World Wildlife Day

We celebrated World Wildlife Day on 3 March by highlighting our conservation charity’s remarkable work with addax in Tunisia.

The primary threat faced by addax is unsustainable hunting for their meat, horns and hide. Their habitat has also been disturbed by oil exploration and an increase in cattle farming. 

However, addax are listed on CITES Appendix I, which means that trade in the animal or any part of its body is illegal. The species is also protected in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria, and it is illegal to hunt them in Libya and Egypt. In Tunisia and Morocco several hundred addax have been released into large fenced enclosures and in Niger there are addax present in a large reserve.

The work our conservation team is involved with is vital to protect wildlife, in this case, as addax are critically endangered. In 2007 Marwell was a partner in the reintroduction project of addax from the EEP (European Ex-situ Programme) and SSP (Species Survival Plan) to Djebil National Park. We have been involved in the post-release monitoring of that population since then. 

There are now approximately 110 addax in three protected areas in Tunisia: Haddej (in Bou Hedma National Park), Djebil National Park and Senghar-Jabbes National Park. The released addax adapted and bred in all three protected areas. Marwell continues to work closely with the Tunisian Ministry (Direction Général des Forêts) to monitor these populations. And develop plans for their future conservation.