South Sudan: Huge new potential for wildlife-based tourism

A combined project undertaken by Flora and Fauna International, Bucknell University, and the South Sudan Wildlife Service has yielded unexpected results. Over the period of the past 6 months, camera traps have been set up in key wildlife areas where over 20,000 pictures have been taken. The findings, now being revealed, are nothing short of spectacular.

Giant Pangolin

Forest elephants, a species not previously confirmed to be present in South Sudan were identified through the pictures taken, as were a number of other species. Among those were the giant pangolin, golden cats, red river hogs, and water chevrotain.

Golden Cat

Species previously confirmed but now well documented include the rare Bongo, chimpanzees, leopards, the yellow backed duiker, several members of the mongoose family, and honey badgers. This underscores the huge potential of wildlife-based tourism, as and when the country returns to peace, as the civil strife over the past years has kept tourists away.

Red River Hog

The huge migration of tiang gazelles, white-eared kobs, and mongalla gazelles numbers close to 2 million animals, which congregate once a year in the area of the Bandingalo National Park but has not brought tourists to the country unlike the better-known migration between the Serengeti and the Maasai Mara Game Reserve. Logistics in South Sudan are poor, and only one licensed safari company presently maintains a presence in Juba, which is trying to revive tourism almost singlehandedly. The finding of new species in the forests of Western Equatoria state also gives hope that elsewhere in South Sudan similar findings could be made if only peace prevailed and such projects could be safely carried out.

Water Chevrotain

When the announcement was made a few days ago, officials from Flora and Fauna International warned that the conflict of the past nearly 3 years had also made an impact on wildlife numbers as poaching escalated with no counteraction, as the country’s opposing factions were busy fighting each other instead of hunting down poachers who took advantage of the conflict to carry out their bloody handiwork.