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  • Ostriches in North-Eastern Ennedi, Chad!

    Many thanks to Yves Gauthier for sharing this news with us. A French Researcher and Rock art expert, he tells how he observed, together with his team and thanks to the guide Idris Barkai, unexpected ostrich tracks in Northern Chad. Yves Gauthier We have been travelling in Northern Chad since 2012 to list rock art sites as well as…

  • Antelope conservation: exporting experience from Tunisia across the Sahara

    M. Petretto, T. Gilbert, P. Riordan – Marwell Wildlife Many thanks to Marie Petretto, Tania Gilbert, and Philip Riordan for this article giving a useful overview on the experience of Marwell Wildlife, SCF long-time partner, with antelope conservation in Tunisia and in the Sahara. Once abundant and widespread Saharan antelopes, such as scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah)…

  • Plastic pollution in Niger: an alarming snapshot

    It is an alarming scene the Sahara Conservation Fund observed, again, during its field work in Niger: plastic pollution is spoiling landscapes and seriously endangering wildlife. The ingestion of plastic by animals can indeed kill them. Non-biodegradable plastic bags are used everywhere Niger markets. In the cities, the authorities use staff to reduce pollution a little, even if many…

  • A passion for Algerian wildlife – Interview with photographer Redouane Tahri

    The Sahara Conservation Fund has been working to safeguard biodiversity in the Sahara and Sahel since the early 2000s. The flora and fauna found in this vast region are far more abundant and diverse than most people think, including biologists and other conservationists. This lack of awareness has contributed to the decline in its plants and animals. SCF…

  • Another 75 scimitar-horned oryx released in Chad

    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…

  • Monitoring dama gazelles in northern Niger

    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),…

  • Saving giraffe from extinction is a tall order

    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. https://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/923912/giraffe-extinction-niger-conservation-species?fbclid=IwAR0i2wLlbbX685opK9wtwSz5pEihqhm_cw9ztFUKxMKbSZwgYLFzgeLkCm4

  • Tribute to Heiner Engel, our dear colleague and friend

    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…

  • Niger, Sahel: the end of the migration route for an Egyptian vulture from Bulgaria

    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. Auteur The Sahel and Sahara is on…

  • Chad oryx reintroduction project: they are in great shape!

    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…

  • Developing a regional action plan for addax and dama gazelle

    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…

  • Strengthening collaborations for the recovery of North African ostrich

    Sahara Conservation is implementing a national and international action plan within the framework of the North African ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus) recovery project. Maimounatou Mamadou Ibrahim The success of this initiative relies on the support and involvement of various stakeholders At the end of 2016, SC met with the Nigerien authorities and private holders, followed…

  • 17th Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group meeting in May 2017

    Sahara Conservation 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,…

  • Second group of the once-extinct scimitar-horned oryx to be released into the wild

    This week, conservationists will release 23 scimitar-horned oryx (Oryx dammah) into the Ouadi-Rimé Ouadi-Achim Faunal Reserve in the African nation of Chad, reports New Scientist. They will join the 25 oryx released into the grasslands in August, boosting the population of an animal that went extinct in the wild in the 1980s. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/herd-oryx-once-extinct-wild-grows-180961844/

  • Oryx return to Chad thanks to UAE breeding programme

    The scimitar-­horned oryx has been brought back from extinction in the wilds of Chad thanks to the late Sheikh Zayed and the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency. https://www.thenational.ae/uae/environment/oryx-return-to-chad-thanks-to-uae-breeding-programme-1.150073

  • Humans may have killed all but 3 of these animals in the wild

    There are only three Saharan addax — corkscrew-horned antelope native to the sandy deserts of eastern Niger and western Chad — left in the wild. https://www.huffpost.com/entry/addax-only-3-left_n_572f66c9e4b016f378962497?ncid=tweetlnkushpmg00000048

  • Only three addax antelopes left in the wild?

    Is this the end for the addax (Addax nasomaculatus)? The IUCN reported today that extensive surveys of addax habitat in Niger found just three of these critically endangered antelopes left in the wild. The last animals were located after a 700 kilometer ground search, huddled together in what the IUCN described as a “very nervous” group. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/extinction-countdown/three-addax-left/

  • 25 Scimitar-horned oryx to be reintroduced to the wild in Chad

    For the first time, scimitar-horned oryx are going to be reintroduced to the wild in Chad. Extinct in the wild since the mid-1980s, the species’ return is the result of the Environment Agency—Abu Dhabi (EAD) and the government of Chad’s Scimitar-horned Oryx Reintroduction Program. (…) https://insider.si.edu/2016/04/25-scimitar-horned-oryx-reintroduced-wild-chad/

  • Poachers went after this amazing antelope for fun

    LIFE IN THE Sahara is no cakewalk. The baking sun raises temperatures to more than 120 degrees, howling winds conjure up dust devils and sand storms, and years can pass before a drop of rain falls. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/03/160302-addax-sahara-desert-poaching-oil-war

  • Sahara Conservation’s Oryx Project receives strong presidential support

    As Sahara Conservation’s logo, the oryx represents the threats that face desert wildlife but also the hope that one day this magnificent animal will once again roam free on African soil. This once abundant species of antelope occupied the vast, dry, sub-Saharan grasslands but fell prey over time to a lethal combination of overhunting, drought…

  • Please help us feed a hungry friend

    You will no doubt have heard the Sahel region of Africa has yet again been hit with erratic and inadequate rainfall. This has led to failed harvests and poorly developed grazing. An estimated 13 million people are affected with over 6 million of these in Niger alone. Here, food shortages are estimated to be in…

  • Please Fasten Your Safety Belts

    It will not have escaped anyone’s attention that North Africa is going through significant turmoil at the moment. Turbulence that often dramatically upsets society and which also impacts heavily on our ability to carry out our conservation mission. John Newby I was recently asked whether we would be abandoning projects as a result of the…

  • Black Gold Or White

    In the fall of 2008, Niger began drilling for oil in the Tin Toumma desert to the east of the country. Tin Toumma is where SCF and its partners are working to set up a vast new national nature reserve. It is also home to the world’s last viable population of addax. Will the search…

  • A New Perspective On The Sahara

    John Newby Titre H2 What I love about deserts is their uncluttered perfection. When the sand and dust have settled you can generally see what’s going on. The Sahara is one of those magical places where life in all its incredible diversity looks out unimpeded on the infinity of space. Ten million square kilometres of…

  • Bringing the addax back to the wild

    Bringing the addax back to the wild Once roaming in vast numbers across the Sahara’s arid landscapes, the addax has faced a dramatic decline. Now, with fewer than 100 individuals remaining in the wild, this nomadic desert antelope is one of the world’s most endangered species, listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.…

  • Addax

    Addax The addax antelope is one of the rarest and most endangered species on Earth. Illegal hunting has brought addax to the brink of extinction, with fewer than 100 alive in the wild in Chad and Niger, according to the latest IUCN evaluation. The addax is a relatively short-legged, stocky antelope (95-105 kg) with long…

  • Healthcare missions

    Healthcare missions One of the main challenges as a wildlife conservation NGO is to succeed in combining the needs and expectations of local populations with conservation activities. Based on its experience, Sahara Conservation has been able to develop initiatives that link its efforts to safeguard both wildlife and the people sharing their habitat.Sahara Conservation works…

  • SSIG

    Sahel & SaharaInterest Group Every year, Sahara Conservation brings together hundreds of professionals interested in the conservation of the wildlife and landscapes of the Sahel and the Sahara. The Sahel & Sahara Interest Group (SSIG) plays a unique role as a forum for people to meet, network, share information and build strong partnerships for the…

  • Saving the last dama gazelles

    Saving the last dama gazelles Once widespread throughout the Sahel, the dama gazelle is one of the planet’s most endangered species, with fewer than 200 remaining individuals remaining in the wild. What are we doing to save dama gazelles? From two decades of survey and monitoring data, our understanding of dama gazelles and their environments…

  • Barbary sheep

    Barbary sheep The Barbary sheep is indigenous to the Sahara and its sub-Saharan fringes. It can be found in suitable mountain habitats throughout the region, from the Atlantic coast to the Red Sea, and from the Mediterranean Atlas Mountains to the escarpments of the northern Sahel. Weighing up to 145 kg, the Barbary sheep (or aoudad), is a rarely…