I (Jeff, seul, thanks to Phoebe having to work in Porto Novo this week) just got back to the Natitingou workstation from a trip with a few friends to the Pendjari National Park in northeastern Benin. Apart from a guide who was essentially an overpaid taxi driver, and no lions or hyenas, we had a great time.

We saw many, many antelope, buffalo, hippopotamus, baboons, crocodiles, birds, warthogs, and even elephants. Of course, unlike a zoo or even San Diego’s Wild Animal Park, it was pretty hard to see much of anything. Leaving the trails is, of course, not allowed. And — who knows. Luck, I guess.

At any rate, we stayed a night at the Hotel Tata Samba, in the park, which was pleasant. We packed our food in and our trash out; though, we could’ve eaten at the hotel had we liked.

Two game management practices that should not be allowed:

  1. Feeding the baboons. Baboons, it seems, are quite like bears in their affinity for human food waste. They easily got into the wastebarrel, which had no lid, and started munching on crumbs from our lunch. Embarrassing enough. Our embarrassment turned to depression, however, when the guides started feeding the baboons.
  2. Burning the fields. Apparently, it’s illegal for the average Beninese to set a brush fire (in the hopes, perhaps, of chasing out the agouti to catch them or to fertilize the land or to avoid snakes) in and around the park. This, according to our guide, doesn’t seem to stop the parks service from doing it, though. Apparently, they burn the grass so that we all can see the animals better. I’m skeptical. At any rate, it’s hardly a game park management best practice.

Pictures to come. I’ll post the link.