Presented during the 17h Annual Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group Meeting organized by the NGO Sahara Conservation Fund in Senegal, from 4 to 6 May 2017. The Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) gathers every year about a hundred people who are interested in the field of Sahelo-Saharan species conservation.

1. 17th Annual Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group Meeting
2 days of talks on biodiversity conservation in the Sahara and in the Sahel
Participatory ecological survey of large mammals in the Boundou
Community Nature Reserve, Senegal
Abdou DIOUF, Manager – Boundou CNR ; Gabriel CAUCANAS, International SolidarityVolunteer ;
Claire CLEMENT, Consultante
May 4 – 6, 2017

2. RNC DU BOUNDOU
Participatory ecological survey of large mammals in the Boundou
Community Nature Reserve, Tambacounda Region, Senegal.
PRESENTATION
May 2017- 17th Annual Sahelo-Saharan Interest Group Meeting
Capitaine Abdou DIOUF
Gabriel CAUCANAS
Claire CLEMENT

3. I. General presentation of the Reserve
II. Explanation of the surveys leaded into the
Reserve
III. Exhibition of the first results obtained for the big
mammals survey
SUMMARY
by Abdou DIOUF, Manager of the CNR
by Gabriel CAUCANAS, International Solidarity
Volunteer in charged of ecological surveys and
environmental education
by Claire CLEMENT, consultant

4. Tambacounda
A PROJECT LED BY 4 COMMUNITIES OF THE REGION OF TAMBACOUNDA
AREA : 120 000 ha, divided between
4 communities 2 departments
Koussan
GOUDIRY
Dougué
Sinthiou Fissa
BAKEL
Toumboura

5. Community of
Dougué
Community of
Koussan
Community of
Toumboura
Community of
Sinthiou Fissa
20 villages, 7 000 inhabitants
A PROJECT LED BY 4 COMMUNITIES OF THE REGION OF TAMBACOUNDA

6. 2007
ü Desire to convert the hunting camp in a protected area
ü Strong willingness from the Boundou population to preserve
their natural resources and to let the big fauna population
recover
ü Cooperation with the Department of Isère (France, 38)
2009 : Creation
The Boundou Community
Nature Reserve (CNR)
CORENA (the CNR Conservatory)
A PROJECT LED BY 4 COMMUNITIES OF THE REGION OF TAMBACOUNDA
A piece of history…

7. FUNCTIONING OF THE BOUNDOU CNR CONSERVATORY (CORENA)

8. TO TACKLE HUMAN PRESSURE UPON ENVIRONMENT
POACHING
FIRE
LOGGING
RESOURCES DEPLETION

9. TO LINK PRESERVATION AND LOCAL DEVELOPPEMENT
BEEKEEPING
POULTRY
FARMING
ECOTOURISM
WATER MANAGEMENT
and
more…

10. ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATION

11. FINANCIAL AND TECHNICAL ACTUAL PARTNERSHIP
a lack of partners concerning ecological surveys
Unfortunately…

12. Mauritanie
Mali
LOCATED ALONG THE BIOLOGICAL CORRIDORS OF FERLO AND MALI
Guinée

13. Mainly covered by arbustive savannah
of Combretaceasof Acacia seyal
LOCATED IN THE SOUDANO-SAHELIAN ENVIRONMENT

14. And more…
Herbaceous savannah
Gallery forests
Baobab forests
Cultivated areas
Rocky areas
LOCATED IN THE SOUDANO-SAHELIAN ENVIRONMENT
111 woody species surveyed

15. Anguili and
Wendou Fodé The Falémé River
The hills
The dams
Mania Dala
SITES OF ECOLOGICAL
INTEREST
(5 HOTSPOTS)
LOCATED IN THE SOUDANO-SAHELIAN ENVIRONMENT

16. FAUNA SURVEYS SINCE THE RESERVE CREATION
Birds
234 species
Ø 12 endangered (UICN)
Ø 120 nesting
Ø 50 transsaharian
migrative
Mammals
31 species
Ø 5 endangered (UICN)
Reptiles
17 species
Fishes
12 species

17. Identified mammals since the CNR creation
ARTIODACTYLA
LATIN NAME FRENCH NAME ENGLISH NAME
Eudorcas rufifrons Gazelle à front roux Red-fronted gazelle
Hippotragus equinus koba Hippotrague rouan Roan antelope
Hippopotamus amphibius Hippopotame amphibie Hippopotamus
Ourebia ourebi Ourébi Oribi
Phacochoerus africanus Phacochère commun Warthog
Redunca redunca Redunca Bohor Reedbuck
Sylvicapra grimmia Céphalophe de Grimm Common duiker
FAUNA SURVEYS SINCE THE RESERVE CREATION

18. CARNIVORA
LATIN NAME FRENCH NAME ENGLISH NAME
Canis aureus Chacal doré Golden jackal
Canis adustus Chacal à flancs rayés Side-striped jackal
Caracal caracal Caracal Caracal
Crocuta crocuta Hyène tachetée Spotted hyena
Leptailurus serval Serval Serval
Panthera pardus Léopard Leopard
Panthera leo senegalensis Lion d’Afrique de l’ouest West african Lion
Identified mammals since the CNR creation
FAUNA SURVEYS SINCE THE RESERVE CREATION

19. CARNIVORA
LATIN NAME FRENCH NAME ENGLISH NAME
Civettictis civetta Civette d’Afrique African civet
Genetta genetta Genette commune Common genet
Mellivora capensis Ratel Honey badger
Ichneumia albicauda Mangouste à queue blanche White-tailed mongoose
Herpestes ichneumon Mangouste ichneumon Egyptian mongoose
Herpestes sanguinea Mangouste rouge Slender mongoose
Mungos mungo Mangue rayée Banded mongoose
Identified mammals since the CNR creation
FAUNA SURVEYS SINCE THE RESERVE CREATION

20. PRIMATES
LATIN NAME FRENCH NAME ENGLISH NAME
Chlorocebus sabaeus Singe vert / Callitriche Green monkey
Erythrocebus patas patas Patas Patas monkey
Papio papio Babouin de Guinée Guinea baboon
Galago senegalensis Galago du Sénégal Senegal bushbaby
Identified mammals since the CNR creation
FAUNA SURVEYS SINCE THE RESERVE CREATION

21. RODENTS, INSECTIVORA AND LAGOMORPHA
LATIN NAME FRENCH NAME ENGLISH NAME
Helioscirus gambianus Héliosciure de Gambie Gambian sun squirrel
Xerus erythropus Ecureuil terrestre du Sénégal Striped ground squirrel
Hystrix cristata Porc-épic à crête Crested porcupine
Atelerix albiventris Hérisson à ventre blanc White-bellied Hedgehog
Lepus saxatilis Lièvre des rochers Scrub hare
Identified mammals since the CNR creation
FAUNA SURVEYS SINCE THE RESERVE CREATION

22. Major issue for conservation
and acquisition of knowledge
EUDORCAS RUFIFRONS
ü Vulnerable species (IUCN Red list) and
decreasing population
ü Unclear systematic situation (studies
ongoing, many subspecies?)
ü Little-studied species: the Boundou CNR is
a unique observation site
THE RED-FRONTED GAZELLE, BOUNDOU EMBLEMATIC SPECIES

23. A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
Pedestrian transects :
ü adapted to difficult conditions of acces
into the reserve
ü Covered each year since 2014
ü Repeated 2 times a year (Dry and rainy
seasons)
ü Achieved by team of 4 persons
(1 technician + 3 ecogards)
Materials :
ü 1 GPS Garmin 60
ü 1 Tablette (Samsung Galaxy Tab 3)
equipped with Cybertracker Software
ü 1 Camera
ü 2 motos

24. A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
12 transects of 5 km each:
ü 3 transects by zone
ü Reachable in rainy season
ü All types of habitats crossed

25. A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
Direct
observations
Indirect
observations
ü prints
ü feaces
ü scraping
ü bones, hairs…
All species noted
(except squirrels)

26. 3 years of survey 3425 observations
A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT

27. 1) Identified species during the transects :
A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
ü 27 observed species
ü some rare ones (Lion, Leopard…)
ü 3 species identified for the first time
(Slender Mongoose, Senegal Bush-baby and Side-striped
jackal)
well distributed Transects into the reserve

28. 2) Very few direct observations!
4% during rainy
season
A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
2% during dry
season

29. A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
Dry season
68 % Feaces
25 % Prints
6 %
Scratching
1 %
Bones/Hairs
/Carcasses
Rainy season
70 % Prints
20 %
Feaces
9 %
Scratching
1 %
Bones/Hairs
/Carcasses
3) Indirect observations depending on the season:

30. A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
4) Kilometric Index of Abundance (KIA) calculation
KIA =
Number of observations
Number of wandered Km
Relative abundance
Annual
variations
Saisonnary
variations
Comparison
between species
14 15 16

31. Anecdotic visiting
of big cats
Mean KIA by species or groups of species
A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT

32. IKA
KIA for Red-fronted Gazelle (Eudorcas rufifrons)
A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
Climatic
influence?
Confusion
Gazelle /
Ourebi?

33. A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
Spatial and seasonal distribution
Dry season
Rainy season

34. KIA for Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus koba)
IKA
A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
Seasonal
movements
Impact of
pastoralism?

35. A STUDY OF BIG MAMMALS ADAPTED TO CONTEXT
Spatial and seasonal distribution
Dry season
Rainy season

36. ü A knowledge basis for numerous species as the Red-
fronted Gazelle
ü An active participation of the ecogards
ü A long-term evolutive and seasonally study
ü Cost-effective method: 1 200 000 CFA a year
ü Difficulties in identification of some species evidence
ü Changes of observers
ü High duration of setting up (24 days/year)
DISCUSSION : TRANSECT BILAN

37. ü Identification of nocturnal and/or rare species
ü Data concerning populations organization
ü Higher space coverage
Camera trap
DISCUSSION : A COMPLEMENTARY METHOD

38. CONCLUSION
Still a biologically rich area
Conservation efforts for 10 years
Significant possible impact on wild mammals and
ecosystems in general
Study sites for many groups or species

39. ü To complete mammals survey with other methods (camera
traps network)
ü To acquire materials (camera traps, rhombo, GPS…)
ü To keep on study the Red-fronted Gazelle concerning
different aspects (genetic and phylogenetic, alimentation,
seasonal movements…) in order to enhance its conservation
ü To establish new partnerships for other species studies
ü To perform the ecogards training (identification, material
uses…)
ü To remunerate the ecogards for their regular survey missions
PROSPECTS