BADINGILO and BOMA NATIONAL PARKS, South Sudan (AP) — Seen from the air, they ripple across the landscape — a river of antelope rushing through the vast grasslands of South Sudan in what conservationists say is the world’s largest land mammal migration .
The country’s first comprehensive aerial wildlife survey, released Tuesday, found nearly 6 million antelopes. The research carried out over a two-week period last year in two national parks and nearby areas involved observers in planes, nearly 60,000 photos and tracking more than a hundred collared animals across about 120,000 square kilometers.
The estimate from the nonprofit African Parks, which led the work in conjunction with the government, far exceeds other large migratory herds, such as the estimated 1.36 million wildebeest surveyed last year in the Serengeti, spanning Tanzania and o Kenya. But they warned that the animals face a growing threat from poaching in a country full of weapons and without strong law enforcement.
“Saving the last great wildlife migration on the planet is incredibly important,” said Mike Fay, a conservation scientist who led the research. “There is so much evidence that the world’s ecosystems are collapsing, the world’s resources are being severely degraded and it is causing massive disruption to the planet.”
The East African nation is still emerging from five years of fighting that broke out in 2013 and killed nearly 400,000 people. Scheduled elections last year were postponed until December this year, but there is little preparation for that. The violence continues in some areas, with around 2 million people displaced and 9 million — 75% of the population — dependent on humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.
Migration is already being considered a source of national pride by a country that is trying to to move beyond your conflict-filled past. Posters about migration were recently put up in the capital Juba, and the government has aspirations that the animals could one day be a magnet for tourists.
South Sudan has six national parks and a dozen game reserves that cover more than 13% of the land. The migration stretches from east of the Nile, in Badingilo and Boma parks, to neighboring Ethiopia – an area roughly the size of the US state of Georgia. It includes four main antelopes, the white-eared kob – of which there are around 5 million – the tiang, the Mongalla gazelle and the bohor reedbuck.
The research says animal numbers have increased since a more limited number in 2010. But it described a “catastrophic” decline in most non-migratory species over the past 40 years, such as the hippopotamus, elephant and wild boar. Associated Press journalists who flew over the stunning migration of thousands of antelope last week saw few giraffes and no elephants, lions or cheetahs.
Trying to protect animals in such a vast terrain is a challenge.
In recent years, new roads have increased people’s access to markets, contributing to poaching. Years of flooding have meant crop failures that have left some people with little choice but to hunt for food. Around 30,000 animals were killed every month between March and May this year, African Parks estimated.
The government has not prioritized the protection of wildlife. Less than 1% of its budget is allocated to the wildlife ministry, which says it has few cars to transport rangers to protect the animals. These guards say they have not been paid since October and are at a disadvantage compared to poachers.
The President of South Sudan, His Excellency Salva Kiir Mayardit, said the country is committed to transforming its wealth of wildlife into sustainable tourism. He called on the Ministry of Wildlife to prioritize training and equipping rangers to combat poaching.
Matthew Kauffman, an associate professor of zoology at the University of Wyoming who specializes in migration and ecosystems research, said the work fits into a growing global effort “to map these migrations.” for these seasonal movements, he said.
Residents near the parks told the AP they hunted mainly to feed their families or to exchange goods.
A newly paved road between Juba and Bor — the epicenter of the illegal bushmeat trade — has made it easier for trucks to transport large quantities of animals. Bor is on the banks of the Nile, about 45 kilometers from Badingilo Park. In the dry season, animals that come close to the city to drink are vulnerable to death.
Wildlife ministry officials in Bor told the AP that animal killings have doubled in the past two years.
Even when those involved in the industry are caught, the consequences can be minimal. A few years ago, when rangers arrested Lina Garang for selling animals, she said they let her go and instead told her to conduct business more discreetly. Garang, 38, said his competition has only grown, with 15 new stores opening throughout his area to buy and sell animals.
Part of the challenge lies in the fact that there is no national territorial management plan, so roads and infrastructure are built without initial discussions about where it is best to position themselves. The government also awarded an oil concession to a South African company in the center of Badingilo, which covers almost 90% of the park.
African Parks is trying to reconcile the country’s modernization with wildlife preservation. The organization has been criticized in the past for not engaging sufficiently with communities and for adopting an excessively militarized approach in some of the nearly two dozen areas it manages in Africa.
The group says its strategy in South Sudan is focused on community relations and aligning the benefits of wildlife and economic development. One plan is to create land conservation areas that local communities can manage, with input from national authorities.
African Parks has set up small centers in several remote villages and is spreading messages about sustainable practices, such as not killing females or babies.
Peter Alberto, undersecretary of the Ministry of Wildlife, Conservation and Tourism, said the government hopes that migration can become a source of pride and reshape the way the world thinks about South Sudan.
As for tourism, that could take a while. There are no hotels or roads to accommodate people near the parks, and the only option is high-end travel for what one tourism company employee called the “high-risk” crowd. There is fighting between tribes and attacks by armed men in the area, and pilots told the AP they were shot while flying.
Will Jones, director of exploration at Journeys by Design, a UK-based tourism company, charges about $150,000 per person for a week-long trip to South Sudan. He said there is not strong demand.
Locals trying to protect wildlife say it’s difficult to change people’s mindsets.
In the remote village of Otallo, on the border with Ethiopia, young people have started buying motorbikes. What used to be a day-long journey on foot to cross the border to sell animals now takes just five hours, allowing them to double the number of animals they transport and make multiple trips.
One of them, Charo Ochogi, said he would prefer to do something else, but there are few options and he is not worried about the animals going missing.
“The kob will not finish. They will reproduce,” he said.
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