BADINGILO and BOMA NATIONAL PARKS, South Sudan (AP) — Seen from the air, they ripple across the landscape — a river of antelope rushing through South Sudan’s vast grasslands in what conservationists say is the world’s largest land mammal migration.
The first comprehensive aerial wildlife survey, released on Tuesday, found about 6 million antelopes. The study over a two-week period last year in two national parks and nearby areas relied on spotters on planes, nearly 60,000 photographs and tracking of more than a hundred collared animals across about 46,000 square miles (120,000 square kilometers).
The estimate from the nonprofit African Parks, which conducted the work with the government, far exceeds other large migratory herds, such as the estimated 1.36 million wildebeest surveyed last year in the Serengeti, which straddles Tanzania and Kenya. But they warned that the animals face a growing threat of commercial poaching in a country full of guns and without strong law enforcement.
“Saving Earth’s last great wildlife migration is incredibly important,” said Mike Fay, a conservation scientist who led the study. “There is so much evidence that the world’s ecosystems are collapsing, that the world’s resources are being seriously affected and it is causing massive disruption to the planet.”
The East African country is still recovering from the five-year conflict that broke out in 2013 and killed nearly 400,000 people. The elections scheduled for last year have been postponed until December, but few preparations have been made for that. According to the United Nations, violence continues in some areas, with around 2 million people displaced and 9 million – 75% of the population – dependent on humanitarian aid.
The migration is already being touted as a point of national pride by a country trying to move beyond its conflict-ridden past. Billboards about the migration have recently appeared in the capital Juba, and the government hopes the animals could one day become a magnet for tourists.
South Sudan has six national parks and a dozen game reserves covering more than 13% of the area. The migration extends from east of the Nile in Badingilo and Boma Parks to neighboring Ethiopia – an area about the size of the US state of Georgia. It includes four major antelopes: the white-eared kob – of which there are approximately 5 million – the tiang, the Mongalla gazelle and the Bohor reedbuck.
The study shows that some animals have increased since a reduced number in 2010. But it describes a “catastrophic” decline in most non-migratory species over the past four decades, such as the hippopotamus, elephant and warthog. Associated Press journalists flying over the stunning migration of thousands of antelope last week saw few giraffes and no elephants, lions or cheetahs.
It is a challenge to protect the animals on such vast terrain.
In recent years, new roads have increased people’s access to markets, contributing to poaching. Years of flooding have led to crop failures, leaving some people with little choice but to hunt for food. According to African Parks estimates, around 30,000 animals were killed every month between March and May this year.
The government has not made protecting wildlife a priority. Less than 1% of the budget is allocated to the Department of Conservation, which says it has few cars to move rangers to protect animals. These rangers say they have not been paid since October and are outnumbered by poachers.
South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit said the country is determined to convert its wildlife wealth into sustainable tourism. He called on the Ministry of Conservation to prioritize training and equipping rangers in the fight against poaching.
Matthew Kauffman, an associate professor of zoology at the University of Wyoming who specializes in migration and ecosystem studies, said the work fits into a growing global effort “to map these migrations.” He said the work focuses on these seasonal movements.
Villagers near the parks told AP that they hunted mainly to feed their families or to barter goods.
A newly paved road between Juba and Bor – the epicenter of the illegal commercial bushmeat trade – has made it easier for trucks to transport large quantities of animals. Bor is located along the Nile, about 45 kilometers from Badingilo Park. In the dry season, animals that come closer to the city to drink are vulnerable to killing.
Wildlife ministry officials in Bor told AP that animal killings had doubled in the past two years.
Even if those involved in the sector are caught, the consequences can be minor. A few years ago, when wildlife officers came to arrest Lina Garang for selling animals, she said they let her go and instead told her to conduct business more discreetly. Garang, 38, says her competition has only increased, with 15 new shops opening along her strip to buy and sell animals.
Part of the challenge is that there is no national land management plan, so roads and infrastructure are built without initial discussions about where best to place them. The government has also awarded an oil concession to a South African company in the heart of Badingilo, covering almost 90% of the park.
African Parks tries to combine the modernization of the country with the conservation of nature. The organization has been criticized in the past for not engaging enough with communities and for taking an overly militarized approach in some of the nearly two dozen areas it manages in Africa.
The group says its strategy in South Sudan focuses on community relations and aligning the benefits of wildlife and economic development. One plan is to create land reserves that can be managed by local communities, with input from national authorities.
African Parks has set up small hubs in several remote villages and spreads messages about sustainable practices, such as not killing female or baby animals.
Peter Alberto, undersecretary of the Ministry of Wildlife Conservation and Tourism, said the government hopes the migration can become a point of pride and reshape the way the world thinks about South Sudan.
As for tourism, that could take some time. There are no hotels or roads to accommodate people near the parks, and the only option is luxury travel for what one tour company official called a “high-risk” crowd. There have been fighting between tribes and attacks by gunmen in the area, and pilots told AP they had been shot at while flying.
Will Jones, chief research officer of Journeys by Design, a British-based travel agency, charges about $150,000 per person for a week-long tour of South Sudan. He said there is not strong demand.
Locals trying to protect nature say it is difficult to change people’s mindset.
In the remote village of Otallo, on the border with Ethiopia, young men have started buying motorcycles. What used to take a full day on foot to cross the border to sell animals now takes just five hours, allowing them to double the number of animals they take and make multiple trips.
One of them, Charo Ochogi, said he would rather do something else, but there are few options and he is not worried about the animals disappearing.
‘The kob won’t be ready. They will reproduce,” he said.
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