Tamou is a village and "Rural commune

Communes of Niger

The Departments of Niger are subdivided into communes. As of 2005, in the seven Regions and one Capital Area, there were 36 départements, divided into 265 communes, 122 cantons and 81 groupements...

" in Niger

Niger

Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...

. The town is capital of its Rural Commune in the Say Department

Say Department

Say is a department of the Tillabéri Region in Niger. Its capital city is Say, and includes the towns of Guéladjo, Tamou, and Torodi. It abuts the urban Region of Niamey, and lies across the Niger River to the southwest of the capital. It extends to the Burkina Faso border over 60km to the west,...

 of Tillabéri Region, in the far southwest of the nation. It is southwest of Niamey

Niamey

-Population:While Niamey's population has grown steadily since independence, the droughts of the early 1970s and 1980s, along with the economic crisis of the early 1980s, have propelled an exodus of rural inhabitants to Niger's largest city...

, on the right (Western) bank of the Niger River, between departmental capital Say

Say, Niger

Say is a town in southwest Niger, situated on the Niger River. It is the capital of the Say Department in the Tillabéri Region. The municipality has 12,000 inhabitants, and its economy is dominated by agriculture, herding and small trade.-Overview:...

 and the border of Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso

Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...

.
Tamou Commune is home to the Tamou Total Reserve

Tamou Reserve

The Tamou Total Reserve is a nature reserve in the southwest of the African nation of Niger. It is a Total Faunal Reserve IUCN type IV, covering some 75,600 hectares within the Tillaberi Region...

, a wildlife reserve which is part of the larger W National Park

W National Park

The W National Park is a major national park in West Africa around a meander in the River Niger shaped like a "W". The park includes areas of the three countries Niger, Benin and Burkina Faso, and is governed by the three governments...

 and Transborder Reserve. The Tamou Reserve, in which local people also live, is primarily dedicated to the protection of African Elephant populations which migrate through the region.