Biodiversity Conservation

With vast undulating grassland savannah amidst dense dry forest, Garamba National Park is one of the oldest national parks in Africa and home to notable elephant and giraffe populations. With abundant food and water resources, the park provides excellent habitat for a variety of mammal species. Today, thanks to intensive conservation and protection efforts, over 20,000 animals from 23 species can be found in the park, including lion, buffalo, giraffe and forest species such as chimpanzee, giant forest hog and golden cat, and recently translocated southern white rhino.

Species Restorations

Prior to 2005, Garamba’s elephant were being poached at such an alarming rate that the species was experiencing negative population growth. However, by 2019 poaching had decreased by 90% and the population has since stabilised. The critically endangered Kordofan giraffe population has grown exponentially, from 22 individuals in 2012 to over 80 in 2023, surpassing the projected population growth rate.

In an important step towards restoring Garamba’s ecological balance and biodiversity, 16 southern white rhino were successfully translocated from South Africa in 2023, in the hope that they will adapt and fulfil the same role as the now-extinct northern white rhino.

Monitoring and Surveys

There are several monitoring programmes running in Garamba, including fitting tracking devices to elephant to learn more about their movements. In 2023, 22 elephant were collared, bringing the total to 35 active collars. The 2023 Elephant Demographic Survey was completed, showing Garamba’s population to be stable. This historical database is extensive, comprising 1.6 million data points from 183 elephant collars and tracking 143 individuals from 2009 to the present, making it one of the largest existing continuous datasets on elephant.

Camera traps have been used since 2021 in the three Domaines de Chasse surrounding Garamba National Park to document forest-dwelling wildlife and estimate the populations of key species such as chimpanzees. A total of 21 cameras are currently deployed at three priority chimpanzee monitoring sites. Other species observed include bongo, tree pangolin, giant pangolin, giant forest hog, aardvark and duiker.

Ongoing work by the Research and Monitoring Team has revealed positive signs of elephant and chimpanzee nests in gallery forests, confirming the presence of these key species. Red colobus monkey was recently recorded for the first time in the Garamba Complex since 1952.

Conservation Law Enforcement

Garamba is situated in one of the most volatile areas in Africa. This is largely due to a challenging combination of armed poachers and various guerrilla groups, most of whom view the wildlife in Garamba as a way of supporting themselves – through the ivory and bushmeat trade.

Our efforts are numerous, and their impacts transformational. The ranger team is often the only stabilising element in the region and the only lifeline for both wildlife and people. Rangers not only risk their lives protecting elephant, but are often the first and only responders to critical security incidents. With security created through the presence of rangers in the park, neighbouring communities are experiencing an improved sense of stability.

Garamba’s rangers undergo training by African Parks’ in-house training facilitators. Leadership and instructor training take place annually, as well as refresher training for the canine unit, first-aid and human rights.