Waza National Park
Sahelian savanna reserve and a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve since 1979.
History
Waza began life in 1934 as a French colonial hunting reserve and became a full national park in 1968, protecting roughly 1,700 km² of Sahelian savanna near the Chad border. UNESCO designated it a Biosphere Reserve in 1979 in recognition of its elephants, giraffes, lions and vast bird populations that gather around its seasonal floodplains. It remains Cameroon's best-known wildlife park, though poaching and regional insecurity have periodically threatened its animal populations.
Beyond the facts
Culture & traditions
A living tradition or belief tied to the place, distinct from its recorded history.
The Kotoko and Mousgoum communities living around Waza's floodplain have fished and grazed cattle on this land for centuries, following the seasonal rise and fall of the Logone system rather than fixed field boundaries. Kotoko chiefs (sultans) at nearby towns like Logone-Birni still hold ceremonial authority rooted in a kingdom that predates colonial rule, and local knowledge of the plain's water and grazing cycles has long shaped where and when the park's wildlife can safely be viewed.