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. W National Park is spread over 10,000 sq km in Niger, Burkina Faso and Benin. Alou estimates that 70 of the 200 lions in the park are found on the Niger side. Local people, however, have higher figures. They say there are about 100 lions on the Niger side. Besides, there are two residual populations of about 20 lions each. Wild herbivores include elephants, buffaloes and antelopes. The reserve also has a fair number of primates. Ecologists say that the national park's savannah ecosystem maintains a "total biodiversity state'. At the core of such biodiversity is a complex relationship between human societies and nature. Let's go back to Moli Haoussa to understand the intricacies of this relationship. It's a village of 400-odd people, most of them from the Gourmantch