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.

People in Niger have social rules about relations with the big cat It will be a major problem, if the lion vanishes