Sahelo-Saharan Wildlife
The Sahelo-Saharan region extends over much of Northern part of the continent of Africa. It is highly varied, encompassing (huge sand dunes), mountains, wadis and desert oases as well as dry forests and seasonal grasslands.
Along with a wide variety of other species, a striking array of antelope and gazelle used to flourish here, but hunting pressure, habitat loss and competition with humans have all taken their toll.
ZSL is working with in-country partners to assess the state of these species and repair some of their struggling populations and their habitats.
Threatened Desert Diversity
Species like scimitar-horned Oryx and elegant slender horned gazelles used to exist in great numbers across this region. These species have to move with the seasonally changing desert boundaries, bringing them into close competition with humans in the region. Added other human pressures such as hunting and war, many Saharan ungulates have dwindled to near extinction.
Pan-Sahara Wildlife Survey
The Pan Sahara Wildlife Survey (PSWS) was started in 2009 by the Sahara Conservation Fund (SCF) partnered with ZSL, with funding from the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi. Its goal is to bring together up to date information of the status of biodiversity across the vast Saharan region.
Find out more about the PSWS
Find out about our key antelope species:
Conserving Saharan Antelope
Assessing the scale of the problem is essential for conservating Saharan Antelope. ZSL is involved in many bio-monitoring projects in countries such as Tunisia, as well as building community capacity for conservation.
Read about our Antelope conservation work
Picture Galleries
The Sahelo-Saharah region is very beautiful and has stunning wildlife to match. We have been working on the ground to return this wildlife to the region and protect its habitats.
- conserving slender-horned gazelles in Tunisia .
- Scimitar-horned oryx in Tunisia
- Antelope Surveys in Termit
