December 13, 2018. After five years of analysis and research, Al Ain Zoo yesterday concluded its second roundtable workshop dedicated to conserving the critically endangered Dama Gazelle, in collaboration with the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland, with the support of the Sahara Conservation Fund in Chad and the Al Bustan Zoological Centre.
December 6, 2018. To date, more than 150 captive-bred scimitar-horned oryx have been returned to the wild in Chad’s Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve. This vast protected area was set up in the 1960s specifically for the conservation of oryx and other desert species.
Eight West African Giraffe Travelled Over 800 Kilometres In 48 Hours To Be Safely Re-Introduced To The Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve In Niger, After An Absence Of Almost 50 Years.
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Sahara Conservation Fund announce the safe re-introduction of eight highly threatened West African giraffe into Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve (recently listed as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO). In two trips of 48 hours each, two groups of four giraffe were translocated over 800 kilometres by truck to their new home. This is the first conservation effort of its kind in Niger, and for West African giraffe.
The world’s last remaining population of West African giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis peralta), a subspecies of the Northern giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis), is restricted to the ‘Giraffe Zone’ in the Republic of Niger, an area approximately 60 kilometres south-east of the capital Niamey. Even though the ‘Giraffe Zone’ is not formally protected, it forms part of the W Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, covering more than 1,700 sqkm. These West African giraffe are an isolated population, with the closest population of giraffe being Kordofan giraffe (G. c. antiquorum) that live more than 2,000 kilometres away in northern Cameroon and southern Chad – also a subspecies of the Northern giraffe.
Operation Sahel Giraffe commenced in early November 2018, after a year of meticulous preparation. Eight giraffe were individually captured in the ‘Giraffe Zone’ and transferred to a holding pen (boma), where they were kept for more than three weeks to prepare them for the long journey. The eight giraffe were then transported in two groups of four, an arduous journey for both the giraffe and the team, before their successful release in Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve recently.
Almost 50 years ago, giraffe became locally extinct in the Gadabedji area because of drought and illegal hunting. Since 2013 Niger’s Wildlife Authority, with support from the Niger Fauna Corridor Project/UNDP, has worked diligently towards restoring the region’s wildlife and their habitat. The re-introduction of giraffe will further enrich the reserve’s biodiversity and contribute to increasing community development and support in the region.
“The Government of Niger has undertaken a significant effort to re-introduce giraffe back into the Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve. This is a major giraffe conservation success. The giraffe have not been seen in this area for more than 45 years due to a combination of illegal hunting, habitat loss and climate change. In the days immediately following the release, the giraffe have explored the reserve and its periphery. Local communities and traditional authorities provide updates of giraffe movements to the management unit of the reserve, highlighting their commitment to conserving giraffe in the region.” – says Lt Colonel Ali Laouel Abagana, Coordinator of the Niger Fauna Corridor Project/UNDP.
In the mid-1990s there were only 49 West African giraffe left in the wild, and as a result the subspecies was listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2008. Comprehensive conservation efforts by the Government of Niger, in collaboration with local and international partners, have triggered an amazing recovery of the West African giraffe population to over 600 individuals today. This positive trend resulted in the downlisting of West African giraffe to Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List last month (November 2018).
“Increased conservation efforts using solid science and collaborative partnerships have been key for the re-introduction of West African giraffe in Gadabedji, setting a new benchmark for our efforts across the continent. More than a year of thorough planning has now culminated into Operation Sahel Giraffe: detailed habitat assessments, wildlife surveys, and community outreach and awareness in both their current and new/re-introduced range. Over the last few years, GCF has helped to (re-)introduce giraffe and augment populations in several historical ranges throughout the continent, and in turn helped to better conserve the habitat they live in. Here in Niger, we are one step closer to building a second West African giraffe population.” – says Dr Julian Fennessy, Director of the Giraffe Conservation Foundation.
Throughout the entire continent, giraffe numbers have plummeted in the last three decades – a state of affairs that has been referred to as a ‘silent extinction’. Pressures including habitat loss and fragmentation, civil unrest and illegal hunting have reduced giraffe to less than 100,000 animals in all of Africa. This re-introduction of West African giraffe to their former range in Niger aims to establish a second viable population of the subspecies in support of their conservation in a healthy and well-managed ecosystem.
Once widespread throughout West Africa, including Senegal, Mauritania, Mali and Nigeria, West African giraffe now only occur in Niger. In the ‘Giraffe Zone’ West African giraffe share their habitat with local communities, where they compete for space and resources. Their threats include agricultural encroachment, climate change and variability, human population growth, and natural resource over-exploitation. As a result of a growing giraffe population and increasing human population pressure, giraffe have started to migrate out of the ‘Giraffe Zone’. This movement out of the ‘Giraffe Zone’ finds the giraffe in conflict situations with human populations who are unaccustomed to their presence in Niger, and too close to the insecure border areas with Mali.
“We have been involved in the re-wilding of species across the Sahara and Sahel, and Operation Sahel Giraffe builds on these experiences. We are supporting governments to restore the historic large guild of iconic species in healthy ecosystems. This landscape approach to conservation is critical for the long-term sustainability of all species and the habitat on which they rely.” – says Dr Thomas Rabeil, Sahara Conservation Fund.
The team of Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Sahara Conservation Fund has worked collaboratively alongside Niger’s Ministry of Environment and local communities since 2005, supporting the conservation science and management of West African giraffe in Niger to secure their future. Since the late 2000s, Africa’s first-ever National Giraffe Conservation Strategy has guided giraffe conservation efforts in the country. Re-introducing West African giraffe into safe areas within their historical range is a key component of the National Strategy, which is expected to benefit both local communities and wildlife equally. This new founding population in Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve is a critical first step towards the reserve’s development as a flagship wildlife reserve in Niger.
Operation Sahel Giraffe has been a partnership between the Giraffe Conservation Foundation, Sahara Conservation Fund, Niger’s Ministry of Environment, and the Niger Fauna Corridor Project/UNDP.
Valuable support was provided by Ivan Carter’s Wildlife Conservation Alliance, San Diego Zoo Global, Saint Louis Zoo, Born Free, and Prague University of Life Sciences. Further field support was provided by Dr Pete Morkel, Dr Philippe Chardonnet, Niger Directorate of Veterinary Services, Cheri Morkel, David O’Connor (San Diego Zoo Global), Dr Liza Dadone (Cheyenne Mountain Zoo), Andrea Bryant, and Sean Viljoen.
IMAGES: GCF/SEAN VILJOEN
December 5, 2018. The Giraffe Conservation Foundation and Sahara Conservation Fund announce the safe reintroduction of eight highly threatened West African giraffe into Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve (recently listed as a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO). In two trips of 48 hours each, two groups of four giraffe were translocated over 800 kilometres by truck to their new home. This is the first conservation effort of its kind in Niger, and for West African giraffe.
December 4, 2018. For almost 50 years, the highly threatened West African giraffe has been absent from Niger’s Gadabedji Biosphere Reserve.
November 27, 2018. Oft times when we talk about endangered animals in Afrika at risk of extinction or being poached we think mostly of elephants and rhinos. This can be attributed to various factors including increased publicity around the increasing threats that rhinos and elephants face from poachers.
The Egyptian Vulture is facing an important decline worldwide, and the Balkans have not been spared: from the hundreds of pairs historically present in the peninsula, about 70 pairs only are remaining, the population being victim of a 7% decline yearly for the past 30 years.
This rapid decline is hard to prevent as it is due to a complex combination of factors. Threats are multiple and differ from one region to another, putting pressure on the vultures on their breeding ground as well as along their migration routes.
Within the framework of the Egyptian Vulture NEW LIFE project, SCF is investigating the main threats vultures are facing on their wintering grounds, mainly in Niger, and particularly mortality from electrocution, accidental poisoning through the use of veterinary medicine for cattle or agricultural products (mainly Diclofenac) known to be fatal for vultures when feeding on contaminated carcasses, the or along the same line, the use of poisons, mainly strychnine, known for its high toxicity and used to control wild carnivores, or direct killing by poachers aiming at selling vulture parts for magical (or belief based) uses.
For all these issues the team is investigating in the field as well as among administrations so that information can be gathered that should enable identification of the priority level of each threat and so prioritize our actions.
As first results, even though the severity degree for every threat cannot be estimated with exactitude, poaching was found to be acute in the region, possibly the most important threat. Indeed, cases had already been registered (cf. Paschalis case ) and the practice of this illegal activity has been confirmed by locals during interviews.
As for the other threats listed above, they seem unlikely to be responsible for decimating large numbers of birds. Indeed, the country has only few electric infrastructures, mainly concentrated around cities, minimizing, or even excluding EV electrocution possibilities. As for poisoning, more investigation is still needed but as far as we know no EV cadavers, evidence of an accidental death, have been found, relegating such threats to a second level.
Also, based on the previous results and simultaneously with further investigation and follow-up activities, preventive work will be conducted with the view to raise awareness among local communities. Their understanding and support is crucial to the long-term success of such conservation endeavour.
After having been invited to Morocco to visit key sites for the conservation of some of the most endangered Sahelo-Saharan species during the spring of 2018, SCF is very happy to announce the signature of a new collaborative agreement with the Moroccan wildlife authorities.
SCF and Morocco’s High Commission for Water and Forests and the Combat Against Desertification (HCEFLCD) met in Rabat on June 26 to sign a cooperative agreement and memorandum of understanding. The MOU paves the way for SCF and its partners to assist Morocco in the implementation of its national wildlife strategy, with a special focus on the constitution and management of valuable source populations of addax, scimitar-horned oryx, dama and dorcas gazelles, and ostrich. Implementation of the partnership is already underway and a number of site visits to inspect and advise on captive-bred wildlife and their habitat have already been undertaken.
In July, two members from Morocco’s wildlife department visited the oryx reintroduction project in Chad to see first-hand how operations were going and to assess what lessons and techniques could be adopted in the Moroccan context. In January 2019, a further fieldtrip to Morocco will be undertaken to assess protected areas in the southern part of the country.
SCF will be sharing all the news about this exciting and important new collaboration, stay tuned for more updates!
The conservation community is facing a paradox related to the difficulties of reintroducing and/or reinforcing some species which are declining and disappearing in the wild while the number of individuals keeps increasing in captivity and overpopulation is becoming an issue, e.g.: Scimitar-horned Oryx and addax in zoos and private collections.
Based on the IUCN guidelines for reintroduction of antelope species, it is recommended to build up the most viable world herd by selecting individuals from captivity according to the studbooks and avoid genetic bottle neck. However, many challenges will come out while creating a world herd. Indeed, the lack of collaborative platform amongst zoos over the world is one big challenge and between zoos and private owners is another one.
The C2S2 (Conservation Centers for Species Survival ) initiative in United States appears to be an effective solution but it could be even more effective if it was extended to the rest of the world. The increasing restrictions about wildlife transportation from a continent to another one is also a major impediment to create suitable world herd. At last, the difference of objectives between zoos and conservation organizations is another constraint. Everybody agrees on the fact that species are declining in the wild and conservation in situ and ex-situ are both necessary. Nevertheless, the devil is in the details and while the zoo community will favor subspecies conservation for exhibition purpose, conservation organizations will favor genetic diversity to maximize resilience in a reintroduction context.
We hope the upcoming workshop dealing with Dama gazelle conservation which will take place in Al Ain Zoo by the end of this year, will bring solutions and will enable immediate actions to save this species in the wild. While experts keep arguing about the right thing to do, species are going extinct. Unfortunately, time is not on the side of conservation and swift action is needed to save what remains from extinction.
By Thomas Rabeil, SCF Regional Program Officer
The Takolokouzet Massif is located in the Aïr & Ténéré National Nature Reserve in Niger. It is home to some iconic species, including the Barbary sheep and the dama gazelle, one of the most endangered antelopes on the planet. It is on Takolokouzet’s plateaus that the reserve’s last dama gazelles find refuge from disturbance and growing human presence.
As part of its work to preserve the gazelle dama, SCF is using camera-traps to gather information on its distribution and seasonal movements.
In October this year, an SCF Niger team undertook a mission to Takolokouzet with two wildlife rangers and a community game guard recruited to monitor the camera-traps [RB1] set up in the field and to sensitize the people living in the area. One hundred and fifty kilometres were travelled on foot over rough terrain to retrieve data from the cameras and to move the grid to new areas tio complete the survey. The twelve cameras yielded several thousand photos.
During this mission, the team observed seven dama gazelles and made several other indirect observations of tracks and dung piles. Several herds of dorcas gazelle, with many calves, were also observed.
Although evidence of disturbance caused by gold panning was recorded there was luckily no sign of poaching. Although the number of remaining dama gazelles is very small, we are optimistic for their future thanks to good cooperation with the local people. We hope they will help protect the dama gazelles, one of the last three tiny remaining metapopulations of the species in the wild.
