Sudan’s biggest wildlife park faces threat from human neighbours

Giraffes have disappeared from the park due to habitat loss and other environmental factors

Cranes fly over as pelicans feed in the water at sunset at the Ain Al Shams, a seasonal lake within the Dinder National Park, about 400 kilometres south-east of Khartoum, the Sudanese capital. Spread over more than 10,000 square kilometres, Dinder National Park is Sudan's biggest reserve and it abuts Ethiopia's Alatash National Park. Dinder also boasts the country's most diverse wildlife, but rangers face a daily battle to protect it as human encroachment increases. AFP

Omar Mohamed is the head of the wildlife research station at Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

Birds in the Ain Al Shams seasonal lake within Sudan's Dinder National Park. AFP

A young waterbuck at Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

A Sudanese man who calls Dinder National Park in Sudan his home. AFP

An aerial view of part of Dinder National Park, which is spread over more than 10,000 square kilometres. AFP

Baboons at Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

A lion and his cubs at the small zoo within Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

An aerial view of one of the villages within Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

Bushbuck at Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

An elderly man is pictured at his home within the limits of Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

Visitors at the small zoo in Sudan's Dinder National Park. AFP

A herd of zebu cattle at Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

Smoke rises from a fire caused by honey-makers in Sudan's Dinder National Park. Rangers patrol the area in search of those who violate park regulations and may face fines or up to six months in prison depending on the offence. AFP

A ranger on observation duty from a watchtower at Dinder National Park in Sudan. The reserve is spread over more than 10,000 square kilometres and boasts the country's most diverse wildlife, but its rangers face a daily battle to protect it as human encroachment increases. AFP

An aerial view of part of Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

An armed ranger on foot patrol in Dinder National Park, Sudan. AFP

Cattle herders gather in a tent on the outskirts of Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

An inhabitant of Mai Carato, one of 10 villages at the limits of Al Rahd river within Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

A bee-eater pictured at Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

A group of rangers outside their headquarters at Galegu, within Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

An aerial view shows one of the villages within Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

Rangers gather at Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

A cattle herder's child rests in the shade of a tent on the outskirts of Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

An aerial view of part of Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

A ranger patrols Dinder National Park in Sudan. AFP

Smoke rises from a fire caused by honey-makers in Dinder National Park, Sudan. AFP

Tucked away by the Ethiopian border, Sudan's Dinder National Park boasts the country's most diverse wildlife, but rangers face a daily battle to protect it as human encroachment mounts.

Spread over more than 10,000 square kilometres, 400km south-east of the capital Khartoum, the park is Sudan's biggest and abuts Ethiopia's Alatash National Park.

Sandwiched between the vast grasslands of the sub-Sahara and the forests of the Ethiopian highlands, the park's variety of habitats have made it a haven for wildlife.

Lakes dot the park's woodlands and savannah, making it an important flyway for migratory birds too.

"It enjoys the richest wildlife in Sudan," said Albadri Alhassan, head of the park's development organisation.

"But the growing human violations threaten to diminish the wilderness."

When the park was first declared a protected reserve under Anglo-Egyptian rule in 1935, the area was sparsely inhabited.

But in recent decades, the population has soared in the villages that dot the park and its surrounding buffer zone, creating huge pressure for new land to grow crops.

And as cattle herders' traditional grazing lands have been ploughed up, they – in turn – have increasingly encroached on the park in search of pasture.

"Such behaviour is posing an immense threat to the reserve," said the head of Dinder's wildlife research station, Omar Mohamed.

Among the hardest-hit species has been the giraffe, which has disappeared from the park in the face of habitat loss and other environmental factors, Mr Mohamed said.

'Great harm to wildlife' 

Villagers say they do their best to follow park restrictions but that they desperately need more land to feed themselves.

"We use traditional agriculture and we prevent our animals from grazing outside our village," said farmer Abubakr Ibrahim from Mai Carato, a village on the West bank of the Rahad river, which flows through the reserve.

He complains that some regulations are "very hard and impractical" to follow in the growing villages.

"Our village alone has an estimated population of around 2,000 people," he said, adding that its allotted five square kilometres of land was "too small".

"It is not enough for us," he said, arguing that "the reserve is vast, so giving us more space will not do any harm".

But conservationists disagree.

"Any expansion to the villages will greatly harm the reserve, disturb the wildlife and reduce their resources," Mr Mohamed said.

"It would be best to move those villages to better-serviced areas outside the reserve."

Human encroachment disturbs the park's wildlife in other ways too.

Villagers often harvest wild honey from the park's woods, lighting fires to create smoke to ward off the bees, in breach of park rules.

Rangers patrol the rugged terrain in search of offenders , who can face hefty fines or up to six months in prison, depending on the offence.

"We try to pursue them but sometimes they flee before we arrive," ranger Mohamed Makki said.

But all is not lost. The park's wildlife research chief says sightings of hyenas, lions and smaller cats – such as genets and servals – remain common, particularly at night.

By day, visitors can see African buffalo and several species of gazelle, plus an array of birdlife, both resident and migratory.

Despite all the challenges, the reserve has "remained pristine and managed to maintain its wilderness," Mr Mohamed said.

"All we want is to keep it this way."