Glossina palpalis gambiensis is a riverine tsetse species endemic in West Africa and thriving in riparian vegetation of the savannah areas from Burkina Faso and Mali to Guinea and Senegal. It is a major vector of human and animal trypanosomosis (sleeping sickness and nagana, respectively) in that region. G. p. gambiensis is an opportunistic species, feeding on a wide range of hosts from reptiles to pigs and cattle, with humans as one of its preferred hosts. Like most tsetse species, it has a narrow range of acceptable temperature and humidity, a low reproduction rate, and is thus very sensitive to climate change but can adapt to human modification of its environment and survive in polluted and densely populated areas. Its presence in the Niayes area of Senegal, where rainfall is below 500 mm a year, and in the Parc de Hahn of Dakar reveals an extraordinary plasticity. In the Niayes area it is presently targeted by an eradication program, including a sterile insect technique component.