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Posted: 28th January 2013

World's rarest Antelope GPS collared
Image: ZSL
Critically endangered species can now be monitored

The first ever attempt to GPS collar wild hirola in their native range has been successful, conservationists say. This means that the world's rarest antelope can now be monitored, in an attempt to save the critically endangered species.

Field workers in Kenya spent eighteen months monitoring their habitat, identifying seven herds between Boni Forest and the Tana River in north-eastern Kenya. Nine adult hirola were carefully captured and fitted with GPS collars, before being left to roam free again.

The collars were fitted to at least one individual per herd to allow conservationists to record vital information on population growth, group movements and behaviours. The radio collars will record one location every three hours throughout the year, providing vital information on movement patterns that would be otherwise unattainable.

The project was organised and carried out by conservationists from the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). Those in the field work closely with the Kenya Wildlife Service and local communities to locate hirola herds by distinguishing the footprints and faeces of hirola from those of other ungulates found in the same area.

ZSL's EDGE Fellow Abdullahi Hussein Ali said: “Because of the elusive nature of the hirola, identifying different herds for collaring was not an easy task. This particular habitat had also recently been hit by drought, so it made our job harder as it caused the hirola to disperse further in search of greener pastures.”

It is estimated that there are 400-500 hirola living today, but the species continues to be severely threatened by a combination of drought, predation, poaching and habitat loss. Cath Lawson, ZSL's EDGE programme co-ordinator says: "Hirola is an EDGE (Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered) species - one of the most unique and threatened animals on the planet. Over the past thirty years numbers have plummeted by almost 90 per cent, and they continue to decline.

"As the sole representative of its group, the loss of the hirola would be the first extinction of a mammalian genus on mainland Africa in more than 100 years."

The GPS collars will drop off remotely in June 2014, and results from the study will provide valuable information on the basic ecology and natural history of the hirola. This will form the basis of developing conservation efforts and monitoring of this rare antelope in north-east Kenya.



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