Zakouma National Park
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Zakouma National Park is a
national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
in southeastern
Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...
, straddling the border of
Guéra Region Guéra or Guera may refer to: * Guéra Prefecture, a former first-level administrative division of Chad until 1999 * Guéra Region, a first-level administrative division of Chad since 2002 * Guéra Department, a second level administrative division ...
and
Salamat Region Salamat is one of the 23 regions of Chad, located in the south-east of the country. The region's capital is Am Timan. It corresponds to the former prefecture of the same name. Geography Salamat borders Sila Region to the north, the Central A ...
. Zakouma is the nation's oldest national park, declared a national park in 1963 by presidential decree, giving it the highest form of protection available under the nation's laws. It has been managed by the nonprofit conservation organization
African Parks African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on conservation, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and Finance Company, a private company, then under ...
since 2010 in partnership with Chad's government.


History

Zakouma is Chad's oldest national park, Note: Slides 1–7; 9–11. established by the nation's government in 1963. Its wildlife have been threatened by the
ivory trade The ivory trade is the commercial, often illegal trade in the ivory tusks of the hippopotamus, walrus, narwhal, mammoth, and most commonly, African and Asian elephants. Ivory has been traded for hundreds of years by people in Africa and Asia, ...
and
poaching Poaching has been defined as the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set a ...
, including by
Janjaweed The Janjaweed ( ar, جنجويد, Janjawīd, lit=mounted gunman; also transliterated ''Janjawid'') are a Sudanese Arab militia group that operate in Sudan, particularly Darfur, and eastern Chad. Using the United Nations definition, the Janjaweed ...
members. In 2007, militia forces attacked the park's headquarters for its stockpile of 1.5 tons of ivory, and killed three rangers. The government of Chad began working with African Parks in 2010 to help manage and protect the park and its wildlife, especially elephants. The park's anti-poaching strategy includes equipping approximately 60 rangers with
GPS tracking unit A GPS tracking unit, geotracking unit, satellite tracking unit, or simply tracker is a navigation device normally on a vehicle, asset, person or animal that uses satellite navigation to determine its movement and determine its WGS84 UTM ge ...
s and radios to improve communications, mobility, and safety, as well as improving mobility through the use of horses and other vehicles. The
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
pledged €6.9m in 2011 to help protect the park for five years. Elephant protection efforts expanded outside the park's boundaries in 2012, and an airstrip was constructed in Heban to make monitoring of the migrating animals easier. In August, Heban rangers destroyed a camp belonging to members of the Sudanese army after four elephants were killed. Three weeks later, the poachers attacked the Zakouma outpost at Heban and shot and killed multiple guards. Following the attack, additional bases were built, a second aircraft was purchased, and a rapid response team called the "Mambas" (after the snake of the same name) was formed to enhance security. 23 guards have died protecting Zakouma since 1998, including seven in 2007, four between 2008 and 2010, and six in 2012. Chadians celebrated the park's fiftieth anniversary in February 2014. Zakouma held a ceremony to commemorate the occasion, which was attended by President
Idriss Déby Idriss Déby Itno ' (18 June 1952 – 20 April 2021) was a Chadian politician and military officer who was the president of Chad from 1990 until his death in 2021. Déby was a member of the Bidayat clan of the Zaghawa ethnic group. A high-ranki ...
and included a ceremonial
destruction of ivory The destruction of ivory is a technique used by governments and conservation groups to deter the poaching of elephants for their tusks and to suppress the illegal ivory trade. , more than of ivory have been destroyed, typically by burning or ...
by burning a
pyre A pyre ( grc, πυρά; ''pyrá'', from , ''pyr'', "fire"), also known as a funeral pyre, is a structure, usually made of wood, for burning a body as part of a funeral rite or execution. As a form of cremation, a body is placed upon or under the ...
with a ton elephant tusks to discourage poaching. African Parks and the Labuschagnes, who served as the park's managers from 2011–2017, have been credited with reducing poaching and increasing Zakouma's elephant population. African Parks took over management of ecologically valuable lands surrounding Zakouma, including the Siniaka-Minia Faunal Reserve and
Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve Bahr Salamat Faunal Reserve (Réserve de faune du Bahr Salamat) is a conservation area in Chad. It is named after the Bahr Salamat River which flows through it. The area was designated 1 January 1964 and is classed as IUCN category IV (Habita ...
, in 2017.


Flora and Fauna

Zakouma National Park is part of the Sudano-Sahelian vegetation zone, and has
shrubland Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
, high grasses, and ''
Acacia ''Acacia'', commonly known as the wattles or acacias, is a large genus of shrubs and trees in the subfamily Mimosoideae of the pea family Fabaceae. Initially, it comprised a group of plant species native to Africa and Australasia. The genus na ...
'' forests. Plants recorded in the park include ''
Combretaceae The Combretaceae, often called the white mangrove family, are a family of flowering plants in the order Myrtales. The family includes about 530 species of trees, shrubs, and lianas in ca 10 genera. The family includes the leadwood tree, ''Combre ...
'' and ''
Vachellia seyal ''Vachellia seyal'', the red acacia, known also as the shittah tree (the source of shittim wood), is a thorny, 6– to 10-m-high (20 to 30 ft) tree with a pale greenish or reddish bark. At the base of the feathery leaves, two straight, light ...
'' (red acacia). A variety of large mammals have been recorded in Zakouma, such as buffalo,
elephant Elephants are the largest existing land animals. Three living species are currently recognised: the African bush elephant, the African forest elephant, and the Asian elephant. They are the only surviving members of the family Elephantidae an ...
,
Kordofan giraffe The Kordofan giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis antiquorum'') is a subspecies of giraffe found in northern Cameroon, southern Chad, the Central African Republic, and possibly western Sudan. Historically some confusion has existed over the exact r ...
,
hartebeest The hartebeest (; ''Alcelaphus buselaphus''), also known as kongoni or kaama, is an African antelope. It is the only member of the genus ''Alcelaphus''. Eight subspecies have been described, including two sometimes considered to be indepen ...
,
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
, and
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
. In 2016, ''
The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' said there were increases to the park's buffalo, giraffe, and
lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphi ...
populations in recent years. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' reported the presence of thousands of buffalo, more than 130 lions, and an "unknown" number of
leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant species in the genus '' Panthera'', a member of the cat family, Felidae. It occurs in a wide range in sub-Saharan Africa, in some parts of Western and Central Asia, Southern Russia, a ...
s, as well as plans to reintroduce
black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...
. It's estimated that 60% of 2,300 Kordofan giraffe remaining on earth are live in Zakouma National Park. A pack of nine
African wild dog The African wild dog (''Lycaon pictus''), also called the painted dog or Cape hunting dog, is a wild canine which is a native species to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the largest wild canine in Africa, and the only extant member of the genus '' Ly ...
s were photographed in the southwest portion of this Zakouma National Park in November 2015. During a study of the park's terrestrial small mammals, nine rodent and two shrew species were recorded. Rodents included the
African grass rat The Nile rat (''Arvicanthis niloticus'') is a species of rodent in the family Murinae. Taxonomy The species is divided into the following six subspecies. *''A. n. niloticus'': Nile, Egypt; *''A. n. dembeensis '' (): Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea; T ...
,
Congo gerbil The Congo gerbil or Congo tateril (''Taterillus congicus'') is a species of rodent found in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sudan, and possibly Uganda. Its natural habitat is dry savanna. References

,
Guinea multimammate mouse The Guinea multimammate mouse (''Mastomys erythroleucus'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Benin, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of ...
, Heuglin's striped grass mouse, Johan's spiny mouse,
Kemp's gerbil Kemp's gerbil (''Gerbilliscus kempi'') is a species of rodent. Mammal Species of the World considers ''G. kempi'' and ''G. gambianus'' to be synonyms, however the IUCN has assessed each taxon as were they different species. According to the IU ...
,
Matthey's mouse Matthey's mouse (''Mus mattheyi'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae. Matthey's mouse was first described by Francis Petter (1923-2012) in 1969 and was named after Robert Matthey (1900-1982). It is found in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coas ...
, striped ground squirrel (''
Xerus erythropus The striped ground squirrel (''Euxerus erythropus'') is a species of squirrel native to Africa. It was first described by Geoffroy in 1803, but the original publication may be unavailable, so that the binomial authority is today more often cit ...
''), and
Verheyen's multimammate mouse Verheyen's multimammate mouse (''Mastomys kollmannspergeri'') is a species of rodent in the family Muridae found in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Sudan. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, intermittent rivers, intermittent freshwater la ...
. The shrew species reported in the study were the savanna shrew and another belonging to the genus ''
Suncus ''Suncus'' is a genus of shrews in the family Soricidae. Classification *Genus ''Suncus'' ** Taita shrew, ''Suncus aequatorius'' ** Black shrew, ''Suncus ater'' ** Day's shrew, ''Suncus dayi'' ** Etruscan shrew, ''Suncus etruscus'' ** Sri Lan ...
''. Birds include ostriches, cranes,
eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just ...
s,
egret Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...
s,
heron The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...
s,
ibis The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word f ...
,
pelican Pelicans (genus ''Pelecanus'') are a genus of large water birds that make up the family Pelecanidae. They are characterized by a long beak and a large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped-up contents before s ...
s, and
stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...
s. Specific species include
Abyssinian ground hornbill The Abyssinian ground hornbill or northern ground hornbill (''Bucorvus abyssinicus'') is an African bird, found north of the equator, and is one of two species of ground hornbill. It is the second largest species of African hornbill, only surpass ...
s, black-breasted barbets,
northern carmine bee-eater The northern carmine bee-eater (''Merops nubicus'') is a brightly-coloured bird in the bee-eater family, Meropidae. It is found across northern tropical Africa, from Senegal eastwards to Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya. It was formerly considered to ...
s, and
red-billed quelea The red-billed quelea (; ''Quelea quelea''), also known as the red-billed weaver or red-billed dioch, is a small—approximately long and weighing —migratory, sparrow-like bird of the weaver family, Ploceidae, native to Sub-Saharan Africa. ...
s.


Elephants

The park's elephant population experienced significant declines during the 2000s, though reported size estimates have varied. According to ''
National Geographic ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...
'' and ''Tech Times'', Zakouma had more than 4,000 elephants in 2002, but fewer than 900 in 2005, and approximately 400–450 by 2010. ''
China Daily ''China Daily'' () is an English-language daily newspaper owned by the Central Propaganda Department of the Chinese Communist Party. Overview ''China Daily'' has the widest print circulation of any English-language newspaper in China. T ...
'' said there were 3,885 and 3,020 elephants in the park in 2005 and 2006, respectively; similarly, ''
Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...
'' reported a population estimate of 3,500 in early 2006. ''The Independent'' reported a similar figure for 2010, following a major decline from 4,000 elephants in 2006.
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by the M ...
, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', and ''The Times'' have said there were an estimated 4,300–4,350 elephants in Zakouma in 2002, and approximately 450 elephants in the park between late 2012 and April 2015. Zakouma's elephants were surveyed in 2014 as part of the
Great Elephant Census The Great Elephant Census—the largest wildlife survey in history—was an African-wide census designed to provide accurate data about the number and distribution of African elephants by using standardized aerial surveys of hundreds of thous ...
. Following the nonprofit conservation organization
African Parks African Parks is a non-governmental organization (NGO) focused on conservation, established in 2000 and headquartered in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was founded as the African Parks Management and Finance Company, a private company, then under ...
assumption of management in 2010, and its extensive law enforcement and community engagement efforts, poaching dramatically declined and the herd has since stabilized, and has started to breed again. The park now has more than 500 elephants, as of February 2017, possibly the largest single herd in Africa. More than 100 elephants were killed in 2006. Seven elephants were reportedly killed in 2007, marking a decrease compared to previous years because of improved efforts to protect Zakouma and its wildlife. Sixty elephants were reportedly killed by Sudanese poachers in early 2010, prior to African Parks' involvement. In 2015, CNN said there were no elephants poached in the park since late 2011, and no ivory removed from Zakouma in the last five years. There were zero to very few known elephant births between 2010 and 2013 because of environmental stresses, but approximately 50 calf births in 2014 and 2015, and an additional 70 in 2016. According to ''The Independent'', there were 23 calves born in 2013, plus another 20 in 2015. Similarly, CNN reported in April 2015 that more than 40 calves were born since late 2013. There were reportedly no elephant poaching incidents between 2016 and February 2017.


Black rhinoceros

The park's last black rhinoceros were seen in 1972. During 2015–2016, African Parks initiated plans to reintroduce black rhinos to the park. Following the signature of a memorandum of understanding between the governments of Chad and South Africa in 2017, six black rhinos were provided by the latter nation's
Department of Environmental Affairs The Department of Environment, Forestry & Fisheries is one of the departments of the South African government. It is responsible for protecting, conserving and improving the South African environment and natural resources. It was created in 2 ...
to Zakouma under a custodianship agreement.


Tourism

In 2016, more than 5,000 locals stayed at the park's camps. Tinga Lodge, constructed by the government, opened in 1968 and houses up to 48 people. Camp Nomade, a mobile safari camp, opened in 2016.


See also

*
Wildlife of Chad The wildlife of Chad is composed of its flora and fauna. Bush elephants, West African lions, buffalo, hippopotamuses, Kordofan giraffes, antelopes, African leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, and many species of snakes are found there, although most l ...


References


Further reading

* * * *


External links

* * * {{African Parks 1963 establishments in Chad African Parks (organisation) National parks of Chad Protected areas established in 1963