20 Dorcas gazelles released in the wild in Senegal

07/09/2006 00:00:00 May 2007. 20 Dorcas gazelle, fourteen females and six males, bred in captivity in Spain, have been transported to the special wildlife reserve at Gueumbeul. The reserve has been identified as a suitable habitat for Dorcas gazelle and it is hoped that they will breed sufficiently well to so that they will be able to repopulate other parks in Senegal. Covering an area of 720 hectares, the reserve is also home to Mhorr gazelles, the largest and most beautiful of the Sahel-Saharan gazelles, as well as Scimitar-horned Oryx.

This reserve accommodates almost a hundred species of birds and is noted for its large concentrations of flamingos and avocets. Also found in this reserve is the Sulcata tortoise which is the largest African tortoise, as well as the Patas monkey.

As part of the implementation of its policy to restore Sahelo-Saharan wildlife to the wildlife preserves of Gueumbeul and Ferlo North, the Experimental Centre for Arid Zones of Almeria in Spain offered the gazelles to the Senegalese department of national parks.

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