Large mammal numbers in African parks down 60%

Populations of large mammals in Africa’s national parks have declined by almost 60 per cent in the past four decades, research showed yesterday.

Scientists warned that protected areas such as the Serengeti and Masai Mara were failing to conserve mammals including lions, giraffes and zebra in the face of hunting and loss of habitat.

The problems were particularly acute in western Africa, the research published in the journal Biological Conservation said, with populations dropping around 85 per cent between 1970 and 2005.

The researchers suggested countries in west Africa had the fewest resources to provide protection in national parks, and large mammals were particularly threatened there by the "bushmeat" trade in wild animal meat.

But populations increased in southern Africa, where protected areas tend to be relatively well funded, the researchers from the Zoological Society of London and University of Cambridge said.

The analysis of 69 key species of large mammals across 78 of Africa’s protected areas revealed populations in southern countries rose by 24 per cent.

In east Africa, where some of the continent’s most famous national parks are visited by thousands of tourists each year, populations of some of the big mammals visitors go to see fell by more than half (52 per cent).

The researchers said the main causes of the declines were over-hunting and the loss of habitat driven by a rapidly growing human population and increased consumption of resources.

The study did not compare what was happening inside protected areas with how species outside the conservation zones were faring – but the researchers warned the declines could be more extreme.

And it said that some of the populations of animals studied may be travelling into unprotected areas to maintain large ranges or during migration, for example wildebeest, and could be affected by threats outside the national parks as a result.

The leader of the study, Ian Craigie, said: "Although the results indicate that African national parks have generally failed to maintain their populations of large mammals, the situation outside the parks is almost undoubtedly worse.

"Many species like rhino are practically extinct outside national parks."

Jonathan Baillie, director of ZSL conservation programmes, said: "The results are far worse than we imagined, but the increasing population trends in southern Africa provide hope and demonstrate that protected areas can be very effective for conserving large mammals if properly resourced."