Sandscript Number 20 Fall 2016 Welcome to Sandscript 20 For the past decade, Sandscript has and the Government of Chad, the of SCF and the vibrant chorus of been bringing you news and infor- oryx project will soon see the number partners that support its activities mation about SCF, its projects, of founder animals sent to Chad and mission. In a new series of arti- partners and the challenges it and the reach the hundred mark. Already cles, we will be focussing on the work wildlife and habitats of the Sahara the animals released into the wild of some of our partners, such as the and Sahel face in this ever-changing have started breeding and we are Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, high- world we live in. Issue Number 1 confident there will be several new lighted in this issue. brought news of addax, oryx, dama births in the weeks to come. As 2016 draws to an end I would In this issue: gazelles and ostrich, species all cen- All is not plain sailing, however, the like to thank all our partners, old tral to SCF’s mission and program. oryx’s habitat in Chad and else- and new, for their most generous and Have the last 10 years seen the where in the Sahel is increasingly loyal support. May I wish you all a Front Page Editorial 1 status of these and other desert spe- under threat from phenomena, such Merry Christmas and a very Happy cies and their habitats improve or as climate change and desertification. New Year. As they say in French, deteriorate? It’s a boy! 2 Human impacts, such as the spread “la lutte continue”, the battle goes Personally, I think it’s a mixed bag. of agriculture, increase in the num- on… While species like the addax and the bers of livestock and the wells needed Arabian bustards 3 dama gazelle remain critically endan- to support them, are also significant, gered, measures have been taken to together with the inevitable overgraz- Fire 4 address major threats, including ing and fire that occur when human protection of their vital habitat in population numbers increase in frag- places like Termit in Niger, Ouadi ile environments. Security, too, is a 5 Fossil Rim Rimé in Chad, and the protected major concern. The Sahel and Saha- areas of Tunisia. Much remains to ra remain extremely vulnerable to the SCF-Europe 6 be done, however. threats from terrorism and the prolif- Thanks in large part to the commu- eration of firearms. Inevitably, it is nications and lobbying undertaken the wildlife of wilderness areas that by SCF and its partners, the plight suffers the consequences of anarchy. of these species and many others is While not a research organisation, better known today than ever before per se, SCF strongly believes in the and significant funding is now in- value of applied research as a basis creasingly being made available for for conservation action. It is difficult their protection and that of their to conserve something one doesn’t critical habitats. know and understand. The article on On the positive side, the recent rein- bustard tagging by SCF’s Thomas troduction of the scimitar-horned Rabeil underlines the value of re- oryx to Chad can certainly be listed search in helping mobilize resources as a success, at least in the short and conservation action to where term. The article in this issue by birds and mammals are to be found Birds on a wire: white-throated bee- Tim Wacher on monitoring the oryx at certain times of the year. eater (top) and crested lark and raising local support for their However one weighs things up, we (bottom) benefit from the fences of conservation, is very encouraging. can be certain the outlook for Sahelo- Part of the latest batch of oryx from the oryx pre-release pens to hunt And thanks to our partners the Saharan wildlife would be a lot the EAD “World Herd” in Abu insects and sing. Photos: John Environment Agency of Abu Dhabi bleaker had it not been for the efforts Dhabi. Newby/SCF. SANDSCRIPT Number 20 Fall 2016 Page 2 Female oryx, BLU-36, with her calf, here about 10 weeks old (Photo: Ahmed Al Dhaheri/EAD); Outreach and awareness raising (Photo: Tim Wacher/ZSL) It’s a boy! The first days and weeks following for several weeks. Only later did we wild-born calf. Early on we began to newly-returned scimitar-horned oryx discover they had chosen a place suspect the oldest female, carrying the in Chad was a memorable time. marked by a cluster of observations collar BLU-36, was in calf. Late Come the day of release in the mid- of the original wild oryx made by on the evening of 20 September, dle of August, the grasslands of the John Newby in the 1970s! Quickly, after watching all afternoon the herd central Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim nomad camps began to appear but came close to our vehicle and we saw Game Reserve were lush and green, the oryx remained calm, grazing or clearly that she was very large and signalling widespread and abundant resting quietly while camels fed near- her teats were very swollen. Early food and water for the oryx. Of by or a caravan passed in the dis- next morning we plotted the latest course, this also meant good condi- tance. satellite positions at the basecamp tions for the traditional seasonal Throughout this period the monitor- and saw that for the first time since transhumance of livestock from near ing team and reserve rangers trav- release BLU-36 had separated from and far. By the time of the release, elled widely to meet with nomads. the herd overnight. We dropped numerous camps with herds of cam- Each time we unrolled posters cus- everything and travelled straight els and small stock were scattered tom made to assist with staff train- back. We spotted her from 800m, throughout. After all the extensive ing and to help generate awareness alone and watchful. Again, we spent preparatory discussions, it was clear in the local population, depicting the whole day, never approaching we were going to learn much, and oryx natural history, ageing methods closer than 500m while she rested or quickly, about how the oryx would and behaviour in a series of photo- fed, not moving far. The main herd react to the nomads and equally graphs. This provided an excellent was nowhere to be seen. Only late in important, how the nomads and focal point while discussing the pro- the evening did we finally catch brief their livestock would react to the ject and these occasions generated glimpses of the head and ears of a oryx. great enthusiasm and very positive new-born calf less than 24 hours Keeping up with our free-ranging feedback while the photos were in- old, just visible above the grass, oryx is possible thanks to the work spected. Often oryx were well remem- standing right in front of its elegant of the comprehensive team of special- bered by at least one of the senior mother. The field team was elated. ists set up by the Government of members of the group. It was clear A very good start to this ambitious Chad and the Environment Agency that the oryx were coping well with project had just been sealed, and as of Abu Dhabi. The latest GPS the environment and with the human we made our way back to camp locations from satellite collars are activities they were encountering, and along darkened bush tracks we set processed and relayed each morning above all were very welcome back by about texting out the good news by to the oryx basecamp, from where the local people. satellite phone. the positions are also forwarded to All the while we were watching Tim Wacher the reserve’s rangers. carefully for the event that marks the Zoological Society of London Following release, the oryx moved beginning of the real transition back Editor’s note: the calf turned out to be a 50km to the west, where they settled to the wild; the birth of the first male. Mother and son are doing just fine. SANDSCRIPT Number 20 Fall 2016 Page 3 Arabian Bustard Ardeotis arabs fitted with a GPS satellite transmitter (Photos: Thomas Rabeil/SCF and Yves Hingrat/Reneco) Where’s that bustard? Sahelo-Saharan bustards are among edge of the Termit & Tin Toumma Initial data shows that four of the some of the least studied birds glob- reserve. Park rangers and staff from females moved very little following ally. Over the past decade, regular SCF partners, the Niger Fauna capture due to incubation and chick surveys have been carried out by Corridor and Niger-Chad Trans- rearing in the area where they had SCF in Niger’s Termit & Tin boundary projects, were part of a been captured. After four months of Toumma National Nature Reserve. team that also included four tradi- monitoring, southward movements, The reserve hosts two species of tional hunters, appointed by the first by two males and then by two bustard, the Nubian and the Ara- Sultan of Zinder. females, were observed, suggesting a bian. The latter is listed as Near Bustard density was relatively high, seasonal movement pattern confirm- Threatened by IUCN. Bustards in with around 1 bird per 2 km². July ing assumptions based on our data general have become extinct over corresponds to the beginning of the from surveys in Niger and Chad. large areas due to agricultural en- bustard breeding season, with males Our hope is the tagged bustards will croachment, over-grazing and espe- observed displaying and one female continue sending information at least cially unsustainable hunting.