are high along the tropical coast. In Cotonou, the average maximum temperature is 31 °C; the minimum is 24 °C.  Variations in temperature increase when moving north through a savanna and plateau toward the Sahel. A dry wind from the Sahara called the Harmattan blows from December to March. Grass dries up, the vegetation turns reddish brown, and a veil of fine dust hangs over the country, causing the skies to be overcast. It also is the season when farmers burn brush in the fields.

Reserve du W du Niger – ©Marco Schmidt, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

It is a small, tropical country. It is one of the least developed, with an economy heavily dependent on agriculture, and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton. Four terrestrial ecoregions lie within Benin’s borders: Eastern Guinean forests, Nigerian lowland forests, Guinean forest-savanna mosaic, and West Sudanian savanna.

Birding Benin

Benin has varied resources of wildlife comprising flora and fauna, which are primarily protected in its two contiguous protected areas of the Pendjari National Park and W National Park., which is a transboundary park across parts of Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, as a part of the Niger River, encompasses an area of 563,280 hectares (1,391,900 acres) in Benin. The ‘W’ refers to the W-shaped bends in the Niger River that borders the park and which is fed by the Tapoa River in the north, and the Mékrou River in the south. It is known for many species of avifauna and the latter park is rich in mammals and predators. In addition, many other forest reserves are noted in the country but are not easily accessible, well protected or adequately surveyed for its wildlife resources. The Pendjari National Park covers 275,500 hectares (681,000 acres) entirely in the far north-west of Benin. The Pendjari River Valley was recognized as a wetland of international importance and designated as a Ramsar site.

Pendjari National Park – ©Dominik Schwarz, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The protected area of Benin which is defined as a National Protected Area System is in northern Benin, mostly with a woody savanna ecosystem covering 10% of the country. Forests of particular note are the riparian forests which form a dominant ecosystem, accounting for one-third of the estimated flora of 3,000 species in Benin. These forests are found along river banks consisting of semi-deciduous, dry, and open forest and woodland savanna. However, these systems have been subject to severe misuse by way of deforestation, which necessitated the enforcement of a law, which imposes restrictions on cutting of these forests.

Predators include: Lions Panthera leo, the largest predator of Africa (found in both parks); Leopards Panthera pardus found even outside the two parks; Cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus is in the national parks but is a rare sight; several Felis silvestris, a smaller cat; the Caracal Caracal caracal, the African Wild Cat Felis sylvestris; the African Hunting Dog Lycaon pictus said to be in W. Park (may be extinct); Side-striped Jackal Canis adustus; the Black-backed Jackal Canis mesomelas; the Spotted Hyena Crocuta crocuta found in both parks, Elephants, Rhinos, Buffalos and many other animals including several mongoose species, antelopes, small cats, Honey Badger and Otters. Primates reported include Olive Baboon Papio anubis of large size with inverted U-shaped tail; the Green Monkey Cercopithecus sabaeus, the most common monkey species; the Common Patas Monkey Erythrocebus patas with an orange tinged coat occur in northern Benin. Reptiles include turtles, crocodiles and chameleons.

Birds are a special feature in all types of habitats ranging from rainforest to deserts in Benin, which have two main climatic zones, namely the thick tropical vegetation in the south and the dry savannas and light woodlands in the north. The birding sites for coastal waders are the coastal lagoons of Les Bouches du Roi and the backwaters of Ouidha beach. Water and forest birds are found in Lake Nokoué and Lake Ahémé. Feathered birds are found in granite rock hills near Dassa-Zoume. The national parks are full of savanna specific birds including no less than twelve species of weavers. Raptor species (mostly carion-eating birds) are found in both parks. A common sight is the African Fish Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer.