Common Warthog - Burkina Faso

As a French colony, Burkina Faso was known as “Haute-Volta,” French for Upper Volta. This name was a reflection of the country’s position above the Volta River. Prior to French colonial control, it had existed as a powerful East African state known as The Mossi Empire. The Mossi Empire was founded in the 11th century.

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Phacochoerus africanus - The common warthog is found in open or lightly forested areas. It is black or brown in color and sparsely haired, except for a thick coarse mane running from the neck to the middle of the back. Warthogs, as the name implies, have three pairs of facial warts; they are more prominent on the males. The warts serve as fat reserves, but are also used during battles between males during the mating season. Both sexes have tusks to assist in digging up roots or tubers and to serve as defensive weapons against predators.

Great Snipe - Burkina Faso

Gallinago media - The great snipe is a shorebird. The common feature of these birds are their long legs and bills. The great snipe is migratory; it breeds throughout Scandinavia and Northern Russia and winters in Africa. They are exceptional in their abilities to endure long flights. They are not aerodynamically designed; their wings lack pointed tips and they have a stocky body, but they can attain speeds of 97 km/h and easily cover a course stretching for over 6,700 kilometers.

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Burkina Faso became independent in 1958 and officially changed its name from Upper Volta to Burkina Faso in 1984. The name Upper Volta was derived from three rivers flowing through the area from north to south. Of the three rivers, the Black Volta, with a length of 1,352 kilometers, is the longest. The rivers serve an important agricultural role for Burkina Faso. The Black Volta and Red Volta eventually join the White Volta in Ghana to form Lake Volta, a large reservoir held behind the Akosombo Dam.