Has the final countdown to wildlife extinction in Northern Central African Republic begun?

Abstract

The wildlife populations of Northern Central African Republic experienced precipitous declines during the 1970s and 1980s. While anecdotes coming out of the region indicate that the wildlife populations remain under serious threat, little is known about their status. An aerial sample count was carried out in the Northern Central African Republic at the end of the dry season in June 2005 and covered an 85,000 km2 complex landscape containing national parks, hunting reserves and community hunting areas. Results show a dramatic decline of wildlife since the previous survey in 1985. In 20 years, large mammals’ numbers decreased by 65%, probably because of poaching and diseases brought by illegal cattle transhumance. Elephant (Loxodonta africana) and Buffon kob (Kobus kob) populations showed the greatest decline (over 80% each), while buffalo (Syncerus caffer), roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus) and Giant Lord’s Derby Eland (Taurotragus derbianus) populations seem stable or increasing over these last 20 years. The analysis of the wildlife population distribution by status of the different types of protected areas (national parks, hunting areas) showed that individual encounter rates of elephant and buffalo were lower in national parks than in neighbouring hunting areas, while those for roan, giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) and Buffon kob were higher in the national parks.

Roan antelope Hippotragus equinus in Africa: a review of abundance, threats and ecology

“…Their numbers dropped by 69% between 2005 and 2010, from a large population of 4000 individuals to approximately 1065 individuals in the Central African Republic (Bouché et al. , ). The current status of roan antelope in the Democratic Republic of Congo is unknown, and they were last considered rare and uncommon (East ).…”

Balancing Water Resources Development and Environmental Sustainability in Africa: A Review of Recent Research Findings and Applications

“…Additional limitations imposed by human activities, however, reduce the number of ecological responses available to species, and the simultaneous pressure of multiple stressors weakens the resilience of whole ecosystems (Bouché et al 2010; Hecky et al 2010). Restricted movement is an example of one such human-induced limitation.…”

Green Harms and Crimes

“…It has been linked to the spread of disease between non-human animals and people (Swift et al, 2007), threatens endangered species with extinction (Bouché et al, 2010), and has been connected to other forms of crime, such as weapons and drugs smuggling (Ayling, 2013;. Consequently there has been a growing desire to understand the mechanisms that drive poaching in order to develop effective solutions (see von Essen et al, 2014).…”