756 Briefly AFRICA


Madagascar’s fishers chase dwindling sea cucumbers There are c. 1,250 different species of sea cucumber, ranging in size from c. 1.9 cm to more than 1.8 m. For centuries, they have been used in China for traditional medicine or as a high-status food, typically eaten in soups and stews. In recent decades, as a result of the enormous economic transfor- mation in China, demand and prices for sea cucumber have skyrocketed, with some spe- cies retailing for up to USD 3,500 per kg. Predictably, sea cucumber populations are in decline globally. In Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest countries, the practice of SCUBA diving for sea cucumbers was banned in 1993 in an attempt to manage the fishery.However, many fishers continue to dive for the precious catch, risking arrest for illegal fishing, but also their lives by div- ing far deeper and for far longer than safe div- ing protocol allows, often in old and poorly maintained diving gear. A glimmer of hope is offered by community sea cucumber aqua- culture programmes in a few villages. These are attempting to provide alternative income for traditional small-scale fishers and to alle- viate pressure on wild sea cucumbers. Source: Mongabay (2020) news.mongabay. com/2020/07/risking-death-and-arrest- madagascar-fishers-chase-dwindling- sea-cucumbers


Campaign to plant 20 million trees in Senegal Avast reforestation campaign is underway in Senegal, with the objective to plant up to 20 million trees across the country.According to the Senegalese Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Abdou Karim Sall, the reforestation campaign initiated by the Senegalese government is arousing great interest throughout the country. The planting of baobab trees, in particular, is intensifying as aresultofthe government’scampaign. This large tree is typical of tropical regions, particu- larlyWest Africa, where it takes 8–10 years to reachmaturity. The fruits of this tree are used to make soft drinks, which nutritionists be- lieve to be rich in vitamins B1 and C. Mon- key bread, a common name for the dried baobab fruit, is also becoming a major export product, particularly to factories in Europe and America. The planting of baobab is en- couraged by several organizations, includ- ing the National Agency for Agricultural In- tegration and Development. Source: Afrik21 (2020) afrik21.africa/en/ senegal-a-campaign-to-plant-20-million- trees-by-the-end-of-september


Somali sengi: new records of a lost species in the Horn of Africa The Somali sengi Elephantulus revoilii,a little-known mammal, has been rediscov- ered in Africa after 50 years of obscurity. The last scientific record of this species of elephant shrew was in the 1970s, despite local sightings. In a new study, scientists re- port to have found the animals in Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa, during an expedition. The team set .1,000 baited traps at 12 locations. They caught one of the creatures in the first trap they set in the dry, rocky landscape. In total, they saw 12 sengis during their expedition and ob- tained the first-ever photos and video of live Somali elephant shrews for scientific documentation. The researchers did not observe any immediate threats to the spe- cies’ habitat, which is inaccessible and far from farming and human developments. For Djibouti the discovery is an important story that highlights the great biodiversity of the country and the region and shows that there are opportunities for new science and research there. Elephant shrews, or sen- gis, are the size of mice or shrews, but are related to aardvarks, elephants and mana- tees. They have distinctive trunk-like noses, which they use to search for insects. Sources: PeerJ (2020) peerj.com/articles/ 9652 & BBC (2020) bbc.co.uk/news/ science-environment-53820395


Rosewood trafficking worsens in the Gambia Arecently published report by the Environ- mental Investigation Agency has shed new light on the scale and workings of the illegal trade of rosewood timber in the Gambia. It revealed that the country exported c. 1.6 mil- lion rosewood trees during June 2012–April 2020. Most of this timber, known locally as keno, is illegally harvested and smuggled from neighbouring Senegal, and according to the findings, most of these exports are in violation of CITES. The trafficking has con- tributed to political instability in the Casa- mance region of southern Senegal, where the illegal logging has been concentrated. The Gambia’s current presidentAdama Bar- row imposed a re-export ban in February 2017 and agreed to a joint enforcement initia- tive to combat the trafficking with the presi- dent of Senegal, Macky Sall, in 2018.How- ever, despite thesemeasures,China’s imports of rosewood fromtheGambia have increased in 2017–2020 compared to 2015–2016. Source: Earth Island Journal (2020) earthisland.org/journal/index.php/ articles/entry/rosewood-trafficking- worsens-the-gambia-china


Wildlife corridors could save South Africa’s leopards South Africa’s leopard population faces an uncertain future. In a country where re- serves and national parks are surrounded by farms, roads and developments, leopards have been forced into ever smaller areas. In some populations this has led to inbreeding, which can diminish the felids’ resistance to illnesses and extreme weather events such as droughts, and can result in local extinc- tion. In a recent study, scientists examined two populations of leopards in South Africa and found low genetic diversity in one of them. The researchers proposed wildlife corridors as one possible solution to en- courage gene flow. Tracts of land through which animals can safely disperse or mi- grate, such as pockets of undeveloped land or underpasses that allow animals to cross busy roads, can connect what would other- wise be separated populations. In India, wildlife corridors have been shown to be ef- fective for various carnivores. Despite many challenges, there are plans to establish such corridors in South Africa. The Cape Leop- ard Trust, for example, is investigating the integrity of potential corridors in the West- ern Cape. These could protect not only leop- ards, but also fynbos vegetation, orchids and amphibians such as the Endangered Cape platanna frog. Source: BBC (2020) bbc.com/future/ article/20200826-the-bold-plan-that- could-save-south-africas-leopards


Meru National Park sees baby boom of rhinoceros in sanctuary Meru National Park in Kenya includes a 83 km2 rhinoceros sanctuary in the northern part of the Park. To protect rhi- noceroses from poaching, the sanctuary is surrounded by a high voltage electric fence designed to keep rhinoceroses in but allow other wildlife such as giraffes to move freely. The fence and other security measures have helped reduce poaching, and in the last 2 years, there has been no poaching incident at Meru National Park. The Park has witnessed a baby boom in the past year with the birth of nine calves, including seven white and two black rhi- noceroses. Nationally, 31 births have been recorded in the past year, with 17 of those being black and 14 being white rhinocer- oses. The white rhinoceros reaches maturity at the age of 4 years, whereas the black rhi- noceros matures at 6 years. The life expec- tancy of both species is 50–60 years and their gestation period is 15–16 months. Source: The Standard (2020) standard media.co.ke/eastern/article/2001380996/ park-sees-baby-boom-of-rhinos-in-sanctuary


Oryx, 2020, 54(6), 753–758 © Fauna & Flora International 2020 doi:10.1017/S0030605320000897


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