Republic of the Niger

Niger is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest. It covers a land area of almost 1,270,000 km2 (490,000 square miles), making it the largest landlocked country in West Africa and the second largest landlocked nation in Africa behind Chad. Over 80% of its land area lies in the Sahara. Its predominantly Muslim population of about 28 million lives mostly in clusters in the south and west of the country. The capital Niamey, with a population of about 1.5 million people, is located in Niger’s southwest corner along the namesake Niger River.

Niger also has a rich past as the geology and the famous dinosaur fossils demonstrate. Human presence in Niger goes back approximately 60,000 years. Rock carvings in the Aïr and Djado, in the deserts of the north of the country, testify to the former presence there of elephants and hippos at a time when the Sahara was lush and green. The economy is concentrated around subsistence and some export agriculture clustered in the more fertile south, and the export of raw materials such as uranium ore. Niger remains handicapped by its landlocked position, poor education, infrastructure, health care, and environmental degradation.

The lowest point in Niger is the Niger River, with an elevation of 656 feet. The highest point is Mont Idoukal-n-Taghès in the Aïr Mountains at 6,634 feet. Niger’s terrain is predominantly desert plains and sand dunes, with flat to rolling savanna in the south and hills in the north.

Timia Valley, Aïr Mountains – ©Denvermaxwell at English Wikipedia, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

There is a hot and dry climate within the desert areas, whereas, In the south, there is a tropical climate on the edges of the Niger River basin.

Niger contains five terrestrial ecoregions: Sahelian Acacia savanna, West Sudanian savanna, Lake Chad flooded savanna, South Saharan steppe and woodlands, and West Saharan montane xeric woodlands.

The north is covered by deserts and semi-deserts. The typical mammal fauna consists of addax antelopes, scimitar-horned oryx, gazelles, and in the mountains, Barbary sheep. The Aïr and Ténéré National Nature Reserve was founded in the northern parts to protect these species.

The southern parts are naturally dominated savannahs. The W National Park, situated in the bordering area to Burkina Faso and Benin, belongs to “one of the most important areas” for wildlife in Western Africa, which is called the WAP (W-Arli-Pendjari) Complex. It has a population of the West African lion and one of the last populations of the Northwest African cheetah. Other wildlife includes elephants, buffaloes, roan antelopes, kob antelopes and warthogs. The West African giraffe is found in the further north where it has its last relict population.

Birding Niger

Most of the very friendly Nigeriens are Sunni Muslim. There are some seven major ethnic groups. French, however, is the most widely spoken language, and it adds a lot to your visit to Niger if you know at least a few words. Although lacking in tourist infrastructure outside Niamey, Parc du W and the Aïr, there certainly is suitable accommodation in Niger for birders on tight budgets.

Dunes near Niamey – ©Vincent van Zeijst CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Bird-wise much remains to be discovered in Niger. Only the area around the capital Niamey, Makalondi district and Parc National du W, all in the southwest of the country, and the Aïr Mountains in the north, have been birded more or less systematically. Even in those areas new species for the country are still found regularly. The country list stands at approximately 545 species at present. These include colourful Afrotropical residents, enigmatic Afrotropical migrants, and familiar Palearctic migrants in surroundings that make you appreciate them anew. Niger has no endemic or restricted-range species, but it is an excellent country to see Sahara-Sindian, Sahelian and Sudan-Guinea Savanna biome species. The nature of the terrain and the vegetation are such that you actually get to see most birds, rather than only hear them. In many places you can also go off the beaten track quite easily. Only in the extreme southwest, in and around Parc National du W, do you need to watch out for large predators.

Banding and satellite-tracking studies have shown that Niger shares at least some of its birds with 80 other countries, from Guinea to the Shetland Islands, across Scandinavia to Russia and Kazakhstan, and via the Caucasus, Middle East and East Africa down to Madagascar, South Africa and Namibia. For a further 7 countries, links are probable based on likely migration routes between banding and recovery locations. Further countries will no doubt be added as new information becomes available. With all these comings and goings, the composition of the avifauna of Niger truly changes all the time, throughout the year.

Mekrou River in W National Park – ©Marco Schmidt CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

While in the country you will not want to miss the giraffes 70 km south-east of Niamey nor perhaps the hippos at Ayorou on the Niger River, near the border with Mali. When birding in Parc du W, you will obviously also enjoy looking for the considerable variety of antelope, monkeys, buffalo, elephants, and with a lot of luck even a lion, leopard or cheetah. In relaxed Niamey itself a visit to the National Museum is a must, with its various ethnological and natural history collections, and its artisans at work in an open shed. After a hard day birdwatching or sightseeing, don’t forget to relax with a drink on the terrace of the Grand Hotel overlooking the Niger River watching the camels, pedestrians, motorbikes and cars cross the bridge, and the local longboats plying their trade. As the sun goes down you will see the flying foxes spreading out from their dormitories, pitch black in the fading light. You will be glad you came to Niger.