Wildlife of Chad

The wildlife of Chad is composed of its flora and fauna.^[1][2] West African lions, buffalo, hippopotamuses, Kordofan giraffes, antelopes, African leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, Bush elephants, and many species of snakes are found there, although most large carnivore populations have been drastically reduced since the early 20th century.^[1][3] Elephant poaching, particularly in the south of the country in areas such as Zakouma National Park, is a severe problem.

Aerial photo of Lake Chad

As of 2011, there were 2,288 species of plants in the country, 55 of which are endemic.^[2] Precipitation varies widely from south to the north. The country is also subject to hot, dry, dusty conditions. Harmattan winds are a feature in the northern part of the country. Droughts and locust plagues are also common. The vegetation in the country is broadly categorized under the three regions of the northern Sahara zone, the central Sahel zone, and the southern Sudan zone; all three zones are of equal proportion.^[1]

In Chad forest cover is around 3% of the total land area, equivalent to 4,313,000 hectares (ha) of forest in 2020, down from 6,730,000 hectares (ha) in 1990. In 2020, naturally regenerating forest covered 4,293,000 hectares (ha) and planted forest covered 19,800 hectares (ha). For the year 2015, 100% of the forest area was reported to be under public ownership.^[4][5]

The northern part of the country which has the Sahara desert and which borders Libya and the volcanic massif of Tibesti (3,415 metres (11,204 ft)) forms part of the northern zone. Vegetation is dominantly tropical in the tropical zone of the country with deserts having least vegetative growth. However, a large area of desert dunes lie between Lake Chad and the Ouaddai massif, where fringes of xerophytic scrubland is noted.^[1]

The montane vegetation on the massif is rich, unlike the vegetation that is in the lowlands. Woody vegetation occurs in some deep gorges of the Ennedi massif, which rises to 1,450 metres (4,760 ft). A flat terrain supports Sahelian grasslands. The transition zone that lies between the southern Sahel and northern Sudan–Guinea is also a seasonal wetland. The Sudan Savanna zone mostly consists of Sudanian woodland with intermittent vegetation of edaphic grassland and Acacia.^[1]

The well-drained soils of the area once supported areas of dense woodlands with ebony and kapok^[specify] trees (species of the Malvaceae family), but this has declined due to soil erosion and degradation.^[3] Vegetation found in the area includes acacias, baobab, desert date, palms, African myrrh, and Indian jujube. Found within the lake itself are aquatic plants such as reeds, papyrus, ambatch, and water lilies.^[3]

Camels in the Sahel region of Chad

Nile perch

Violet turaco

As of 2002, there were at least 134 species of mammals and 532 species of birds (354 species of residents and 155 migrants) in Chad.^[1] Before the 20th century, Chad reportedly had a rich fauna of large carnivores in the Lake Chad region, but due to deforestation, hunting and competition from livestock most of the population of lions, leopards, rhinoceros, and hippopotamus have disappeared from the region.^[3]

The Zakouma National Park is an important habitat with the highest number of large mammals.^[6] Scimitar horned oryx are seen in the reserves of Chad in significant numbers, mostly in the Ouadi Rime Ouadi Achin Faunal Reserve. Also reported to survive in this reserve are the large population of addax (Addax nasomaculatus) and dama gazelle (Nanger dama).^[7]

Other species reported are; red-fronted gazelle, dorcas gazelle (Gazella rufifrons, Gazella dama, Gazella dorcas), patas monkey (Erythrocebus patas), striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena), Sudan cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus soemmeringii), caracal (Felis caracal), and Chadian wild dog (Lycaon pictus sharicus), African elephant (Loxodonta africana), otter (Lutra maculicollis), Aonyx capensis, sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekei) and kob (Kobus kob). Rodent species reported are Mastomys verheyeni and gerbil (Taterillus lacustris).^[8] African rock pythons and spitting cobras are the reptile species also reported.^{[citation needed]}

Lake Chad has 179 species of fish which feed on vegetation, phytoplankton and zooplankton. Some of the species reported are catfish (Clarias gariepensis), tilapia, cichlids, characin (Alestes baremoze) and Nile perch (Lates niloticus). Lungfish and sailfin are the two other unique species in the lake. Crocodile and hippopotamus also inhabit the lake as do birds, and it is an important destination for many migratory species of birds.^[8]

BirdLife International has reported 532 species of birds of which 354 residents and 155 are migrants, the Avibase - Bird Checklists of the World reports 587 species including 6 globally threatened species.^[9] Of these the species under critically endangered, endangered, near-threatened, and vulnerable categories are:^[9]

The violet turaco (Musophaga violacea) is a species of least concern, which is found in large numbers in a range of less than 20,000 km² (7,700 sq mi) covering many African countries including Chad.^[10]

The protected parks, reserves, protection forests, reforestation areas, and Ramsar Wetlands of international importance in the country include the IUCN Level II categorized Aouk (7,400 km² or 2,900 sq mi), Goz Beïda, Manda (1,140 km² or 440 sq mi), and Zakouma (3,000 km² or 1,200 sq mi) national parks. The country has a number of faunal reserves which are loosely protected including:

• Abou Telfane 1,100 km² or 420 sq mi
• Bahr Salamat 20,600 km² or 8,000 sq mi
• Beinamar 763 km² or 295 sq mi
• Binder-Léré 1,350 km² or 520 sq mi
• Fada Archei 2,110 km² or 810 sq mi
• Larmanaye 3,040 km² or 1,170 sq mi
• Mandelia 138 km² or 53 sq mi
• Ouadi Rimé-Ouadi Achim 80,000 km² or 31,000 sq mi
• Siniala-Minia 4,260 km² or 1,640 sq mi

Aside from the numerous protected forests, Tibesti Massif is also a protected area. The wetlands of international importance—under the Ramsar Convention–are the Ramsar Sites at Lake Fitri (Lac Fitri; 1,950 km² or 750 sq mi), Binder-Léré Faunal Reserve (Réserve de faune de Binder-Léré; 1,350 km² or 520 sq mi) and the Chadian section of Lake Chad (partie tchadienne du lac Tchad; 16,481.68 km² or 6,363.61 sq mi).^[11][12][13]

In addition to parks and reserves, eight Important Bird Areas (IBAs) have been identified and supported by BirdLife International. These cover 11.2 percent of the country, an area of 146,500 square kilometres (56,600 sq mi), some overlapping with parks and reserves. Of these, the Ouadi Rimé–Ouadi Achim IBA is the largest, covering an area of more than 6 percent of the area of the country.^[1]

Efforts have been made by the Food and Agriculture Organization to improve relations between farmers, agro-pastoralists and pastoralists in the Zakouma National Park (ZNP), Siniaka-Minia, and Aouk reserve in southeastern Chad to promote sustainable development.^[14] As part of the national conservation effort, more than 1.2 million trees have been replanted to check the advancement of the desert, which helps the local economy by way of financial return from acacia trees, which produce gum arabic, and also from fruit trees.

Poaching is a serious problem in the country, particularly of elephants for the profitable ivory industry and a threat to lives of rangers even in the national parks such as Zakouma. Elephants have been massacred in herds in and around the parks by organized poaching.^[15] The problem is exacerbated by understaffing. A number of wardens have been murdered by poachers.^[16]

• World Conservation Monitoring Centre (1991). Protected Areas of the World: Afrotropical. IUCN. ISBN 978-2-8317-0092-2.

• USAID detailed study on "Considerations of Wildlife Resources and Land Use in Chad"