On safari in Burkina
In the east of the country is the cross-border Parc National du W, which in Burkina consists of Parc du Pama, Parc de l'Arli and Parc du Singou. In addition to elephants, buffaloes, hippos and lions (4 of the 'Big Five') live in this National Park also live cheetahs, wild dogs and the rare roan antelope. The park gets its name from the many bends in the Niger River that form a W. The park covers about 10,000 km² and is largely uninhabited; until 1970 there was a large malaria zone of wetlands formed by the delta of the Mekrou River and the Niger River. The many important archaeological finds that have been made in this area, mostly tombs, indicate that it used to be a richly populated area.