News
20
he Hirola, endemic to north-east Kenya and south-west Somalia, is the world’s most endangered antelope. It faces huge
survival challenges but all is not lost. The Conversation Africa’s Samantha Spooner asked Abdullahi Ali about his research and what he thinks can be done to save this rare species.
What is a hirola, where is it found and how many are there?
The hirola is a rare medium size antelope that can weigh up to 118kg. It’s tawny or tan brown in colour and has long, sharp horns. The current population of the hirola is estimated at less than 500. This small population is found within its native range, restricted to communal lands along the Kenya-Somalia border with no formal protection. The highest numbers are in Ijara and Garissa County, Kenya.
The hirola is the only surviving member of the genus Beatragus and there are none in captivity.
The hirola is known as the “world’s most endangered antelope”. What factors caused this?
With a global population size of 500, the hirola is considered to be the world’s most endangered antelope. This is the smallest known number of an antelope species and its population has been reducing rapidly since the 1970s.
Several factors caused this. In the 1980s, rinderpest – a viral disease – killed about 85-90% of the existing 15,000 hirola, along with other wildlife. When the disease was eradicated in the early 1990s, the hirola populations didn’t bounce back.
In my recent study, my colleagues and I identified a combination of additional factors that kept their numbers low, and decreasing. Firstly, hirola are a grassland species. Therefore, overgrazing by both livestock and other wildlife have led to a loss of food for the hirola in its native range.
The loss of elephants from hirola habitat, due to massive poaching, also contributed significantly to the encroachment of trees into grasslands and led to reduced grasses for the hirola to eat. Elephants control forestation as they uproot, break or eat trees. In their absence, tree cover increases relative to grass cover.
Similarly, there used to be frequent bush fires, which contributed to a balance between tree
cover and grassland. These were frequently used by locals but became suppressed by
government policy.
The Hirola is the world’s rarest antelope. Here’s how it can be saved
Abdullahi Ali
Nairobi, Kenya
T
Grassroots
August 2017
Vol. 17, No.3