Features

Uganda giraffes get new home to escape oil drilling

MURCHISON FALLS NATIONAL PARK, Uganda -- On a cold morning in Uganda’s largest national park, rangers chat and sing to lift their spirits ahead of the start of a daunting wildlife project considered critical to conservation: moving the Nubian giraffe to a new home.

Rangers at Murchison Falls National Park on Tuesday began to translocate 12 endangered Nubian giraffes, Earth’s tallest land mammal, 65 miles to Ajai Wildlife Reserve. The project, expected to last a couple of days, is intended to preserve the species’ population, enhance biodiversity and diversify tourism opportunities.

An estimated 40% of Uganda’s oil deposits are in the Murchison Falls area and within the park. In recent months, there have been increased oil drilling activities including heavy machinery movement through the national park despite years of opposition from environmentalists.

Uganda is pushing to produce its first oil from the area. In June 2023, TotalEnergies officially began drilling for oil in the Tilenga project area within the park.

Patrick Atimnedi, the Uganda Wildlife Authority assistant commissioner for veterinary services who led Tuesday’s giraffe translocation, said establishing new animal populations in other protected areas will reduce pressure on the current habitat if there is significant damage from drilling.

Uganda wants to expand the range of the critically endangered giraffes because of oil and gas activities, tourism development, climate change, bush encroachment and invasive species, he said.

“This is shrinking the habitat of wildlife here, but especially giraffes,” Atimnedi said of the animals that can grow up to 20 feet tall and weigh up to 4,400 pounds.

“So having a seed population somewhere about 100 kilometers (62 miles) away from here within the same conservation area, the same zone, is the right conservation decision to make,” he said.

Rejuvenation

After a final briefing from Atimnedi, the exercise kicked off as officials directed three giraffes into waiting trucks, where tree branches were mounted for the giraffes to chew during the journey.

At Ajai Wildlife Reserve, a dozen rangers awaited their arrival. The animals could not wait to get off the trucks and into their new 64-square-mile home. The reserve once had a diverse wildlife population that was wiped out in the early 1980s because of rampant poaching and prolonged insecurity in the country.

The introduction of the Nubian giraffes to the reserve is part of an ongoing ecological restoration effort. In addition to the giraffes, other wild animals such as southern white rhinos, buffalo, zebras and hundreds of Uganda kobs are being reintroduced.

Part of the reserve is being fenced and the number of rangers has increased to protect the animals from poachers. Area communities, which receive a share of the tourism revenues, have been educated about the importance of conservation.