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Zakouma 2015: Returning to Wildest Africa in Style


inyathi

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@@jeremie

 

I feel like I can give you an answer for your Aouk/CAR question. The area between Zakouma and the Aouk River to and beyond the CAR border is now heavily used by pastoralists. There are actually villages located inside the boundaries of the Aouk-Aoukale Faunal Reserve, but these are not shown on maps. I doubt that wildlife could migrate through that area unless the pastoralists and cultivators are removed and bush rehabilitated.

 

A couple of reports that tell you this are:

 

http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/3.Conservation_Center/3.2._Status_Reports/Afican_lion/Mesochina_et_al_2010_Status_of_the_lion_in_Central_African_Republic.pdf

 

http://www.elephantdatabase.org/population_submissions/141

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@@Anomalure

 

Thanks. I was actually considering the Aouk region located in Chad, just North to the frontier. It is likely pastoralist occupy the land as they do in Northern CAR considering this very complete report from Bouché I did not know.

 

There are no hunting operations in Northern CAR, that is to say, animals receive no protection since the beginning of the civil war and it is likely it is all done now.

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@@jeremie

 

Sadly, I have to agree with you that animals in N CAR done for. That area has become a totally lawless frontier.

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Thinking again about it, I think that with more support, funding and resources, it would have been possible to manage pastoralism with wildlife.

The report for Northern CAR report 150.000 cattle in 100.000 km2.

I was trying to compare this biomass with Ouadi Rime Ouadi Achim Game Reserve un Northern Chad. A block of 5600 km2 in the Sahelian region of the reserve, had an estimated 20.000 camels in dry season, 30.000 in rainy season, coexisting with 23.000 dorcas gazelle. Which would mean (30.000x400 + 23.000x25)/5600 = 2245 kg/km2. I do not know how this biomass calculation is correct as there are some migration patterns for both species.

 

But I guess the pastures are far better in Norther CAR than in the Northern ring of the Sahel region of Chad, so that the biomass would be much higher. The biomass of cattle (150.000 x 400/500 kg) is lower than 1000 kg/m2. When the region hold 30.000 elephants of +/- 4000 kg each, the biomass just for elephants where about 1200 kg/km2 on the base of 100.000 km2.

 

Conclusion: Pastoralists were pushed out of the Sahelian region due to climate change and we cannot stop them. But there are sufficient pastures for everyone, wildlife disappeared due to lack of will, funding to control poaching and organize land-use.

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  • 4 weeks later...

@@jeremie Thanks for posting this I think you meant to say south west, the photos were taken outside Zakouma somewhere south of Ibir which is at the southwest corner of the park, I hadn’t realised they’d been uploaded to Facebook as they weren’t there when I last checked otherwise I would have posted the link. If I hadn’t been to Zakouma twice I would have been astonished to see these photographs and to learn that there are still dogs in Chad but now nothing surprises me anymore. I hope there is plenty of wild food in the area where these dogs are I presume there must be as they look very healthy and I doubt the locals would tolerate them if they were taking livestock.

 

I must have overlooked your earlier post.

 

I understand that the buffalo population is now around 12,000 and I recall that Rian was quite concerned at the rate at which their numbers are growing and whether the park can sustain quite so many and whether they will start to cause problems for communities around the park. If Siniaka-Minia does become a national park this would mean that some of Zakouma’s buffalos from could perhaps be moved to the new park to boost the population there while reducing the pressure on Zakouma. I wouldn’t think there’s much hope of restoring wildlife populations in the area between Zakouma and the C.A.R. border, I don’t know but I would imagine that there could be quite a few refugees from the conflict in C.A.R. now resident in the area.

 

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I understand that the buffalo population is now around 12,000 and I recall that Rian was quite concerned at the rate at which their numbers are growing and whether the park can sustain quite so many and whether they will start to cause problems for communities around the park.

Where do they disperse during the wet season? Why is poaching not hammering them outside the park? I assume that during the dry season they are found mainly in the park but they start roaming a much bigger area when the rains come

Edited by Rwenzori
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  • 1 month later...

Now that's what I call a comprehensive Birdlist, twitcher heaven :D.

Thanks for a great report - what a safari destination.

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  • 2 months later...

There have been 3 different cheetah sightings according to Zakouma National Park's Facebook page, amazing news!

 

https://www.facebook.com/ZakoumaNationalPark/posts/1084445061597792

 

 

 

It is an incredibly dry, dry season in Zakouma at the moment which has meant the animals and birds have already started congregating in large numbers around the few remaining pans in the park. Over the last month we have had sightings of 3 sets of cheetah in three locations in the park. The mother and cub at Rigueik have been seen the most regularly which has been fantastic for the Camp Nomade clients. These photos are of one single male spotted by Rian and Lorna Labuschagne on Sunday up to the North of the park at a pan called Al Ham. Before these latest sightings the last confirmed sighting of cheetah in Zakouma was in September 2014 so this is great news!
Edited by jeremie
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Good news about the cheetahs! I wonder where they have been hanging around the last couple of years!

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  • 9 months later...

 I'm sure that you're aware of there has even been sightings of wild dogs in Zakouma earlier this year. I'm planning to visit Zakouma in 2019,hopefully in combination with Ethiopia. That would make a

superb combination. I'd like to spend 10 nights in Zakouma and go fly camping for two nights as well. It's not cheap-but then again I think of other places to go on safari which are even more expensive.

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