- green-spots
- biodiversity
- Chad
- Zakouma's conservation revival, Chad
Problems
Ruthless poaching and hunting of elephants and rhinos
Characterized by perennial river systems, rich floodplains, and seasonal wildlife migrations, Zakouma National Park is an uplifting story of revival for this ecoregion, which stretches across the width of Africa to the south of the Sahara Desert. The 3,049-square-kilometer (1,177-square-mile) national park is part of the Greater Zakouma Ecosystem, an area larger than Belgium. The park is home to lions (Panthera Leo), Kordofan giraffes, and a growing herd of elephants. Hunting had wiped out Zakouma’s black rhinos by the early 1970s. Today, rampant poaching across the rhinos’ African range to meet the demand for rhino horn in traditional medicine markets in Asia threatens both of the continent’s rhino species. The IUCN lists black rhinos as critically endangered and white rhinos (Ceratotherium simum) as near-threatened species.
Solutions
Return of Black rhinos to Zakouma National Park
Author: African Parks
Chad was home to both the Western black rhino (a subspecies of the black rhino) and the Northern white rhino (a subspecies of white rhino). The northern white rhino disappeared from Chad several decades ago, and the last western black rhino was recorded there in 1972 after decades of poaching pushed both subspecies to local extinction. However, since African Parks assumed management of Zakouma in partnership with the Government in 2010, it has implemented rigorous law enforcement measures and extensive community programs to secure the park. These efforts have practically eliminated wildlife poaching, enabling its elephant population to grow for the first time in over a decade. The territory suffered huge losses before the Labuschagnes and African Parks took over the 3,000-plus-square-kilometer area. In 2002, an estimated 4,300 elephants lived in Zakouma. A decade later, that figure had plummeted by 90 percent, most of them slaughtered by poachers for their ivory. The elephants were in danger of being wiped out. About 450 elephants make Zakouma their home today – roughly half the entire elephant population of Chad, says t. It's a far cry from the 50,000 elephants that roamed the country's savannahs and scrublands 50 years ago. The constant fear of being hunted and killed had made the elephants too stressed to reproduce for years. But by the end of 2011, Zakouma started to see a dramatic turnaround. Since then, no elephants have been poached in the park, and no ivory has been taken in five years. Under its National Elephant Protection Plan, Chad burned the country's ivory stockpiles in February 2014. Several African countries have likewise burned their ivory stockpiles to stop poaching and illegal trafficking of the highly profitable commodity. Kenya set alight a 15-ton pyre of tusks in early March this year, and Ethiopia followed suit two weeks later. Communities around Zakouma have been given a stake in the battle against poachers. It has not only meant well-paid jobs as guards, rangers, and support staff, but the patrols in and on the park's periphery also meant better security for the surrounding villages and nomads. But reviving the elephant population isn't the only goal Zakouma and African Parks have in mind. Their stewardship of the wilderness area is evident in the richness of the ecosystem. Buffalo herds have rebounded, the lion population is rising, and about half of the continent's Kordofan giraffes live here – not to mention an abundant variety of antelope and bird species.
Source: https://www.africanparks.org/wild-black-rhinos-return-chad-after-50-year-absence
Gallery
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Timelines
2022
2022 marked six straight years without a single recorded poached elephant, with Zakouma’s elephant population showing a 40% increase since 2010.
2020
The black rhinos were successfully released into the wider sanctuary and started to breed. The first calf was born in May 2020, followed by two more in July and August 2020. This marked a significant milestone for the conservation of the species and the restoration of Zakouma’s biodiversity.
2018
Six wild black rhinos were moved from a holding facility in South Africa’s Eastern Cape to begin a 3,000-mile translocation by air to Zakouma. Following their arrival in the park, the rhinos were released into specially built bomas (or enclosures) for a short period to enable close monitoring and acclimatization before being released into a wider, intensively protected sanctuary.
2017
The Governments of South Africa and Chad signed a memorandum of understanding to enable the translocation of up to six black rhinos to Zakouma National Park in southern Chad with the aim of returning the species to the nation almost fifty years after its local extinction.
2010
African Parks assumed management of Zakouma in partnership with the Government. It has implemented rigorous law enforcement measures and extensive community programs to secure the park.
1972
The last western black rhino was recorded in 1972 after decades of poaching pushed both subspecies to local extinction.