Ugandan wildlife authority relocates 12 endangered Nubian giraffes
Rangers in Uganda’s largest national park have begun the relocation of 12 endangered Nubian giraffes.
The project is intended to preserve the species’ population, enhance biodiversity, and diversify tourism opportunities.
But with an estimated 40 per cent of Uganda’s oil deposits in the Murchison Falls area and park , they are also facing an increasing threat from oil drilling activities.
Uganda is pushing to produce its first oil from the area.
In June 2023, TotalEnergies officially began drilling for oil in the Tilenga project area within the park.
Darting Earth’s tallest land mammal and then leading it into a trailer for transport may not be graceful but it is crucial, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).
“There is a lot of oil and gas activities going on here, tourism development, climate change, bush encroachment, invasive species and everything else,” says Patrick Atimnedi, Assistant Commissioner, Veterinary Services at the authority.
“Having a seed somewhere about 100km away from here within the same conservation area, same zone, is the right conservation decision to do,” said Atimnedi, who is leading the giraffe translocation.
UWA said establishing new animal populations in other protected areas will also reduce pressure on the current habitat if there is significant damage from drilling.
“When we do range expansion, you don’t want to have all your eggs in one place because if a calamity happens there, then you lose a species, so you are safer putting some in some locations,” explains Atimnedi.
Once widespread across north-east Africa, just over a decade ago there were less than 200 in Uganda . But collaborative conservation efforts have led to their remarkable recovery.
At Ajai Wildlife Reserve, a dozen rangers await the arrival of the giraffes. The animals cannot wait to get off the trucks and into their new 166-square-kilometre home.
The reserve once had a diverse wildlife population which was wiped out in the early 1980s because of rampant poaching and prolonged insecurity in the country. The introduction of the Nubian giraffes to the reserve is part of an ongoing ecological restoration effort.
In addition to the giraffes, other wild animals such as southern white rhinos, buffalo, zebras and hundreds of Uganda kobs are being reintroduced.
Wildlife authorities are optimistic that Ajai, established in 1937, will serve as a new home for their work to increase Uganda’s wild animal population despite pressures from human activity and nature that threaten their conservation.
Part of the reserve is being fenced and the number of rangers has increased to protect the animals from poachers.
Area communities, which receive a share of the tourism revenues, have been educated about the importance of conservation.
“Even the ones who finished [killed] the previous animals are happy to receive these animals, actually, they are celebrating,” says Wilson Katabigwa, the senior warden in-charge at Ajai Wildlife Reserve.
When the giraffe translocation is complete, community members will be invited to the reserve to see the animals, which have been extinct in the area for decades.
