Waza National Park is a national park

National park

A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individual nations designate their own national parks differently A national park is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or...

 in Far North Province

Far North Province

The Far North Region , also known as the Extreme North Region , is the northernmost constituent province of the Republic of Cameroon. It borders the North Region to the south, Chad to the east, and Nigeria to the west. The capital is Maroua.The province is one of Cameroon's most culturally diverse...

, Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

. It was founded in 1934, albeit as a hunting reserve

Game reserve

A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....

, and covers a total of 1,700 km². The park became a National Park in 1968, and a UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

 biosphere reserve

Biosphere reserve

The Man and the Biosphere Programme of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation and sustainable use of natural resources.-Development:...

 in 1979.
It is adjacent to the Chingurmi-Duguma sector of the Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

n Chad Basin National Park

Chad Basin National Park

The Chad Basin National Park is a national park in northeastern Nigeria, with a total area of about 2,258 km².The park is fragmented, with three sectors.The Chingurmi-Duguma sector is in Borno State, in a Sudanian Savanna ecological zone....

.

Management

The park is managed by the Conservation Service of the Waza National Park, part of the Cameroon Ministry of Environment and the Protection of Nature. In 1983, the park had a staff of twenty-five rangers; however, as of 2005, that number had dropped to seven, and poachers

Poaching

Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...

 from Chad

Chad

Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...

, Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, and Cameroon itself were reported to have gone on a "rampage for the Park’s resources." Also in 2005 the Netherlands

Netherlands

The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...

 World Conservation Union

World Conservation Union

The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources is an international organization dedicated to finding "pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges." The organization publishes the IUCN Red List, compiling information from a network of...

 Committee agreed to pay for an additional sixteen "eco-rangers" who would assist the regular ones.

Wildlife

Waza harbours still a dwindling population of lions. A recent survey counted only 14-21 of these big cats
Waza is also home for elephants and in particular for one of the last populations of the Kordofan Giraffe

Kordofan Giraffe

The Kordofan Giraffe is a subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, Central African Republic and possibly western Sudan. Historically some confusion has existed over the exact range limit of this subspecies compared to the West African Giraffe, with populations in e.g....

 (G. c. antiquorum).
Kob

Kob

The Kob is an antelope found across Sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to South Sudan. Found along the Northern Savanna, often seen in Murchison Falls and Queen Elizabeth National Park, Uganda; Garamba and Virunga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo, as well as grassy floodplains of...

-antelopes have increased to 5000 in the 1990s since a strong decline in the 1980s. Other large ungulates are warthog

Warthog

The Warthog or Common Warthog is a wild member of the pig family that lives in grassland, savanna, and woodland in Sub-Saharan Africa. In the past it was commonly treated as a subspecies of P...

, roan

Roan

Roan may refer to:*a roan, a valley that curves upward.*Battle of Roan's Tan Yard, an action during the American Civil War*John Roan school, a comprehensive secondary school in Blackheath, South-East London...

, red-fronted gazelle

Red-fronted Gazelle

The Red-fronted gazelle is a species of gazelle that is widely but unevenly distributed across the middle Africa from Senegal to north-eastern Ethiopia. It is mainly resident in the Sahel zone, a narrow cross-Africa band south of the Sahara, where it prefers arid grasslands, wooded savannas and...

 and korrigum

Korrigum

The Korrigum , also known as Tiang, is a subspecies of the Topi. It was formerly classified as Damaliscus lunatus korrigum....

. There are 379 species of birds in the park; among the birds that have been sighted are Marbled Duck

Marbled Duck

The Marbled Duck, or Marbled Teal , is a medium-sized duck. It used to be included among the dabbling ducks, but is now classed as a diving duck....

, Ferruginous Duck

Ferruginous Duck

The Ferruginous Duck is a medium-sized diving duck from Eurasia. The species is known colloquially by birders as "Fudge Duck"....

, Greater Spotted Eagle

Greater Spotted Eagle

The Greater Spotted Eagle , occasionally just called the spotted eagle, is a large bird of prey. Like all typical eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae...

, Lesser Kestrel

Lesser Kestrel

The Lesser Kestrel is a small falcon. This species breeds from the Mediterranean across southern central Asia to China and Mongolia. It is a summer migrant, wintering in Africa and Pakistan and sometimes even to India and Iraq. It is rare north of its breeding range, and declining in its European...

, Nubian Bustard

Nubian Bustard

The Nubian Bustard is a species of bird in the bustard family. This is a medium-large bustard found in the sparsely vegetated interface between the southern margins of the Sahara desert and the northern part of the Sahel...

, Quail-plover, Arabian Bustard

Arabian Bustard

The Arabian Bustard is a species of bird in the bustard family. It is part of the largest-bodied genus and, though little known, appears to be a fairly typical species in that group. As in all bustards, the male Arabian bustard is much larger than the female. Males have been found to weigh ,...

, and Ostrich

Ostrich

The Ostrich is one or two species of large flightless birds native to Africa, the only living member of the genus Struthio. Some analyses indicate that the Somali Ostrich may be better considered a full species apart from the Common Ostrich, but most taxonomists consider it to be a...

.