The park was established in 1975 by the merger of two reserve forests created in 1951: Fazao (1,620 square kilometres (630 sq mi)) and Malfakassa (300 square kilometres (120 sq mi)).

[3] The Fondation Franz Weber was authorized by the government to manage the park for 25 years, beginning in 1990 and ending in 2015.

[11] Antelope species in the park, based on 1984 aerial surveys, include the:[9] In 1990, elephants were common in northeastern Togo.

[12] With the country in a state of upheaval in the early 1990s, poaching became a major problem.

[12] The park is one of two sites in Togo in the CITES Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants Program.