This inhospitable-looking landscape is home

to some critically endangered species. The Niger government, this month,

formally decreed this whole area - the Termit Massif and Tin Toumma

desert - to be a national nature and cultural reserve. At almost 100,000

square kilometres it is the largest single protected area in Africa.

One of Earth's most inhospitable deserts is an important stop-over for

migrating wildlife, scientists say. Researchers working in the Termit

Massif and Tin Toumma desert in Niger say the whole area should be

protected, because it is a biodiversity "hotspot". The rocky massif is

home to the Critically Endangered dama gazelle.

One

of Earth's most inhospitable deserts is an important stop-over for

migrating wildlife, scientists say. Researchers working in the Termit

Massif and Tin Toumma desert in Niger say the whole area should be

protected, because it is a biodiversity "hotspot". The rocky massif is

home to the Critically Endangered dama gazelle.

The elusive Saharan cheetah, captured here by a camera trap, also lives