Addax Update - Target Doubled!

WWA's 2023 Addax Appeal raises an amazing $3000 for equipment to assist Addax re-introduction and conservation work in Chad

Thanks to the fabulous donations of The Guardians of Conservation, West Texas Wildlife Preserve, Hemker Park and Zoo, and WildLife World which doubled our target, WWA was able to purchase $3000 of vital field equipment to support the work of Sahara Conservation with Addax, the unique spiral-horned antelope of the Sahara.

The stunning Addax (Addax nasomaculatus) is the most desert-adapted African antelope, able to derive moisture from dew and its food of grasses and browse and so survive in a range of stony desert and semi-arid regions. The only member of its genus, it used to range across most of the Sahara but is now only found in scattered residual populations in Chad, Niger and Mauritania.

Long hunted traditionally for its meat, which is considered a regional delicacy, and its skin and long spiral horns as trophies, the Addax has also long been systematically eliminated by farmers trying to protect grazing for their cattle. Since the last quarter of the 20th century, the majority have sadly been lost due to the horrors of poaching from motorised vehicles.

Sahara Conservation’s main work with Addax currently takes place in central Chad, in the Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim Wildlife Reserve (OROAWR), where they organised the reintroduction of the species back into its native range in 2020.  Today, after five transfers of Addax from Abu Dhabi, there are more than 150 Addax roaming free in OROAWR, which alone is a lot more than the total remaining global wild population of 100 (previously estimated on the IUCN Red List).

The reintroduced Addax in OROAWR are all closely monitored by Sahara Conservation’s field team on a daily basis, all year round, as well as remotely via satellite collars fitted on all released individuals. The $3000 raised in the Worth Wild Africa appeal  was used to support this fabulous programme with the purchase of two Kingston Canvas Go! Cameras, a Carte microSO Plus 128 Go camera, a OJI Mini 3 Pro (OJI RC) Drone and a 14" Lenovo ThinkPad Portable PC laptop.

We look forward to receiving and posting photos and details of this equipment in action in the field in a future update.

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The security of the Addax as a species is also well supported in the USA where there are several thousand Addax thriving and breeding under professional care at our key supporters for this project in Chad:  The Guardians of Conservation, West Texas Wildlife Preserve and Hemker Park and Zoo in Minnesota. WildLife World  in Arizona is also heavily engaged on behalf of this amazing species and all have been instrumental in helping to preserve the species and raise public awareness of their plight in the wild. Once again, WWA would like to thank these amazing supporters for their super generosity and dedication to helping conserve the beautiful Addax in the wild.

For more information about the amazing Addax conservation work in Chad that our supporters have been so generous in helping through WWA please see Sahara Conservation.