2023-12-15 21:00:00
During the climate conference in the oil state of Dubai, the international nature organization IUCN presented an update of the Red List of Threatened Species. It was no coincidence that the presentation took place in Dubai, because climate change is one of the most important threats to biodiversity. The climate crisis and the biodiversity crisis are related.
Many species – unsurprisingly – are doing poorly. A quarter of all freshwater fish are on the verge of extinction and that fate also threatens the Atlantic salmon and the green turtle. Fortunately, there were also positive reports, there are species that are actually doing better. The saiga antelope, for example, a strange Asian ruminant with a small trunk, and the algazel.
Weeks without drinking
The algazel is one of three species of skewers, large ruminants belonging to the genus Oryx belong; they are also called oryx in Dutch. They are animals that can withstand drought and are therefore found in deserts; they barely sweat to avoid losing moisture and can go weeks without drinking. The beautiful white Arabian oryx Oryx leucoryx lives in Saudi Arabia and Oman, the skewered buck Oryx gazella in arid parts of southwestern Africa and then there is the algazel or sable antelope, Oryx dammah.
The algazel was originally found in deserts, dry steppes and barren rock landscapes in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel, with a hotspot in Chad. That country was the scene of a bloody civil war at the end of the last century and there were all kinds of armed gangs running around; circumstances and people who care little about nature.
The sometimes extreme drought in the region, which meant that there was no food for the animals to find at all, did not help. In 1989 the last male in the wild was shot dead and in 2000 the IUCN had little choice but to declare the species extinct in the wild. Fortunately, there were still specimens living in zoos that could be bred.
Combating poaching
Since 2016, gazelles have been released in Chad as part of a reintroduction program. Many thousands of animals once lived there; there are now more than 140 adult gazelles in a Chadian reserve and the IUCN reported that no fewer than 331 calves have been born by 2021.
What plays a major role in the success of the reintroduction is that both the government of Chad and local communities support the animal’s return. There is little that can be done about the often harsh climate and drought, but combating poaching depends on continued protection.
Bizarre growths
And all this while algazelles and other oryx species are armed with awesome horns. Two long, slightly curved sabers with pointed points, like a cross between an Arab scimitar and a spear, adorn the animals’ heads. They are such bizarre growths that you might wonder what their function is.
Such head projections often serve for defense against enemies or serve the function of impressing the females. Against ruthless poachers with machine guns or extreme drought due to climate change, the sabers are fairly useless. But they are beautiful.
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