Search results

Researchers in Uganda say the country's only nesting site of critically endangered Rüppell’s vultures is under threat from hunting, charcoal burning and farming. Two nesting colonies are built on cliff faces in Luku Central Forest Reserve, in Uganda's northwestern Arua district. The district hosts tens of thousands of people displaced by violent conflict in neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. Many of these refugees, as well as native Ugandans, depend on the reserve to eke out a living, but at great cost to the integrity of its forests and wildlife.

The disappearance of the giant sable: The giant sable antelope was first discovered in the early 20th century and went on to become Angola’s national animal. However, due to their striking horns, the antelopes soon became a target for poachers, says renowned Angolan conservationist Pedro Vaz Pinto. In 1975, their prospects took a turn for the worse when a civil war broke out in Angola following its independence from Portugal. Over the next 27 years, the conflict devastated the country's wildlife and the giant sable was no exception.

Endangered African painted dogs are at the risk of local extinction due to poachers hunting other wildlife at Zimbabwe's Hwange National Park. The painted dogs are victims of rampant poaching by local and international syndicates hunting for wildlife such as buffaloes and elephants. Although poachers have no interest in painted dogs themselves, they become victims of snares or poisoned water sources meant for other game. The destruction of their habitants is also cited as one of the reasons why the painted dogs face extinction. "It’s not about the painted dogs only.