75 new scimitar-horned oryx have been flown from Abu Dhabi to Chad on Mid-February, as part of the Chad oryx reintroduction project.
As with each release, the animals are given some time to get used to their new environment ; they will remain in the pre-release pen for a few months. On the wet season, they should be released into the wild to join the oryx already out there.
Again, the team working with the Sahara Conservation Fund was incredible : Environment Agency-Abu Dhabi, Wildlife Service of Chad, staff of the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve, the Chadian army, the French army in Abéché, the Geyser company for logistics.
SPRING BABIES
The February-March period has then been dominated by a series of new births among the released oryx at the beginning of the hot dry season. Tim Wacher, our expert on the ground, (Zoological Society of London, member of the Science and Conservation Committee) is paying close attention to these births. Assessment of calf production and survival will be key information.
To date 27 wild births have been detected, with more expected. At the end of March 2018, the wild population is at or very close to 105. There are 76 oryx in the pre-release pens comprising 74 delivered from EAD in February 2018.
With new births expected in the days to come, there is great hope to soon have over 200 oryx in country!
The dama gazelle (Nanger dama) is one of the most endangered antelopes in the world with a population estimated at less than 300 individuals scattered across a handful of small isolated groups in Chad, Niger, and possibly Mali (RZSS & IUCN, 2014). This species is in the IUCN Red List as Critically Endangered (IUCN 2016), as well as in Appendix I of CITES and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS).
The National Nature Reserve of Aïr and Ténéré (RNNAT) is located in northern Niger in the Agadez region at the very center of the Saharan zone. The reserve is home to a rich wildlife, including the dama gazelle, but this wildlife has declined significantly due to civil unrest in the region, the last one occurring from 2007 to 2010.
In order to conserve the Sahelo-Saharan fauna and this endangered species, the NGO Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) decided to install camera traps to collect information about the presence and movements of the dama gazelle in the southern part of the reserve.
In January 2017, thirteen camera traps were installed by the SCF-Niger team in the Aïr Mountains, using the latest standardized methods to assess the relative abundance and presence of a species, through a grid divided in 4 km2 basic units. It is a large area to cover and the accidental terrain is difficult to access – a 5 to 6 day-trekking is necessary to install the set of cameras.
In 2018, after collecting the data from the camera memory cards and changing their batteries, the traps were moved (still in the Aïr Mountains), to extend the monitoring area. Within the grid, two criteria were systematically applied to identify the right spots to install the camera traps: indirect sightings (tracks and dung piles of dama gazelles) and a safe location for the cameras. A community game guard has been recruited amongst the local population to monitor the camera traps. One year later, no traps were damaged or stolen, proving the efficiency of the guard surveillance and awareness raising activities towards local communities. Other community game guards will be recruited in the near future to provide surveillance in eastern and northern parts of the mountain range and sensitize the people using the areas – mainly herders, but also gold panners. Once they are recruited, new camera traps can be installed and the monitoring area enlarged.
The SCF-Niger team has so far carried out three missions in this refuge zone for Saharan wildlife, consisting in setting up and moving the camera traps, as well as collecting their data. The main objective was to improve the knowledge on the distribution of this isolated population of Dama gazelles in northern Niger, but also to assess the occurrence of other threatened species such as the Dorcas gazelle or the Barbary sheep.
Among the species detected by the traps (other than a Patas monkey and some small carnivores such as the Rüppell’s fox or wild cat), the most abundant species are Dorcas and Dama gazelles, with a 90% presence probability at any point of the grid for the Dorcas and 60% probability for the Dama, only 30% for the Barbary sheep. These figures may vary in relation to the grid’s extension but they highlight the importance of this area for the conservation of Dama gazelle in the wild.
February 25, 2018. THE FOREST was moving. Not the lazy sway of wispy sprigs fluttering on gentle zephyrs but branch, bough and trunk were rolling across the landscape, creating a sense of motion sickness.
SCF was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of a dear colleague and friend, Dr. Heiner Engel.
Heiner was a dedicated and passionate champion for wildlife. As both a founding member of the Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group (SSIG) and a founding board member of Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF), Heiner was instrumental in helping to launch the Sahelo-Saharan wildlife conservation movement that is now bringing much-needed attention to a part of the world that until recently was overlooked and underfunded when it came to conservation action.
OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA
In his tenure as Zoological Director of Zoo Hannover, Heiner was one of the leading voices that rallied the international zoo community to support SCF in its mission to save species like the addax, scimitar-horned oryx, North African ostrich, dama gazelle, and others. He was a driving force behind the restoration of addax to fenced reserves in Morocco using zoo-born animals.
Working with the Tunisian wildlife authorities and his zoo colleagues in U.S. and European zoos, he was instrumental in coordinating the successful return of addax and scimitar-horned oryx from zoos to fenced reserves in Tunisia.
He collaborated with Moroccan wildlife authorities to establish the first ex situ assurance population of the critically endangered North African ostrich in zoo care.
To those who knew him, Heiner was not just an earnest zoo biologist and conservationist. He was a warm and caring friend, a gracious host, and a gentle man with a great sense of humor. Heiner was a source of encouragement and inspiration to his colleagues worldwide, with the ability to focus attention on what we can do, rather than getting bogged down in the myriad of things that are out of our control.
His energetic presence, perennially sporting his trademark beret and stylish scarf, will be sorely missed and fondly remembered by all whose lives he touched.
A new atlas has been published by the French Researchers in Zoology, Biology, and Ecology, Stéphane Aulagnier, Fabrice Cuzin, and Michel Thévenot. Their co-authors are Abdellatif Bayed, Bouchra Bougariane, Denis Geraads, Alain Rodrigue, Emmanuelle Stoetzel, Dominique Barreau, and Alain Rocher.
SCF would like to recommend this book which is an important work in the field, providing crucial updates and a lot of new information.
It is only available in French for now.
PRESENTATION OF THE ATLAS
Until the end of the XIXth Century, the mammals in Morocco remained poorly known and it is only at the beginning of the XXth Century that Angel Cabrera published a first synthesis of knowledge.
Then Jean- Bertrand Panouse’s first published maps of distribution in a new synthesis restricted to large mammals. In 1986 was published the first atlas of all wild mammals of Morocco with maps covering the whole territory.
Thirty years later the present work provides an updated knowledge and a cartography using grid maps of 0.25° longitude by 0.25° latitude.
CONTENTS
This work globally describes about a hundred valid species having existed at historical time on the present territory of the Kingdom of Morocco. Among them, eight have already gone extinct, two have not recently been observed and are on the verge of extinction, two are critically endangered, and several others are threatened with extinction either by human activities and / or because of their very restricted geographic range.
In addition to the distribution maps of present wild mammals (second half of the XXth Century), this collective work sets back the recent mammal fauna in a historical perspective. It includes chapters dedicated to fossil species which are now better known and to mammals in rockart. It then deals with each order of present mammal species.
All monographs start with scientific and vernacular names, a list of synonyms found in the literature and sometimes comments on the specific status and on the phylogeny of the taxon. Description and measurements precede the striking elements of the species distribution.
Biological and ecological data, restricted to Morocco or even to the Maghreb, can lead to conservation features of species. An identification key of Rodents cranial remains from owl pellets completes this work.
At the beginning of October, the management unit of Gadabeji Game Reserve (GGR) has been supported by the Sahara Conservation Fund and the project Niger Fauna Corridor to carry out a mission in the vicinity of the reserve to collect information about a tagged captive bred Egyptian vulture released in Bulgaria.
The Sahel and Sahara is on the flyway of the Egyptian vultures migration routes as they fly over Chad and Niger every year, from the Balkans and in particular from Bulgaria and Greece. To protect the species along its flyway, the Egyptian Vulture New LIFE project funded by the European Union is initiating an innovative collaboration between several partners including the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds – BSPB and the Sahara Conservation Fund.
Like few years ago for the Egyptian Vulture Paschalis , the Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, contacted us because they had lost track of one of the Balkan Egyptian vultures, recently tagged and equipped with GPS/Satellite transmitter. The last location received by BSPB was in Niger, in the vicinity of Gadabeji Game Reserve.
SCF informed their partners from the Niger Fauna Corridor Project and the management unit of Gadabeji Game Reserve to investigate and find out what had happened to this Egyptian vulture. 5 years ago, Paschalis from Greece had been killed in Niger next to Koutous Massif, by a poacher from Nigeria for a belief-based use named locally “Juju”. It was also a good opportunity to raise awareness with the local communities about the diversity of the vulture species located in this part of Niger and as well to outline their huge role as ecosystem service provider and its importance in the overall biodiversity management.
THE ENDANGERED EGYPTIAN VULTURE
The Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) roost communally on large trees, electric poles, buildings or on cliffs, and prefers open spaces (grasslands and plains) for foraging.
Scientists have documented the large population decline in the 20th century for many well-known reasons (hunting, habitat destruction, poisoning, nest destruction, egg collection and more recently poaching for “blood money” purposes).
The Egyptian vulture is listed “Endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s red list since May 2007. The red list is increasingly used to raise public’s and policy makers awareness on the species threatened with extinction.
HOW THE ANIMAL WAS FINALLY FOUND
Thanks to the last signal sent by the transmitter, the rangers from the Gadabeji Game Reserve were able to find the place where the bird had been observed for the last time, 60 kilometers away from East-Gadabeji. In a tiny village, named Aboussa, the traditional ruler and his community helped them to find the transmitter and the ring of the Egyptian vulture which had been poached by two men for bush meat, identified later by the inhabitants of the village. The local people and in particular the children outlined they had never seen this species before in this area, but they usually observe Ruppell’s vultures. Only, the traditional ruler, aged of 65 years old, had seen formerly this species. It is important to mention that the success of this investigation was only made possible thanks to the transcontinental collaboration between conservationists based in the Balkans and Africa.
RAISING AWARENESS
During the mission, a meeting was organized by the rangers to sensitize the local communities about vultures. Pictures were displayed, conservation status and protection by law were reminded, and explanations about this tagged bird were provided. More generally, the meeting was also a good way to remind people that it is of common interest to protect together natural resources. Indeed, the ecosystem role of the vulture in the Sahel is actually even more relevant than everywhere else due to little use of veterinary drugs to protect livestock from diseases and the low level of sanitation services.
Sanctions have been taken against the poachers and recommendations made as lessons learned from the missions, such as : extend actions against poaching to the reserve influence zone, keep on raising awareness among local populations living around the reserve, increase communications between the researchers and the protected areas staff.
In August 2017 was the third release lead in Chad with the valued support of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi, and the Government of Chad.
As a reminder, the objective of this reintroduction project is to build up a viable population of at least 500 animals, and hopefully confirm over the years the return of the scimitar-horned oryx back into the wild.
This summer, the number of animals reached 90, including 18 calves born in Chad.
A few weeks ago, we had the pleasure to celebrate the first anniversary of the first oryx calf born in the wild. A video of him standing peacefully at his mother’s side is such a good reward to us that we had to share this with you!
The mother and calf remain in the same good grazing area and excellent condition, 115km from camp. They continue to allow very close approach and were observed taking large mouthfuls of dry grass.
To go on with some latest news from the field, our specialist on the ground Tim Wacher also reported that no further births was to be observed lately, although one female showed strong signs of an imminent calving in the last few days. The large group of mixed provenance that formed around the release area following the August release began to show signs of breaking up, fragmenting locally, though all remain within a close radius. The 9 juveniles, released as calves in August 2017, have for the first- time divided company, with 2 spending recent days in a local splinter group with 8 adults, and the remaining seven staying in a group of 20-25, experiencing small changes as various individuals move around.
In short, we can say that the 2016 release animals are generally in excellent condition: an excellent news, and very encouraging for the project’s future developments!
Addax and dama gazelle were formerly distributed widely across the Sahara and Sahel. A catastrophic decline has taken place, especially during the last 40 years, that has brought both species close to extinction in the wild. Wild populations of addax and dama gazelle are now limited to a tiny number of small fragments of their historical range in Niger and Chad.
Addax and dama gazelle are listed on Appendix I of CITES and CMS. Both species are listed as Critically Endangered (the highest category of threat) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
INTERNATIONAL MEETINGS
A workshop was held at the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland in November 2013 to review and discuss key issues for dama gazelle conservation. This resulted in an updated status review and a conservation road map with draft recommendations and proposed priority actions (RZSS & IUCN Antelope Specialist Group 2014). Another workshop took place at the Zoological Society of London in July 2016 to examine options for the restoration of addax in Chad and Niger.
REGIONAL ACTIONS
A workshop took place in N’Djaména, Chad, on 24-25 April 2017 to develop a 2017-2022 regional action plan for the remaining wild populations of addax and dama gazelle in Niger and Chad. More precisely, the goal is to protect key populations of Addax in Chad and Niger using coordinated trans-boundary actions to improve knowledge and protection and where appropriate use reinforcement and reintroduction to increase population size and connectivity in natural range.The workshop was held under the auspices of IUCN/SSC Antelope Specialist Group and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and the two national agencies DFCAP (Niger) and DCFAP (Chad) and was organized and funded by Noé.
Three very large protected areas are playing a key role in protection of the remaining populations of both species:
– Termit & Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve in Niger,
– Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Game Reserve in Chad.
The government agencies (DFCAP in Niger and DCFAP in Chad) are fully engaged in the conservation of both species.
IN THE FIELD
Several projects and international organizations have been engaged in survey, monitoring and community sensitization. These include: the SCF Pan-Sahara Wildlife Survey; Projet Antilopes Sahélo-Sahariennes, operated by CMS and implemented by Sahara Conservation Fund in close collaboration with the Zoological Society of London, and Projet d’appui à la gestion durable d’aires protégées sahélo-sahariennes, Niger et Tchad (Project of support for sustainable management of protected areas in Niger and Chad) implemented by Noé, in partnership with DCFAP, DFCAP and SCF.
On the research side, the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland is leading an ongoing research project into the genetics of addax and dama gazelle (wild and captive populations), in collaboration with organizations working in the field, zoo associations like Al Ain Zoo and others.
A STRATEGIC ACTION PLAN
The strategic action plan highlights three main priorities to save these two species:
– The first priority is to prevent the loss of more animals from the wild by ensuring effective protection from poaching at key sites and also extending protection to habitat, notably by establishing undisturbed zones away from water wells and livestock.
– The second one is to keep strong and effective links with the populations on site. Working with local communities who share the habitat and use the same pastures is essential to long-term success of conservation programs. Several agreements in TTTNNR have been signed by the traditional local and administrative authorities, including the Déclaration de Dolé (2007) and Déclaration de Dougoulé (2010).
The Doungoumi Declaration was signed in December 2016 by leaders of the 65 communities in and around TTTNNR and contains a commitment to protect wildlife and includes collaboration on removal of unauthorized wells: this agreement could serve as a model for elsewhere in the region.
– It is impossible to plan effectively without accurate knowledge of the status of the two species. Establishing the fate of the largest addax population in Termit & Tin Toumma – whether it has been dispersed or greatly reduced, and locating remaining animals – is an urgent priority, as is establishing the extent and frequency of movement between sites. Monitoring programmes for all populations of addax and dama gazelle should be continued and expanded where feasible, using standardised protocols. It is also important to expand the current genetic research on the wild and captive populations of both species.
NEXT STEPS
SCF and its partners will work together to raise funds and implement the priority actions defined by the action plan, including the possibility to reintroduce and reinforce the wild population of dama gazelle and addax in the near future.
The Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) is implementing a national and international action plan within the framework of the North African Ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) Recovery project.
The success of this initiative relies on the support and involvement of various stakeholders.
At the end of 2016, SCF met with the Nigerien authorities and private holders, followed by a workshop with our international partners including Marwell Wildlife (UK), Hanover Zoo (Germany) and Saint-Louis, San Diego and Smithsonian’ zoos (USA). During the workshop, SCF decided to organise an advisory visit from Dr Marie Petretto, field biologist and wildlife veterinarian from Marwell Wildlife working in Tunisia to share her expertise on ostrich breeding for reintroduction purposes and provide training for the staff at Kellé breeding site (Niger) where a new artificial hatching unit would soon be operational.
During Dr Petretto’s visit from the 12th to 18th July 2017, the managers and workers from the other Nigerien ostrich breeding sites were invited to attend the training course at Kellé. As a consequence, we were delighted to welcome Mr. Issaka Abdou Idrissa, Iferouane manager and Mr. Abdoulaye Maoudé, guard and ostrich keeper at Maïné-Soroa to the ostrich training course. We also made the course accessible to five Ecology Masters students and to the Head of Environment Services of Kellé, to increase local learning and expertise.
Our efforts for ostrich conservation received support from the local dignitaries and the welcome for the course was delivered by the Kellé authorities, including Mr. Mai Moussa Mai Salé, traditional Head of Canton, Mr. Idrissa Adam, Deputy Mayor and General Mamadou Ousseini, the Kellé site owner.
This initiative formalises and extends SCF’s involvement in ostrich conservation in Niger, as we start to provide technical and financial support to ostrich conservation beyond the Kellé breeding site. It has also enabled us to share expertise and experiences between comparable projects led by SCF in Niger and Marwell Wildlife in Tunisia.
The Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) gathers together every year about a hundred people who are interested in the Sahelo-Saharan species conservation. A wide variety of partners, scientists, and experts, from different countries, are involved. Protecting this rich biodiversity, which is still poorly documented and overlooked in other places on earth, is the main theme of these 2-day meetings, debates, presentations and discussions. The annual meeting provides a great opportunity to all participants about how to preserve the biodiversity of the region’s ecosystems, and learn from each other’s experience.
This year, the 17h annual SSIG meeting was hosted by Senegal, a country that is particularly involved in biodiversity conservation.
More than 60 researchers, conservationists, representatives of wildlife authorities and internationally-known zoos, driven by collective enthusiasm, have met at the Hotel de la Poste in Saint-Louis, Senegal.
Sahelo-Saharan area. Oryx, gerbils, bustards, giraffes …. The papers have highlighted an exceptional diversity of species in various places of the Sahel and the Sahara.
We make these contents available through links in the program below. Please do not use these materials without permission.
A follow-up document is available too,English and French.
