CAMERA TRAPS CONFIRM PRESENCE OF ADDITIONAL SPECIES IN SOUTH SUDAN
(Posted 12th December 2015)
A combined project undertaken by Flora and Fauna International, Bucknell University and the South Sudan Wildlife Service has yielded unexpected results. Over the period of the past six months have camera traps set up in key wildlife areas taken over 20.000 pictures and the findings now revealed were nothing short of spectacular.
Forest elephants, a species not previously confirmed to be present in South Sudan were identified through the pictures taken as were a number of other species. Among those were the giant pangolin, golden cats, red river hogs and water chevrotain.
Species previously confirmed but now well documented include the rare Bongo, chimpanzees, leopards, the yellow backed duiker, several members of the mongoose family and honey badgers. This underscores the huge potential of wildlife based tourism, as and when the country returns to peace, as the civil strife over the past years has kept tourists away.
The huge migration of tiang gazelles, white eared kobs and mongalla gazelles numbers close to two million animals which congregate once a year on the area of the Bandingalo National Park but has not brought tourists to the country unlike the better known migration between the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Logistics in South Sudan are poor and only one licensed safari company presently maintains a presence in Juba, Bahr el Jebel Safaris, which is trying to revive tourism almost singlehandedly. The finding of new species in the forests of Western Equatoria state gives also hope that elsewhere in South Sudan similar findings could be made if only peace prevailed and such projects be safely carried out.
When the announcement was made a few days ago did officials from Flora and Fauna International warn that the conflict of the past nearly three years had made an impact on wildlife numbers too as poaching escalated with no counteraction as the country’s opposing factions were busy fighting each other instead of hunting down poachers who took advantage of the conflict to carry out their bloody handiwork.
