It will be a major problem, if the lion vanishes-goes a popular saying in Moli Haoussa-Gorma village in Niger. Beliefs such as this are significant in making the W National Park amongst the rare strongholds of the African lion. At a time when the lion population is declining alarmingly in Africa, W National Park is haven to 200 lions, according to a 2001 estimation by the ecologist Mossa Alou.
Moli Haoussa, among the few African villages where human beings co-exist with the carnivore, is located 15 km from the park's boundary in Tamou Wildlife Reserve.
