142 Briefly AFRICA
Drought in Kenya wreaks havoc on wildlife Kenya’sworst droughtin 4 decades continues to wreak havoc on wildlife. A report pre- sented in November 2022,entitled The Impacts of the Current Drought on Wildlife in Kenya, shows that the crisis has affected nearly half of the East African nation’seight provinces, drastically reducing food re- sources for both people and wildlife. The report stated that the drought has caused the death of at least 512 wildebeest, 381 plains zebras, 49 Grevy’s zebras, 51 buffalos and 205 African elephants, amongst others. TheAmboseli and Laikipia-Samburu ecosys- tems are the worst affected by the drought, recording the deaths of more than 70 ele- phants. The depletion of food resources alongside water shortages has caused the mortality of many herbivore species despite an ongoing feeding programme that has been set up to help. Fortunately, it is reported that the rhinoceros population has not been seriously affected by the drought, with only one individual having died, within Tsavo West National Park. Source: Africa News (2022)
africanews.com/ 2022/11/04/kenyas-drought-wreaks-havoc- on-wildlife-kills-over-200-elephants
New campaign against consumption of wildlife launched in Kinshasa Wildlife hunting is accelerating at an alarm- ing rate in Central Africa. According to ex- perts from the Wildlife Conservation Soci- ety (WCS), more than six million tonnes of wild meat are extracted from the forests of theCongo Basin every
year.This level of har- vesting of wild animals is unsustainable, es- pecially as it is driven by trade for profit. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the authorities have decided to respond to this problem. The Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development, in collabora- tion with a coalition of local organizations in the capital city Kinshasa, including the WCS, launched the second phase of a cam- paign entitled ‘Celebrate Congolese cuisine without bushmeat – Yoka Pimbo’ in Dec- ember 2022. The first phase of this campaign had been launched in March 2021, and this new second phase features the broadcasting of a video clip of the campaign song entitled ‘Yoka-pimbo!’, aswell as a Facebook compe- tition for the best recipes for Congolese cuis- inewithout
bushmeat.The authors of the best recipes will be rewarded with various prizes. Source: Afrik21 (2023)
afrik21.africa/en/ drc-a-campaign-against-the-consumption- of-wildlife-in-kinshasa
At least half of Africa’s rhinoceroses are in private hands Until recently, the largest population of rhi- noceroses was found in the state-run Kruger National Park in South Africa, but numbers of white and black rhinoceroses there have dwindled by 76%and 68%, re- spectively, over the past decade. During the same period, the number of white rhinocer- oses on private land has steadily increased, particularly in South Africa. Private owners now conserve at least half of the continent’s remaining rhinoceroses, and communal lands conserve a growing proportion. In a new study, scientists have compiled publicly available rhinoceros population data for African range countries, disaggregated by state, private, and communal lands where possible. Private and communal land owners can generate revenue from wildlife tourism, trophy hunting and trade in live animals, making it financially viable to conserve wildlife rather than farming livestock. But higher investments are nowneeded for secur- ity measures to combat increasing levels of poaching, making conservation less feasible for many land owners. The study’sauthors highlight the importance of future policies that enable new incentives that compensate for rising security costs, encouraging rhino conservation on private and communal land. Source: Science Daily (2023) sciencedaily. com/releases/2023/01/
230119112755.htm
First global Red List assessment of South African abalone An update to the IUCN Red List, presented during the 15th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, revealed that as many as 44%of all abalone shellfish species are threatened with extinction. The primary threat to Haliotis midae, a newly assessed species that occurs in South Africa, is illegal fishing, mainly for international trade. In 2018,a TRAFFIC report estimated that 36,958 t of abalone were illegally harvested during 2000–2016; approximately double the quan- tity that was legally produced over the same period. Recent analysis indicates that this trend has continued, suggesting poaching pressure remains high. The illegal trade of H. midae is made easier by the fact that it is currently not regulated by any internation- al trading agreements. Its new listing as Endangered on the IUCNRed List reinforces the need to continue the ongoing efforts to prevent and combat the illegal trade in South African abalone. Source: TRAFFIC (2022)
traffic.org/news/ first-ever-global-red-list-assessment-of- abalone-underlines-urgency-of- combatting-illegal-trade
Shipping noise and food scarcity threaten Africa’s only penguin The African penguin Spheniscus demersus is expected to become extinct in the wild in just over a decade, given its current popula- tion decline. Themainreasonis a lack of sar- dines, its primary food source, caused by the commercial fishing industry and changing ocean conditions from global heating. There is a possible additional cause thatmay further inhibit the penguins from finding food: noise pollution from marine vessels in Algoa Bay, which is one of the noisiest shipping hubs globally. In 2016, a new shipping practice started there: ship-to-ship refuelling for ves- sels anchored offshore, known as ship-to- ship bunkering, which saves in-port docking time. Since then,marine traffic in the bay has doubled, and the number of bulk carriers pulling into the bay has increased tenfold. These large vessels have the biggest engines and emitthe highestnoise levels. Penguins hunt in groups and vocalize to each other while at sea, and scientists are investigating whether the noise pollution interferes with their ability to find food. Source: Mongabay (2022)
news.mongabay. com/2022/11/will-shipping-noise-nudge- africas-only-penguin-toward-extinction
Dam construction degrades hippopotamus habitat in Ghana The resources of the Black Volta River and an abundance of grasses make Bui National Park one of the few areas where the common hippopotamus occurs in Ghana. However, in an attempt to solve the electricity crisis the country faced in 2007, the government constructed a hydro- electricdamin the heart of the species’ habi- tat. In a new study, researchers spent 2 days per month for 12 months at the Park to esti- mate the number of hippopotamuses, study local migratory activities and assess changes in land cover after the dam was constructed. They compared this information with his- torical data and spoke to local people famil- iar with the reserve before and after the dam construction. The results indicated a 70% decline in hippopotamus numbers, from 209 individuals in 2003 to only 64 in 2021. Forest cover and riparian grasses declined after the dam construction, and increasing water levels flooded the areas where the an- imals used to live, forcing them to disperse to other areas. As they dispersed, the hippo- potamuses became vulnerable to poaching, which, combined with habitat loss, led to a decline in their numbers. Source: Pensoft (2022)
blog.pensoft.net/ 2022/12/21/human-activities-degrade- hippopotamus-homes-at-bui-national- park-ghana
Oryx, 2023, 57(2), 139–144 © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605323000121
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