MAY 8, 2016
by Susanna Pilny
A new survey has discovered that
type of antelope known as the Saharan Addax has been pushed “to the very
knife-edge of extinction”—as it found that there are only three left in the Nigerien
wild, according to an IUCN report.
The survey involved an extensive
search in March across key areas of the Addaxes’ main habitat, Niger. Teams
spent 18 hours performing aerial surveys—involving Intelligence Reconnaissance
and Surveillance (IRS) technologies, including infra-red capture, and
ultra-high resolution cameras that can distinguish different antelope species
from the air—but could not locate a single Addax via this method.
A ground search had more success.
After traversing more than 430 miles (700 km) in areas where there had been
reports of Addax tracks in the past six months, they were able to find one
small, apparently nervous group of three Addax—a drastic difference from just
six years ago in 2010, when a survey estimated the wild population in Niger at
about 200 animals.
The IUCN believes they know why
the population here has plummeted so drastically: The oil installations
operated by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) paired with habitat
encroachment and loss has led to massive disturbances, and the soldiers who
protect the oil industry have been poaching the Addax as well.
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