Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Animals. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

A mysterious virus, suspected to be carried by small flies, has swept across parts of North Darfur, Sudan, killing donkeys in large numbers. USA leaves WHO.

HERE is a must-see video showing large numbers of dead donkeys in North Darfur, Sudan. Sudanese citizens are appealing to outsiders to help provide medical support to help contend with this crisis. Note, US President Trump, inaugerated Jan 20, has ordered US to leave World Health Organisation. US exit from WHO could see fifth of budget disappear. Read more below.

From AYIN NETWORK
Dated 26 December 2024
Darfur: The mysterious death of donkeys over Christmas


A mysterious virus, suspected to be carried by small flies, has swept across parts of North Darfur, Sudan, killing donkeys in large numbers. 


Due to the ongoing conflict, now surpassing 20 months, in Sudan, the country holds the highest rate of displacement in the world, with 12 million displaced, including 3.2 million refugees and over 8.6 million internally displaced. 


Donkeys, especially in Darfur, are the backbone of this transport—not to mention porting water and agricultural harvest. 


Sudanese citizens are appealing to outsiders to help provide medical support to help contend with this crisis.


View original: https://3ayin.com/en/donkeys/

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Further Reading


From BBC News, Washington

Published 21 Jan 2025, 02:11 GMT

Trump orders US to leave World Health Organization

US exit from WHO could see fifth of budget disappear

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c391j738rm3o


End

Friday, March 15, 2024

Study reveals four unique giraffe species across Africa

RESEARCHERS at the University of Copenhagen found evidence suggesting there may actually be four distinct giraffe species across Africa. This completely changes our understanding of giraffes. Recognising four giraffe species would mean developing separate plans to protect each one.

According to this article, Nubian giraffes are found in South Sudan and the Kordofan giraffe inhabits Cameroon, CAR, and possibly Sudan. Read more.

From Earth.com
By Sanjana Gajbhiye
Earth.com staff writer
Dated Wednesday, 13 March 2024

Study reveals four unique giraffe species across Africa

























Giraffes have long been admired for their beauty and stateliness. However, scientists have recently discovered a surprising fact about these animals: they may not be just one species.


Researchers at the University of Copenhagen found evidence suggesting there may actually be four distinct giraffe species across Africa. This completely changes our understanding of giraffes. Recognizing four giraffe species would mean developing separate plans to protect each one.


Four giraffe species

Previously, all the giraffes were recognized as one species – Giraffa camelopardalis. The research provided strong genetic evidence that all the giraffes are distinct enough to be classified as separate species.


Northern Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)

All Northern Giraffes have lighter colored spots. They are divided into three subspecies, each found in different geographical locations:

  • Nubian giraffe: Found in Ethiopia and South Sudan.
  • West African giraffe: Located in Niger.
  • Kordofan giraffe: Inhabits Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, and possibly Sudan.

Reticulated Giraffe (Giraffa reticulata)

This species is also called the Somali giraffe, is known for its unique brown spots with clear white borders that look like a net. They live in northern Kenya, southern Ethiopia, and Somalia.


Masai Giraffe (Giraffa tippelskirchi)

Masai is the biggest and darkest colored of all, with patches shaped like stars that go all the way down to their hooves. You’ll find them in central and southern Kenya and throughout Tanzania.


Southern Giraffe (Giraffa giraffa)

Southern Giraffes have round or blotched spots, which are more uneven and less defined than the Reticulated Giraffe’s spots. They are classified further into two subspecies:

  • South African giraffe: Inhabits northern South Africa, southern Botswana, southern Zimbabwe, and southwestern Mozambique.
  • Angolan giraffe: Found in northern Namibia, southern Botswana, southwestern Zambia, and western Zimbabwe.

All of the groups are connected and some even mix, like the reticulated giraffe which has genes from both the northern and southern giraffe ancestors. The researchers were surprised by this interconnectedness.


“When we started getting results from our analyses of gene flow between different giraffe lineages, we had to check twice,” recalled Laura D. Bertola, a postdoc at the Department of Biology and one of the authors on the study.


Redefining giraffe species

This widespread mixing between giraffe groups throws a wrench into how we define a species. Traditionally, scientists thought extensive gene sharing only happened within a single species. But the giraffes’ story flips that idea on its head.


It suggests that the amount of genetic difference might not be the clear-cut way to identify new species as we once believed. “Our findings touch on a very delicate matter in biology, namely that we do not have a universally agreed species concept.” said Rasmus Heller, one of the senior authors.

Instead of trying to pinpoint the exact number of giraffe species, the study aims to highlight the fluidity of gene flow among giraffes, which remains possible under the right conditions.


Conservation of giraffe species

This discovery is a game-changer for giraffe species conservation. Traditionally, we’ve focused on protecting different species entirely. But this study emphasizes the need to consider the genetic variation within a species as well. Each giraffe lineage, regardless of its specific taxonomic classification, boasts a unique genetic makeup that deserves protection.


“Giraffes are such endlessly fascinating animals, and this study confirms just how much genetic variation there is even on small geographical scales,” noted Yoshan Moodley, a co-author of the study from the University of Venda in South Africa.


The findings from the University of Copenhagen are part of a broader effort under the African Wildlife Genomics research framework, associated with the African BioGenome Project.


The study is published in the journal Current Biology.


View original: https://www.earth.com/news/study-reveals-four-unique-giraffe-species-across-africa/


END

Friday, May 19, 2023

S.O.S. please help the animals in Sudan and Sara Abdalla, director of zoo at Khartoum University

NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Well done Samy for reporting on animals in need. I hope the report is followed up on with news of how the animals in Khartoum are surviving. Are they being cared for? Does anyone care?  


At the start of the Sudan crisis I donated to the British Red Cross to help the people of Sudan and South Sudan. I wish Red Cross could help animals too.


Report from Chronograph.com

By SAMY MAGDY, Associated Press

Wednesday 10 May 2023

Updated: May 10, 2023 4:06 a.m.


Fears over scores of zoo animals caught in Sudan crossfire


ASWAN, Egypt (AP) — Dozens of zoo animals in Sudan's capital — including an elderly crocodile, parrots and giant lizards — are feared dead after street battles between the country's rival forces made the location unreachable.


At least 100 animals, all kept inside enclosures, will have gone more than three weeks without food or water, said Sara Abdalla, the head zoologist at the zoo, which is part of the Sudan Natural History Museum.


Millions of people in Sudan have endured shortages of food, water and medicines after the conflict halted the most basic services. But as the sounds of explosions ring across the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, Abdalla has been wracked with worry over her animal charges, particularly those that are increasingly rare to find in their natural habitats in Sudan. 


“I feel a great deal of misery and sadness, as well as helplessness,” she said in a telephone interview from Khartoum. “I have assumed that we lost the birds and mammals.”


The zoo is home to species including an African grey parrot, a vervet monkey, giant lizards known as Nile monitors, a desert tortoise, a horned viper snake and a Nubian spitting cobra. Prior to the fighting, these were all fed twice a day. But the last time they received their meals and for some, medications, was on April 14, the day before fighting broke out, according to Abdalla.


The conflict, which capped months of tensions between Sudan’s rival generals, pits the Sudanese military, led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, who is the head of the ruling sovereign council, against the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The RSF is commanded by Burhan’s deputy on the council, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Abdalla said neither has heeded appeals to allow access to the zoo.


The conflict has turned much of Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman into a battlefield, with both sides using heavy weapons, including artillery and airstrikes, inside urban areas. The urban combat has badly damaged infrastructure and properties and poses great risk to civilians trying to move in the city streets.


Residents fleeing the capital have described seeing bodies littering sidewalks and central squares, particularly in areas not far from the museum. Roughly 500 civilians have been killed in the fighting so far, according to Sudan's doctors' syndicate, though the true number of dead is believed to be higher.


The zoo, which is housed inside the University of Khartoum, is one of the oldest in Sudan. The facility was established about a century ago as part of Gordon Memorial College, an educational institution built in the early 1900s when Sudan was a part of the British empire. It was annexed to the University of Khartoum two years after Sudan won independence in 1956.


Its current location is close to the military’s headquarters, where fighting has been heavy, preventing access to the museum.


Abdalla, who teaches zoology at the University of Khartoum, began working at the museum in 2006, and was appointed director of the facility in 2020. It was a job she had dreamed of since she visited the museum as a child. Now, trapped at her home in southern Khartoum with her husband and their two children — 9-year-old Yara, and 4-year-old Mohamed — she worries about the animals that have already survived years of unrest, economic collapse and pandemic lockdowns.


Neither the military nor the RSF responded to requests for comment on the plight of the animals and their caretakers.


“Unless someone released the animals early on when the clashes started, I don’t see how any would or could have survived for over two weeks with no care,” said Kamal M. Ibrahim, a biology professor at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale in an email. He is familiar with the museum and its work, having graduated from the University of Khartoum and spending a sabbatical there.


The museum documents the wildlife of Sudan and its neighbor South Sudan. The facility serves both scientists and the general public. It also contains hundreds of valuable preserved animal specimens, some of which are now extinct, according to Abdalla.


Both Ibrahim and Abdalla are particularly worried about a Nile crocodile, raised from an egg at the facility since 1971. Abdalla said the crocodile was on a regimen of medicine and vitamins due advanced age. The crocodiles are increasingly rare to find in the Blue and White Nile rivers that cut their way through the country.


“It could have fared better if released from its enclosure,” Ibrahim said.

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a vervet monkey is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a Nile crocodile is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The 50-year-old reptile was raised in captivity from an egg, and is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a Nubian spitting cobra is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a carpet viper is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP

In this undated photo released by Sara Abdalla, director of the zoological park at the University of Khartoum, a Nile monitor lizard is pictured inside its enclosure in Khartoum, Sudan. The animal is one of dozens feared dead or missing inside the park in Sudan's capital after intense fighting made the location unreachable. (Sara Abdalla via AP) AP


View original: https://www.chron.com/news/world/article/fears-over-scores-of-zoo-animals-caught-in-sudan-18090097.php


[Ends]

Sudan...The Animal Museum Cries For War. Importance of Sudan's Natural History Museum

THIS is so sad. Let's hope it's true that people are giving water to animals.

Report from EasternHerald.com 

By Arab Desk

Dated Friday 19 May 2023 - full copy:


Sudan.. The Animal Museum Cries For War


And the clashes, which have not ceased since April 15, have made it impossible to access the museum site, which includes no less than 100 animals, which were placed in their cages the day before the outbreak of the fighting.


The director of the Natural History Museum said in statements exclusive to Sky News Arabia that things are still unclear regarding the position of the animals inside the museum, before I receive unofficial reports that some members of the Sudanese army were providing water to the animals, which represents a breakthrough for repeated distress calls throughout the past few weeks.


Despite this breakthrough, the situation remains difficult for the animals of the Sudan Museum, while “Said” identified this case in several points:


- Animals face a difficult fate, and of course there are some who have died from these very complex conditions, depending on how long they were left unattended.


- I expect the death of many animals, mainly birds and mammals which cannot endure a month without monitoring, feeding or monitoring, and we cannot reach them yet, because the water supply of their cages is was doing at the start of the war, and we cannot set a timetable for the armed forces to respond to distress calls. It is more likely that she died of hunger and thirst.


- Some other animals can withstand these conditions as long as possible, these are reptiles like desert tortoises. Because they store water in their body.


- From a scientific point of view, birds cannot survive more than 5 consecutive days without food or water, especially in extreme temperatures that reach 46 degrees Celsius.


- The pets that some Sudanese used to keep at home are also in a difficult situation. Because many citizens have been displaced and left these animals behind.


- We cannot go to the headquarters of the zoo, because things are very complicated considering the location of the museum near the general command of the armed forces, which is a very dangerous area for the movement of civilians, who can be targeted by both sides of the conflict.


- I tried as much as possible to reach the museum, but I was in an area where the sounds of bullets had never been silenced, and I couldn’t; Therefore, no one has any information or assessment of the situation and the number of dead animals.


Importance of the Natural History Museum


- The Natural History Museum zoo is home to many species of animals including lion, African gray parrot, vervet monkey, giant lizards called Nile monitor lizards, desert tortoise, horned snake and nubian cobra.


- The site of the museum, which is close to the headquarters of the Sudanese army, where fighting was taking place there, prevented people from accessing it and rescuing the animals.


- The museum documents wildlife in Sudan as well as the state of South Sudan, and serves scientists, scholars and visitors.


- The museum contains hundreds of valuable preserved animal specimens, some of which are now extinct.


- The Sudanese fear the repercussions of the current crisis on the historical legacy of Sudan, which is difficult to compensate for in the light of the continuous clashes between the two parties to the conflict, with no hope of an immediate solution.


View original: https://www.easternherald.com/2023/05/19/sudan-the-animal-museum-cries-for-war/

Monday, March 30, 2020

Sudan: 0smano & Four Paws update from Khartoum #SudanAnimalRescue #SaveSudanLions #اسود_حديقة_القرشي

Photo credit: 
Osmano instagram 21 Feb 2020 - Lion cub from a zoo in Khartoum

Copy of instagram by Osmano in Khartoum, Sudan 03 Feb 2020:
Another day of amazing work by the dedicated and caring @four_paws_international team. The team spent the day at Sudan University Vetinary college which is within Kukoo Zoo. They carried out theoretical training as well as alot of hands on practical training for the students and staff of the University. Procedures were done on a lion cub (umbilical cord infection), monkey (fracture), crane and other bird. Once again there dedication and care leaves us speachless. Would like to thank the University, especially Dr Hind for all the help in organising and help in getting equipment out of airport for them.
Team work makes the dream work! 
📸 Four Paws International © | Marion Lombard @_rapaper_
#SudanAnimalRescue
#SaveSudanLions
#اسود_حديقة_القرشي
[ Sudan Watch Ed: to visit the above instagram with photos click here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8zPCYmn73t/ ]
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Photo credit: 
Osmano instagram 21 Feb 2020 - Four Paws' vet treating bird in Khartoum

Copy of instagram by Four Paws in Khartoum, Sudan 03 Feb 2020:
🔻🇸🇩🔻#SaveSudanLions 🦁: Another daily update from Sudan 
Here is another look at the current mission in Sudan. Besides Kandaka and Mansour, the two other lions, a male and a female, have received special care from our emergency team on-site. Since these two lions arrived in Al Qurashi Family Park Zoo only two months ago, they are in much better condition than Kandaka and Mansour. Still, the female already has bowel issues due to the improper feeding. The two lions, as well as the other animals on-site, are receiving species-appropriate food and medical attention.
Please keep the animals in your thoughts and support the mission team on-site http://bit.ly/sudan-lions [LINK IN BIO]

[ Sudan Watch Ed: to visit the above instagram with video click here: https://www.instagram.com/p/B8G3kfAiqGB/ ]
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Photo credit: 
Osmano instagram 21 Feb 2020 - Four Paws' vet treating monkey in Khartoum

Photo credit: 
Osmano instagram 21 Feb 2020 - Four Paws' vet visiting Khartoum

Photo credit: 
Osmano instagram 21 Feb 2020 - Four Paws' vet visiting Khartoum

Photo credit: 
Osmano instagram 21 Feb 2020 - Four Paws' vet visiting Khartoum

RELATED STORY
Sudan: International help for starving lions in Khartoum zoo - Osman Salih's story goes viral
Sudan Watch - 20 Feb 2020

Thursday, March 26, 2020

South Sudan: images reveal global hotspot for biodiversity

South Sudan: latest images reveal a global hotspot for biodiversity
Report from Fauna & Flora International (FFI)
Written by Nathan Williams
Dated 16 August 2019

In 1979 the government of the Democratic Republic of Sudan and the government of Italy began working together to survey the incredible wildlife in the forests of Sudan’s Southern National Park in preparation for drawing up what they called a “Master Plan” for protecting the park.

Surveys undertaken over the following two years revealed a spectacular variety of animals, including elephants, pangolins, leopards, chimpanzees, monkeys, servals, hyenas and much more. With logging and hunting growing as threats, officials and researchers said, in an official report produced in 1981, that the protection of the park should be considered a “priority.” The stage seemed set for one of the world’s most biodiverse regions to secure the protection it deserved. 

But when civil war broke out soon afterwards, the plans were shelved. Conservationists left the country, government focus switched to fighting a war, and wildlife protection efforts were derailed for the best part of 30 years.

In recent years, despite the huge challenges, that has started to change. Fauna & FIora International (FFI) began working in South Sudan (when it was still part of Sudan) in 2010, and over the ensuing decade has built the trust and relationships essential to working in an environment still riven by civil conflict.

A significant development in FFI’s South Sudan work was reached when FFI and Bucknell University researchers teamed up with government authorities and local partners to deploy motion-sensing camera traps to record South Sudan’s still poorly understood wildlife.

Hundreds of thousands of images later, stunning pictures have emerged that shed light on the vast array of wildlife that inhabit these remote forests.

Through these images researchers have documented species not previously known to be found in this richly forested area, where the wildlife of East and Central Africa collide to form a unique tropical forest belt. From African golden cats to leopards, chimpanzees to aardvarks, the stunning images captured over the last year are evidence that this patch of Africa is home to some of the most varied wildlife on Earth.
Photo: A young bongo. Credit: Bucknell University/FFI

The images are hosted on Zooniverse, the world’s largest platform for online citizen science; a collaborative project of the University of Oxford, Chicago’s Adler Planetarium, and the broader Citizen Science Alliance.

Community engagement

This region of South Sudan has historically fallen within a regional wildlife trafficking corridor from Central to North Africa, so to enforce laws and step up protection FFI and its partners have initiated patrols, involving local people and communities, focused on working within two reserves.

Delivering this protected area management and maintaining community led conservation efforts within community managed areas requires the Wildlife Service rangers and the communities adjacent to the Game Reserves to work closely together – cooperation that is unique to this area of South Sudan. The bridges that have been built between communities and government officials has created a pocket of stability and security which is enabling the continued build-up of on-the-ground efforts.
Photo: A curious chimpanzee. Credit: Bucknell University/FFI

And these efforts are very much field-based. Despite the huge challenges of working in this region, FFI staff and its partners are not stuck in a compound but are out every day getting their hands dirty monitoring boundaries and conducting field work across a wide area of the landscape.

FFI’s approach also goes beyond dedicated species work and includes assisting communities with food security issues as well as equipping them with the tools for natural resource management. FFI’s goal is to see these communities become strong, long-term stewards of nature.
Photo: An African golden cat. Credit: Bucknell University/FFI

With civil strife a sadly regular feature of Sudanese life in recent years it would have been easy to pack up and declare South Sudan too difficult or dangerous to work in. Instead FFI has maintained a presence, adapting to situations and the reward is clear to see: some of the world’s most iconic species roaming the land they have called home for thousands of years, protected by a growing network of communities and conservationists.

Written by: Nathan Williams
Communications Executive, Press & Media
Nathan has a background in climate communications, journalism, and PR.