The wildlife animal population faces a threat by a growth in the human population. There is rising competition for critical resources such as food, land, and water. This read is for you to know the Most Hunted Animals In Africa.
When you factor in the persistent poaching problem, it’s easy to see why animal species are becoming endangered. Habitat loss, degradation, poaching, and hunting are the main threats to these endangered African animal species. Humans are responsible for nearly all of the factors that are driving these species to extinction.
Some animals seem to have suffered a worse fate than others. Below is a list of the ten most affected animals on the African Continent.
Table of Contents
Pangolin
Pangolin. [Photo: News Medical]
The assumption that pangolin scales have mystical and medicinal characteristics and demand their meat fuels large-scale trafficking. makes pangolin one of the Most Hunted Animals In Africa. The myth behind the scales is that they repel witchcraft and evil spirits mixed with bark from particular trees. The claim is they give a lady attraction power over a man if she buries them near his door. The smoke produced by their scales promotes livestock health, deter lions, and treat diseases such as nosebleeds. Although their scales comprise the same keratin as in human hair and nails, they are in high demand in certain Asian countries. The scales are said to cure conditions ranging from cancer to asthma, and their meat is considered a delicacy. In some locations, tribes think that seeing this scaly mammal predicts a drought. And that the only way to avoid it is to kill the animal.
The Northern White Rhino
Northern white rhinos originally inhabited the grasslands of East and Central Africa, where their numbers numbered in the thousands. Due to demand for their horns, their numbers, which had already been decreased, reached catastrophic levels in the early 1980s. All these tragedies make white rhinos the most hunted animals in Africa. people have used traditional medicine and flaunted it as status symbols. According to one study, their population dropped by 80% between 1979 and 1986, to 50 rhinos or fewer. The last time a northern white rhino was last seen in the wild was in 2006.
Rothschild giraffe
The Rothschild giraffe is also now on the endangered species list. It was previously a thriving species as a subspecies of the Northern giraffe. However, it has already lost most of its natural habitat due to human encroachment. Giraffes can reach a height of 6 meters, you can identify them by markings that only cover half of their legs. According to the 2019 count, approximately 2500 Rothschild giraffes lived in Kenya and Uganda’s protected areas.
Mountain Gorilla
Mountain gorillas dwell in dense high-altitude forests at elevations ranging from 8,000 to 13,000 feet. They have thick fur, unlike other apes, which protects them from the cold. Human encroachment, war, sickness, and poaching are all threatening their numbers. There are 459 mountain gorillas in the wild, according to the Uganda Wildlife Authority.
African Wild Dog
These painted dogs, also known as African wild or hunting dogs, are beautiful, unusual, and intriguing social animals. They may not be as well-known as their trunked, horned, or maned neighbours. They are beautiful, unique, and fascinating social animals.
The African wild dog, sometimes known as the painted wolf, is the continent’s most endangered predator. It’s also the most intriguing and elusive. The majority of people, however, are unaware of the existence of this unique creature.
Painted dogs are only found in Africa and aren’t seen anywhere else on the earth in the wild. They can be found in little pockets across a few nations, including Zimbabwe, where Painted Dog Conservation is based.
Cuvier’s Atlas gazelle
Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia are home to the Atlas gazelle. As of March 31, 30 gazelles came back into Tunisia’s Jebel Serj National Park. It is also known as the Edmi, and it has a deeper external coloring than other gazelles. It was nearly extinct due to overhunting for skin, meat, and trophies.
Ethiopian wolves
Ethiopian wolves, sometimes referred to as Africa’s last wolf, live in the high peaks of Northern and Central Ethiopia. Temperatures can drop below freezing in places with elevations of 3,000 to 4500 meters. They are stranded on the Afroalpine islands as descendants of Eurasian grey wolves. As they adjust to their new surroundings, human encroachment into their region and other reasons is causing psychological stress.
Cheetahs
A once-common sight on the plains is now on the verge of extinction. According to reports, the estimated population in 2016 was 7,100, but that figure might drop by 53%.
Cheetahs are about 95% of their habitat, according to Panthera. Only Zimbabwe, Botswana, Angola, Mozambique, Namibia, and South Africa have them.
African Penguin
When we think about penguins, we think of the cunning characters in the Madagascar film or the vast colonies on the icy ice sheets of Antarctica.
Warm-climate penguins have are in Namibia and South Africa on the continent’s south-western tip. The African Penguin has been on the verge of extinction since industrial fishing began around the Cape.
Because of this alarming tendency, Birdlife International has designated them as an endangered species. Human activities have threatened their numbers throughout the years as they have adapted to the warmer subtropical climate.
Pygmy hippo
The pygmy hippo is not a weakling; they are as aggressive as, if not more aggressive than, the other hippos. This rare species may be found in West Africa, in Upper Guinea, and half the hippopotamus. Human activity, such as poaching, poses a threat to the few who live in the wild makes them the most hunted animals.
