552 Briefly AFRICA
The world’s largest land mammal migration in South Sudan The first large-scale aerial survey of wildlife in South Sudan has confirmed the world’s largest land mammal migration. The spec- tacle, known as the Great Nile Migration, includes c. 6 million antelopes. The survey, part of an ongoing partnership between African Parks and the Government of South Sudan, was conducted in the Boma Badingilo Jonglei Landscape (BBJL) and was the most comprehensive aerial study of wildlife in South Sudan, covering an area of 122,774 km2. The migrating ante- lopes included white-eared kob, Mongalla gazelle, tiang and Bohor reedbuck. The survey results improve our understanding of the landscape, allowing conservationists to develop ways to ensure it can deliver sustainability for both wildlife and people. Source: BBC Wildlife Magazine (2024)
discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/ mammals/worlds-largest-land-mammal- migration
CyberTracker: software developed in collaboration with Indigenous trackers By the early 1990s, game populations in South Africa had diminished, Indigenous trackers could no longer survive by hunting, and young people were showing little inter- est in developing the skill of tracking. Aiming to preserve Indigenous tracking skills, independent scientist Louis Lie- benberg began collaborating with trackers to develop CyberTracker. The idea was to create an intuitive, icon-based interface that would enable nonliterate users to collect detailed data on GPS devices, and ultimately ease collaborations between Indigenous communities, scientists and conservation managers. CyberTracker en- ables the user to select an icon in the shape of a track to identify an animal track. The platform gained many suppor- ters and is now used worldwide; in the 2 million-ha Kruger National Park, for example, 400 rangers now use the app to record observations, including data on invasive species, breaks in fence lines and evidence of poachers. In April 2024, a soft- ware update was released after being tested extensively by Indigenous trackers. The Ju/ ’hoansi trackers of the Kalahari say their decades long involvement with Liebenberg and CyberTracker has produced results. Source: Science (2024)
science.org/content/ article/app-developed-indigenous- trackers-helps-almost-anyone-monitor- wildlife
Endangered gazelles find refuge in Lybia Eight youngrhimgazellesGazellaleptoceros— an Endangered species native to North Africa—have been transferred to an uninhab- ited Libyan island. The hope is that their new home on the 13-km long Farwa island, near Tunisia,will be ahavenfor the threatenedani- mal, which lives in desert areas in Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt. Its population has declined significantly because it is a prized tar- get for hunters. The small gazelle is well adapted to desert life with a pale coat that blends into sandy landscapes. They are sold by hunters for as much as USD 1,000 per car- cass. In 2016, when the species was first cate- gorized on the IUCN Red List, there were onlyanestimated300–600mature individuals remaining in the wild. Despite the lack of an official census from Libya, numerous NGOs and activists are working to preserve the spe- cies. Farwa, though not part of their natural range, appears to have suited the first group of gazelles released on the island. Source:
Phys.org (2024)
phys.org/news/ 2024-07-endangered-gazelles-libyan-safe-
haven.html
Giant pangolin recorded in Senegal for first time in . 20 years The giant pangolin Smutsia gigantea had not been seen in Senegal since 1999, but while analysing thousands of camera-trap images taken in Nioloko-Koba National Park, a team of researchers spotted the large scaly mammal. The Park is home to a programme to conserve its Critically Endangered West Africanlionpopulation.Duringa large carni- vore survey aimed at detecting lions, leopards and other animals, the cameras captured the image of the rare pangolin. The species, which is categorized as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, is known to exist in West Africa in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mali. Its rediscovery in Senegal signals a conservation opportunity and suggests the need for more large protected areas in the country. The re- searchers have begun to design a comprehen- sive plan to protect the newly discovered species in the Park. Because of Niokolo- Koba’s extremetemperatures, it is an ideal lo- cation to study the burrows of pangolins and aardvarks. NGO Panthera, Senegal’s Direction des ParcsNationaux and local uni- versities are devising a plan to investigate the complexmicrohabitats of these burrows and how giant pangolins act as engineers in their ecosystems. Source: Panthera (2024)
panthera.org/ blog-post/huge-success-giant-pangolin- recorded-senegal-first-time-nearly-25- years
A single elephant’s dung can feed 2 million beetles per day Recent findings reveal a captivating dynam- ic within the African savannah. In Kenya’s Laikipia region, researchers collected two balls of elephant dung, one exposed during the day and the other at night. The daytime dung attracted just over 3,300 beetles, but as night fell, the number surged to an in- credible 13,399 beetles by dawn. On average, 1 kg of elephant dung can sustain . 13,400 beetles. Given that an elephant produces c. 145 kg of dung per day, a single elephant can support . 2 million dung beetles daily. Extrapolating these numbers to the Laikipia- Samburu ecosystem, which harbours 5,000– 7,500 elephants, the researchers estimated astaggering 14 billion dung beetles across an area of c. 54,000 km2. Population declines of the Endangered African savannah elephant Loxodonta africana thus have profound implications for the dung beetle populations that rely on them. Source: OneGreenPlanet (2024)
onegreenplanet.org/animals/elephant- dung-feeds-2-million-beetles-per-day
The hidden ivory trade: hippos under threat amidst rising demand The word ‘ivory’ is usually associated with elephants, and it is well known that the de- mand for this material has decimated ele- phant populations, and that the trade in their tusks has been illegal for decades. But ivory is still highly coveted, particularly in mainland China. Ivory trade is worth USD 23 billion per year, with Hong Kong being the primary trafficking portal. And it is not only elephants that are affected. Earlier this year, Hong Kong customs seized a hoard of hippopotamus teeth, which, like the tusks of warthogs and other mammals, are also classed as ivory. Hippo teeth are used similarly to elephant ivory, for ex- ample in decorative carvings, and are not only a legal alternative but are also cheaper and more accessible than elephant ivory. In Uganda, the demand for this alternative source of ivory has led to a significant decline in the common hippopotamus population, with . 50% lost nationally in recent years. Globally, their population has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years. Increased law enforcement and public awareness, as well as tighter regulations on the import and export of wildlife products, are paramount to reduce this threat to the semiaquatic animals, which play a key role in their native ecosystem. Source: Africa Geographic (2024)
africageographic.com/stories/the-hidden- ivory-trade-hippos-under-threat-amidst- rising-demand
Oryx, 2024, 58(5), 549–554 © The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605324001698
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