IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Henschel, P. | |
| Large mammals & human impact survey, Upemba & Kundelungu National Parks, Democratic Republic of Congo | |
| 2008 Full Book | |
In the 19th century Katanga was an elephant capital where Arabs from the East coast stocked on ivory. European expeditions of the late 19th century recount on the countless numbers of elephants (_Loxodonta africana africana_), hippo (_Hippopotamus amphibious_), rhinoceros (_Diceros bicornis_), buffalo (_Cyncerus caffer_) and other large fauna that they killed, and on the long caravans of ivory carriers they met in Katanga (Dr Paul Briart, 1890 - 1893). Upemba National Park or UNP was created in 1939. Between 1940 and 1970 wildlife dwindled to critical numbers as a result of poaching and rhino became extinct in the 1950's. Wildlife revived in the 1970's as a result of the removal of settlement from UNP. Kundelungu National Park or KNP was created in 1970. Wildlife was abundant throughout the 1980's but then rapidly reduced again in the 1990's and 2000's as a result of economic and political instability and subsequent insecurity. UNP and KNP can easily be ranked amongst the top most compelling landscapes and Protected Areas (PAs) in Africa and they would be DRC's most diverse PAs if restored to contain the wildlife that was present in the 1970's and 1980's. A systematic survey was conducted between Sep 15th and Oct 15th 2008 to establish what wildlife remains and the extent of damage inflicted over the past 2 decades, to help define conservation strategies. For 3000km of flying over UNP and KNP, 1375 recordings were made of which 850 were observations of clustered human impact signs such as villages, fires and cultivation. Most human impact at UNP was found in the Northwest and along the fringes of the Park boundary. For KNP human impact was greatest in the South and along the fringes of the Park boundary. Animals observed included elephant, zebra (_Equus burchelli bohmi)_, roan antilope (_Hippotragus equinus_), sable antilope (_Hippotragus niger_), bushbuck (_Tragelaphus scriptus_), reedbuck (_redunca arundinum_), common duiker (_Cephalophus grimmia_), oribi (_Ourebia ourebi_), puku (_Kobus vardonii_), yellow baboons (_Papio cynocephalus_), bushpig (_Potamochoerus larvatus_), hippo and jackals (_Canis adustus_), watlled cranes (_Grus carunculatus_) and a shoebill (_Balaenicepts rex_). |
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