Studies on the avian and mammalian fauna in the Great Green Wall area (Ferlo, Senegal)

Abstract

The continuous degradation of Sahelian ecosystems in south of the Sahara due to climatic and anthropogenic factors has motivated African heads of states to set up the Great Green Wall reforestation project to promote habitat restoration. Within this framework, we contribute by orienting our work on the study of wildlife, in particular birds and large wild mammals, in order to set up useful scientific data for the conservation of biodiversity in this area.In the course of our work, we were able to identify 167 bird species belonging to 52 families and 21 orders, including 38 species of waterbirds and 129 species of landbirds. Among these species, we have the African vulture, the Hooded vulture and the Rüppell's vulture classified in the category "Critically Endangered (CR)" on the red list of protected species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN); three “Endangered (EN)” species: the Martial Eagle, the Nubian vulture and the Bateleur; three “Vulnerable (VU)” species: the Southern Grey shrike, the Abyssinian ground hornbill and the European turtle dove and one “Near threatened (NT)” species: the Black-tailed godwit.In case of large wild mammals, we identified 9 species belonging to 7 families and 3 orders. These species are respectively the Marsh mongoose, the Common genet, the Golden jackal, the Pale fox, the Wild cat, the Honey badger, the Striped polecat, the Cape hare and the Patas Monkey. Except to the Patas monkey, which is classified as Near Threatened (NT), all the others are classified of as “least concern (LC)”. However, the level of conservation of these species at the local level exhibit an urgent need to implement a national list of threatened species for biodiversity conservation and management.