^{Photo Credit: Mikhail Semenov - Shutterstock}

While West Africa may not boast the same abundance of big game animals or extensive tourist infrastructure as East and Southern Africa, it is home to some of the world's most endangered species, such as the pygmy hippopotamus.

Sapo, Liberia's only national park, contains some of West Africa's last remaining primary rainforest.

Here, you can wander beneath towering hardwood trees in hopes of spotting forest elephants, chimpanzees, Upper Guinea Red Colobus monkies, and of course, the tiny hippo.

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