Chad '22: Return to the Wild

[inyathi]

@gatoratlarge

@Zarek Cockar

@Pictus Safaris

 

When I said this in reference to Ennedi

 

On 4/14/2022 at 6:24 PM, inyathi said:

I don't know when giraffes were extirpated, but if it was as I suspect not a very long time ago, it could even be possible to reintroduce Kordofan Giraffes, I certainly saw what looked like suitable habitat in the RNCE, areas with plenty of acacia trees for them to feed on and giraffes can apparently go without water for three weeks, longer than camels can, in Damaraland in Namibia, I've seen giraffe spoor in a landscape where there was barely a tree or much other vegetation to be seen. I've no idea if AP are considering returning giraffes, I just think that it might be possible.

 

I did hope that people wouldn’t think I was being completely daft, suggesting that giraffes could perhaps be reintroduced to Ennedi, so I was very pleased to receive Peter Fearnhead’s CEO’s report email, in which after saying how well the newly reintroduced Addax are doing, he says 

 

Quote

Following this successful species translocation, the first phase of a feasibility study for the potential reintroduction of Kordofan giraffe into Ennedi, began this month. 

 

I then saw on the GCF website in their report on the status of giraffes in Chad, that no giraffes had been seen recently in Ennedi, that suggests to me that their disappearance must be quite recent, for it to be worth mentioning Ennedi. It will be interesting to see if they do consider, that restoring Kordofan Giraffes to RNCE is viable possibility, to see Addax there would be pretty special, but to see giraffes in those landscapes as well, would be amazing, and I assume they still intend to reintroduce SHO, although I’ve no news on that.

 

Also pleased to see that the Chadian government has voted in favour of making Siniaka Minia a national park, although the president hasn’t signed the final decree yet, but hopefully that is just a formality, it seems they have been saying it would become an NP, ever since AP took it on. When it finally does, that should mean it will be much better protected, if Zakouma’s new rhinos do well this time, in the near future, maybe they’ll be able to consider moving a few to Siniaka, although I guess it will be a year or two before they have enough to spare. 

[Zarek Cockar]

Thanks for the update @inyathi. I just got back from Chad, and while we spent 5 days in Ennedi, we didn't see any Ostrich or Addax (I had no hopes of seeing Addax, as I'm sure they're not in a popular tourist area, but I remember seeing Ostrich on my trip with you 2 years ago, so I was a little disappointed we missed them this year).

I'd love to see Giraffe up there in Ennedi as well. I see no reason they wouldn't do well, as you say. Plenty of browse, especially in the wadis and gueltas. The competition for food and water with the local domestic stock would be minimal, and there's otherwise no reason for HWC with giraffe. 

 

[Botswanadreams]

Hi Zarek, have you seen this time any signs of the crocodile life in the Guelta d'Archei ?

[inyathi]

@Zarek CockarThanks, I did think when I posted that update, that you would hopefully be having a nice time out in Chad, sorry to hear you missed out on the Ostrich, they are doing well, but even so I assume the number is still small, and they can obviously move long distances, I guess we were just quite lucky on our trip. I'd imagine that AP may not want tourists going out looking for the Addax just yet, as they have only brought in the first 10, the eventual plan is to establish 500 in the RNCE, I assume that they will start to introduce larger numbers, if they have the animals, rather than just move 10 at a time, the last figure I saw for Addax in OROA was 150. They'll need a lot more than that, my guess then, is that the Environment Agency of Abu-Dhabi will carry on flying Addax into the OROA from their breeding centre at Deleika, as long as they have enough animals to keep doing this, then after they have been in OROA for a while, Sahara Conservation and AP will move batches of them up to Ennedi. Where we saw the Addax in OROA, is really not the best Addax habitat in the reserve, there is I'd imagine better habitat further north, but I'd also think that the habitat in the RNCE is likely better, it makes sense to allow the captive bred Addax to adapt to life in the wild in OROA, for a while, before moving them to the RNCE. I suppose they could fly them direct to Fada, but I think it is more likely they will fly them into the OROA, especially if they are bringing Damas on the same flight. With the SHO they were transferring 25 to 50 animals from Deleika to Chad each year, I don't know how many Addax they have there, but I'd guess they could have similar numbers, so maybe they can transfer similar numbers to OROA, if they are then able to perhaps move up to 50 Addax a year from OROA to the RNCE, it won't take too long to build up the numbers, once there are a couple of hundred Addax in Ennedi, then I assume you'd have a fair chance of seeing some, without necessarily having to really search. With enough collared animals, AP will always know where they are, but they might not want to give that information out to tourists, at least until numbers have grown enough. Here's a short video about Delaika from 2022, I think they may have now stopped flying SHO to Chad, but will still be sending Addax and Damas.

 

 

It looks like Sahara Conservation Fund, may have shortened their name to just Sahara Conservation, apparently in 2018 they had a couple of people from the Moroccan Wildlife Department visit OROA to have a look and see the reintroduction project, there are a good number of semi-wild SHO and Addax in Morocco, all fenced in, but I understand that in late 2019, SC and partners released 20 Addax at a remote unfenced site in the Moroccan Sahara, there doesn't seem to be much information about this online, so I don't know where the exact location is. I think they will likely want to monitor these Moroccan Addax for a few years, before releasing more, but this and the Ennedi reintroduction should be good news for the species.    

 

I assume that the feasibility study for the giraffe reintroduction, will involve a good deal of consultation with local people in the reserve, as was the case with giraffe reintroduction to Iona NP in Angola, in that case people living around the park, were happy to see giraffes brought back, I would hope that the nomads in the RNCE, will likewise be happy to see giraffes brought back, as you say there is little danger of HWC with giraffes, I don't know if they might compete a bit with camels, but they won't be competing with sheep, goats and cattle. There are more than enough Kordofan Giraffes in Zakouma, so I can't really see any reason, why they won't conclude that moving some to the RNCE, is a good idea.  

[gatoratlarge]

I saw in @Zarek Cockar's recent pics from Chad @Botswanadreamsthat they in fact saw several crocs in the guelta---was very jealous! 

 

It apears there was significantly more water in the guelta than when we were there @inyathiand they saw them from high up on the cliff.  I supposed it may have been a long while since they were plucked, prodded and poked but it probably had much more to do with the approach from the cliff and the water level.  They also looked to have had a huge herd of camels visit the main water hole which is such a cool sight!  Thanks for the update @inyathi  That area still intrigues me so much and I hope to return in a few years, explore a little different part of Ennedi and  see the rhinos thriving in Zakouma!

[inyathi]

@gatoratlargeYes, I'd imagine if there is much more water in Guelta, the crocs might be more inclined to move around and might then be more visible from above, not only did we miss the sight of a huge herd of camels in Guelta, but also the sound, from the videos I've seen, the bellowing of the camels echoing off the cliffs, adds a great deal to the atmosphere, I am very envious if they had lots of camels right in there. 

 

I really hope that they have cracked it with the rhinos in Zakouma, they must have learned a great deal from keeping Goose and Bopa alive and healthy for all these years, so I'd assume that if they think there are any issues with the new rhinos, they can recapture them and make sure that they survive long enough to adapt to Zakouma. As you will be aware, I've just posted a link to a video about the rhinos in Gonarezhou in Zimbabwe, when I visited Zakouma back in 2015, I met Hugo van der Westhuizen who features in that film, he and his wife Elsabe, were staying with the then park managers Rian and Lorna Labuschagne, and Rian from memory was involved in the reintroduction of Black Rhinos to Liwonde NP in Malawi, back in the 90s before AP even existed and before they went to Zakouma he and Lorna, were as they are now, looking after rhinos in the Serengeti, the rhino reintroduction to Zakouma, must have been a long time in the planning, so I am sure Rian and Hugo would have discussed the issue, even if they were not involved in the eventual reintroduction. I am sure they had other rhino experts come out to Zakouma once they had started to properly plan the reintroduction, so even though, the first reintroduction in 2018 went so badly wrong, I am confident that it would have been well planned. After the 4 rhinos died, I think a lot of people unfortunately jumped to the conclusion that AP didn't know what they were doing and that they really shouldn't be taking rhinos to Chad, and that it was unforgiveable incompetence that led to the rhinos deaths, rather than something entirely unforeseen that no one predicted. By now I'd think AP must have moved more rhinos of both species around Africa than anyone else and done so with the help of some of the foremost experts on rhinos, I am sure they will get it right this time. They will be especially keen to ensure that 100% of the rhinos survive, I'd hope that they will and that if they are all alive and healthy and thriving at the end of this year, they can then happily bring in the next batch, knowing that they have turned things around and that the project will finally be a success. If they create a healthy founder population, then once Siniaka Minia is a national park, they can at least start to plan for the eventual reintroduction of rhinos there too

 

After spending much of a day on my second Zakouma Safari, sat on the bank under a shady tree, by a pool in the Salamat watching the wildlife come to drink, it has always been a bit of a fantasy of mine to sit under a tree on the banks of the Salamat and watch a Black Rhino emerge from the bush on the other side and come down to drink, that would be very special, I might not get to see that, but I am confident that at some point, others might get to enjoy a scene like that, whether sat on the ground or more perhaps more likely a safari vehicle.  

 

 

[Zarek Cockar]

On 3/12/2024 at 6:32 PM, Botswanadreams said:

Hi Zarek, have you seen this time any signs of the crocodile life in the Guelta d'Archei ?

Yes! I'll be working on a trip report soon, but just as a taster, here's a photo from my camera roll