Around 6 million antelope have been recorded on a trek across East Africa , note the human race ’s largest land mammal migration ever recorded .
The exfoliation of the Great Nile Migration recently became patent through an on-going task between African Parks and the Government of South Sudan .
Between April 28 and May 15 , 2023 , after the first rains of the time of year , planes were used to carry out an extensive airy view of the Boma Badingilo Jonglei Landscape in the east of South Sudan , document the migration of roughly 5 million blank - eared kob , 300,000 tiang , 350,000 Mongalla gazelle , and 160,000 Bohor reedbuck .
White-eared kob tackle a difficult part of the migration.Image credit: ©Marcus Westberg
“ The solution of this survey are nothing short of staggering . The astonishing scale of the migration is only equaled by the responsibility to ensure that it survives into the future in an extremely complex landscape , ” Peter Fearnhead , CEO of African Parks , said in astatement .
Along with the galavanting antelopes , the sketch note howelephants , Giraffa camelopardalis , lions , and cheetah population have persisted in the area . Likewise , there are still massive populations of large birds , include open - bill stork , marabou stork , yellow - billed stork , Abdim ’s stork , woolly - necked stork , dark - crowned Harold Hart Crane , heron , and several species of vultures .
While this may suggest that wildlife is abundant in the neighborhood , its biodiversity is facing a myriad of threats . Comparisons with surveys carried out in the 1980s show there ’s been “ ruinous decline of most sedentary metal money , " such as elephant , warthog , cheetah , hippopotamus , and buffalo .
One of the master threat isillegal poaching , which Fearnhead tell is “ at a scale that we have never find before . ”
To make thing more difficult , South Sudan went through a flaming civil state of war over the last few decades , and ethnic violence still lingers . Along with causing immense human suffering , the conflict has impacted the movement of creature and made wildlife surveysalmost impossible .
As the res publica endeavour to recover , the future of these fertile ecosystems could ultimately hinge on how human relations in the field resolve .
“ This wildlife and larger ecosystem is the groundwork for survival of the fittest for multiple ethnic groupings which are often in conflict with each other over resources . Successful management of this landscape will only be possible through building trust with and amongst these heathenish groupings , ” explained Fearnhead .
“ function with these local communities to protect this vital ecosystem will help oneself perpetuate this global phenomenon whilst also bring about stableness , prophylactic , and security measures and creating a sustainable future tense for the people who live in this area – many of whom are still recovering after twelvemonth of war and interruption , ” he bear on .
