Biodivers Conserv (2009) 18:2663–2677 DOI 10.1007/s10531-009-9628-0 ORIGINAL PAPER The last African white giraffes live in farmers’ fields Romain Leroy Æ Marie-Noe¨l de Visscher Æ Oudou Halidou Æ Amadou Boureima Received: 18 April 2008 / Accepted: 16 March 2009 / Published online: 28 March 2009 Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2009 Abstract The giraffe population (Giraffa camelopardalis) in Niger is the last represen- tative of the peralta sub-species which lived throughout West Africa at the beginning of the twentieth century. Protected since the 1970s, giraffes cohabit with humans in cultivated landscapes. This may not have appeared to pose many problems in the past, but the relationship between farmers and giraffes has deteriorated with the expansion of cultivated land and that of the giraffe population, with reported cases of giraffes damaging crops. A survey was conducted in all the affected villages in the Koure´ area to establish the nature, severity and distribution of the damage and to evaluate the local populations’ perception of the problem. Cowpeas are fed upon in the field at harvest time and in the granaries, as well as ripe mangoes, during the most critical period for giraffes’ nutrition. The vast majority of farmers interviewed consider giraffes to be rather a problem in spite of tourism revenues they can obtain from them. This opinion has individually little correlation with damage rate on crops or easy access to tourism revenues. The damage risk factors are first and foremost considered as uncontrollable by the farmers, even if technical protection measures could easily be put in place locally. The inter-relationships between the socio-economic context and the way the problem is perceived are discussed. Keywords White giraffe Crop damage Farmers’ perception Mitigation measures Niger West Africa Á Á Á Á Á R. Leroy Universite´ des Sciences et Techniques du Languedoc, Montpellier, France M.-N. de Visscher (&) French Agricultural Research Centre for International Development, Cirad, TA C22/E Campus international de Baillarguet, 34398 Montpellier Cedex 5, France e-mail: [email protected] O. Halidou A. Boureima Universite´ AbdouÁ Moumouni, Niamey, Niger 123 2664 Biodivers Conserv (2009) 18:2663–2677 Context and study objectives At the end of the nineteenth century, white giraffes—Giraffa camelopardalis peralta— were found throughout West Africa (Sidney 1961). The beginning of the twentieth century reflects a substantial reduction in the distribution range (Sidney 1961), due to the intro- duction of firearms, agriculture development and deforestation (Mauny 1957). At the end of the 1970s in West Africa, only Niger was still home to a few giraffe herds (Happold 1978). A recent genetic study (Hassanin et al. 2007) further demonstrates that this residual population is actually the only representative of the peralta sub-species. It is clearly distinguished from the Cameroonian population, that is the closest geographically but now included in the antiquorum group of Central Africa, like the Chadian giraffes. In the 1980s, the giraffes of Niger have been concentrated in the Koure´ region, about 70 km south-west of Niamey (Ciofolo 1991) where, since the 1990s, they have benefited from conservation programmes which have accompanied a total ban on hunting enacted in 1973. The basic component of these programmes consists of organising eco-tourism activities centred on the giraffes, with direct benefits for the villagers who manage the programme. Guided visits are organised for tourists, coming from the nearby capital Niamey, with easy access by road. In this region of about 840 km2, referred to as the « giraffe zone » (Fig. 1), the first attempts at counting animals in 1995 produced a total of 65 giraffes but the last census in 2006 estimated the population at 144 individuals (Suraud and Dovi 2007). The high birth rate (Ciofolo et al. 2000), the absence of predators in the area and the proper application of the hunting ban has thus allowed this population to increase steadily. Although the giraffe zone was designated by UNESCO in 1996 as a transitional zone of the biosphere reserve of the nearby W Transboundary Park, the giraffes do not benefit from a protected area sensu stricto, but move about in agricultural, pastoral and forestry areas where the density of the inhabitants has almost doubled since 1988. The most recent census reports a density of 55.3 persons km-2 (BCR Niger 2001). This population increase has accelerated the clearing of the natural woody cover for crop cultivation and the collecting of firewood (Newby and Fennessy 2006). Fakara Dallol Bosso Sandy valley Road entnt pond village Fig. 1 Map of the Giraffe zone 123 Biodivers Conserv (2009) 18:2663–2677 2665 This unique situation where giraffes and humans cohabit in the same area does not seem to have posed any problems in the past: ‘‘giraffes, farmers, pastoralists, and domestic herds lived alongside each other in a totally peaceful way’’ (Ciofolo 1991, 1995; Ciofolo et al. 2000). An eco-ethological study of the feeding behaviour of the White giraffe in 1992 and 1993 also made no reference to crops being fed upon by giraffes Ciofolo and Le Pendu (2002). However, this study was based only on diurnal observations, and in 1997 com- plaints about damage caused at night to cowpea harvests and mangoes were reported (Laboureau 1997). This damage was considered as minimal and easily controlled by the setting up of millet straw fences, which giraffes do not trample down. In 2001, an eth- nological study (Birck 2001) showed an increase in the conflict between the village populations and the giraffes, resulting from the crop feeding behaviour of the giraffes. Luxereau (2004) confirmed these observations, underlining the fact that the giraffes are in the process of shifting from a ‘‘valued resource’’ to that of a ‘‘threat.’’ The above studies, do not provide any information on the extent and distribution of crop damage or as to their nature and cause. Given the interest of this unique situation, but also its fragility, the present work aims to estimate the severity as well as the spatial and temporal distribution of the damage caused by the giraffes. It also aims to evaluate the feasibility of limiting this damage and how the human population reacts to it. Since it is based on stakeholder interviews, another objective of this study of human–wildlife conflict was to contribute to the more general debate on the importance of people’s perception of such problems and to the social issues arising in communities exposed to these situations (Marshall et al. 2007). Hypotheses (a) Village location and field position in the giraffe zone determine the frequency and extent of damage. This is due to the fact that giraffes move seasonally between the two sub-areas, the plateau (Fakara) and the fossil valley (Dallol Bosso) (Lependu et Ciofolo 1999). Fakara is preferentially occupied during the rainy season, whilst Dallol Bosso is home to the majority of the giraffes during the dry season. As discussed below, water and food availability are the main factors of these movements. (b) Farmers who are already suffering socio-economic problems are also the least tolerant to crop damages by giraffe, in particular if mitigation measures appear inaccessible. Materials and methods Study area Figure 1 shows the location of the villages involved in the study in the core area of the Giraffe zone where two sub-areas can be distinguished—Fakara and North Dallol Bosso. With an annual rainfall of 450–600 mm in a single, 4- or 5-month rainy season, mean minimum and maximum temperatures of about 20 and 40°C and at an altitude of 230 m asl, Fakara is a region of lateritic plateaus dominated by tiger bush vegetation. Appearing as strips of shrubs and bare soil succeeding one another at regular intervals, this type of vegetation is one of the best forms of adaptation to semi-arid climatic conditions and anthropogenic pressure (Barbier et al. 2006). Very rare natural ponds dry up at the end of 123 2666 Biodivers Conserv (2009) 18:2663–2677 the rainy season in late October. Re-growth of these wooded areas, largely dominated by Combretaceae, and the filling up of temporary ponds begin in June with the first rains (Ciofolo 1995). A retrospective analysis shows that the area of tiger bush has diminished by 50% since 1950 from the effects of overgrazing, the intensive cutting of firewood and a significant increase in cultivated land. Farmers practice extensive subsistence cereal growing during the rainy season, mainly consisting of millet (Pennisetum glaucum, Poa- ceae) intercropped with a legume, the cowpea (Vigna unguiculata, Fabaceae). Having similar climatic conditions as Fakara, Dallol Bosso is a close low-lying area belonging to the fossil bed of the ancient Azawak River, with sandy and hydromorphic soils. The shallow water table locally rises to the surface, resulting in permanent ponds. The human population density is higher than in Fakara (70 against 35 persons km-2, BCR Niger 2001). The woody vegetation is degraded and modified with a scattered cover constituted of species which are palatable for the giraffes (Ciofolo et al. 2000; Caister et al. 2003) such as Combretum glutinosum (Combretaceae), Acacia nilotica, A. seyal, Faid- herbia albida (Mimosaceae) (Ciofolo 1995), this last species flushing with the start of the dry season. In addition to rainy season crops, the permanent water allows farmers to grow off-season crops in gardens and orchards around permanent ponds. The main cultivated species are mangoes (Mangifera indica, Anacardiaceae) and Doum palms (Hyphae- ne thebaı¨ca, Arecaceae), as well as cassava (Manihot esculenta, Euphorbiaceae). Methods The survey focused on the 34 villages of the Giraffe zone affected by damages. These where identified with the help of the mayors of the four municipalities of the area.