{"id":2957480,"date":"2024-06-25T22:41:55","date_gmt":"2024-06-26T02:41:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/platoesg.com\/awe-inspiring-migration-of-6-million-antelope-in-south-sudan-is-largest-land-mammal-movement-on-earth-ecowatch\/"},"modified":"2024-06-25T22:41:55","modified_gmt":"2024-06-26T02:41:55","slug":"awe-inspiring-migration-of-6-million-antelope-in-south-sudan-is-largest-land-mammal-movement-on-earth-ecowatch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/platoesg.com\/awe-inspiring-migration-of-6-million-antelope-in-south-sudan-is-largest-land-mammal-movement-on-earth-ecowatch\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Awe-Inspiring\u2019 Migration of 6 Million Antelope in South Sudan Is Largest Land Mammal Movement on Earth – EcoWatch","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"
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White-eared kob antelope migrating across the Boma Badingilo Jonglei Landscape of the South Sudan. David Simpson \/ African Parks <\/p>\n

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An aerial survey conducted by wildlife<\/a> NGO African Parks has revealed the largest land mammal migration<\/a> on Earth.<\/p>\n

The Great Nile Migration of six million antelope<\/a> from the Boma-Badingilo Jonglei Landscape (BBJL) in South Sudan to Ethiopia\u2019s Gambella National Park is more than twice the size of the annual \u201cgreat migration<\/a>\u201d of two million zebras, wildebeest and gazelle from Tanzania\u2019s Serengeti to Kenya, reported The Guardian.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe migration in South Sudan blows any other migration we know of out the water<\/a>,\u201d said David Simpson, park manager for Boma and Badingilo national parks<\/a> with African Parks, as The Guardian reported. \u201cThe estimates indicate the vast herds of antelope species\u2026 are almost three times larger than east Africa\u2019s great migration. The scale is truly awe-inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n

African Parks used two aircraft equipped with cameras that gathered detailed documentation of the migration by taking a picture every two seconds, producing 330,000 total images. Graduates of University of Juba then examined the photos and counted the wildlife using computer software.<\/p>\n

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\u201cSeeing these animals here at such scale is something I could have never fathomed still existed on the planet,\u201d said Mike Fay, African Parks\u2019 landscape coordinator for Boma and Badingilo, as reported by The Guardian. \u201cFrom the air, it felt like I was watching what Earth might have been like millennia ago, when nature and humans still existed together in balance.\u201d<\/p>\n

The region\u2019s animal species have survived alongside decades of instability and civil war in South Sudan.<\/p>\n

From April 28 to May 15 of last year, the pilots flew the researchers over the entire 122,774 square kilometers of known antelope range in the BBJL. Some of the landscape they covered had never been surveyed before. In addition to antelope, they also documented lions<\/a>, giraffes<\/a>, buffalo, elephants<\/a> and other species.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe BBJL aerial survey is the first comprehensive survey of this region. This historic survey has highlighted the scale of the migration, and aided in informing strategic conservation efforts to ensure sustainability for both the wildlife and people who depend on the landscape,\u201d a press release from African Parks<\/a> said. \u201cA comparison with surveys done in the 1980s shows that there have been declines in most sedentary species \u2014 such as elephant and giraffe \u2014 which need year-round access to water and which do not exhibit a migratory pattern, further highlighting the need for proper protection of the landscape outside Boma and Badingilo national parks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The animals in the Great Nile Migration are on the move year-round, likely driven by the availability of quality grazing conditions, The Guardian reported. The survey estimates included four species of antelope: five million white-eared kob, 350,000 Mongalla gazelle, a little less than 300,000 tiang and 160,000 bohor reedbuck.<\/p>\n

The results surprised scientists, since despite wildlife decreasing in many parts of the planet due to climate change<\/a> and human development, the Great Nile Migration<\/a> has endured and expanded, reported CNN.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the numbers are right with these species, it looks like they\u2019ve increased since 2007. It looks like they\u2019ve increased since the 1980s even,\u201d Fay said, as CNN reported.<\/p>\n

Simpson said the findings of the survey are \u201ca gamechanger for conservation efforts in South Sudan\u201d and have the potential to be \u201cone of the greatest conservation opportunities on the planet,\u201d as reported by The Guardian.<\/p>\n

Currently, South Sudan is not considered a safe destination for international tourists, but Simpson believes it has great potential.<\/p>\n

\u201cHaving the world\u2019s largest land mammal migration could put South Sudan on the map as a must-visit ecotourism<\/a> destination. But the migration\u2019s current critical value is food security<\/a> for local communities,\u201d Simpson said, as The Guardian reported.<\/p>\n

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Simpson pointed out that, in addition to demonstrating the vast numbers of wildlife in the world\u2019s largest land mammal migration, the survey also exposed threats to the animals, including \u201cthe expansion of roads, agriculture<\/a>, charcoal production, commercialisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThese activities can lead to habitat loss, resource depletion and disruption of migration routes, ultimately threatening the survival of the migration and the livelihoods of local people,\u201d Simpson said. \u201cBy ensuring the health of the ecosystems<\/a> the migration depends on, the livelihoods of people across the migration landscape can be secured.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than four decades, Fay has been exposed to magnificent wildlife while working on conservation projects in Africa, but when he saw the incredible display of antelope galloping together across the Nile floodplain, he was stunned, reported CNN.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is it even possible that there can be this many wild animals?\u201d Fay said. \u201cIt\u2019s not so much a sentimental thing for me, it\u2019s more about the biological and ecological capacity of this land to produce so much wildlife. It\u2019s truly phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Cristen Hemingway Jaynes <\/a> <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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Cristen is a writer of fiction and nonfiction. She holds a JD and an Ocean & Coastal Law Certificate from University of Oregon School of Law and an MA in Creative Writing from Birkbeck, University of London. She is the author of the short story collection The Smallest of Entryways, as well as the travel biography, Ernest\u2019s Way: An International Journey Through Hemingway\u2019s Life.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n