News from Benoué

The giraffe are still there.

The beginning of the dry season enables the rangers to go out and monitor the wildlife.

Giraffe are a key indicator species for the area; one of their favourite food plants is the African acacia tree, which historically have been numerous in sub-Saharan Africa. But the leaves are also good forage for cattle, so the cattle-herders have a habit of cutting down the trees so the cattle can reach them. The practice is devastating the landscape and redcing giraffe numbers. That, combined with bushmeat poaching, is putting the Kordofan giraffe populations under enormous stress.