The future of the barbary sheep and the dorcas gazelle populations in Algerian Sahara: On the brink of extinction?

The barbary sheep Ammotragus lervia (locally called Laroui or Aoudad) and the dorcas gazelle Gazella dorcas (locally called Adam or Affrii) are endemic bovines (Wacher et al., 2002), living in north African Sahara (Irzagh et al., 2022). Both species are listed as a vulnerable (IUCN status) and indexed in CITES appendix II and III respectively (https://iucn.org). Their populations undergo intensive selection because of hunting (human-wildlife conflict) and the numbers of these two species are decreasing drastically. Many cases of illegal hunting of both barbary sheep and dorcas have been recorded in the Algerian Sahara which cause a significant level of wildlife losses, and McKinney (2001) found that the threat level on wildlife (such as Bovidae) is significantly related to human population size. Most information published on these two Bovidae have rarely been disclosing the alarming situation of the barbary sheep and the dorcas. It is known that diverse motivation underlies this hunting activity. But the main motivation in Algerian Sahara is a traditional ritual of exploiting these two threatened Bovidae as a source of meat for traditional feasts. In August 22nd 2024, during a scientific expedition to the Algerian Sahara (El Menia desert), my colleagues and I recorded a dramatic case of illegal barbary sheep and dorcas gazelle hunting. Four dorcas gazelles and one barbary sheep were slaughtered in a secret location situated in the western sand sea (see Fig. 1). Our discussion with these hunters revealed that this heartless act is generally practiced either late in the evening or at night, in a location kept secret by the hunters. This practice is banned and so the identity of the hunters is kept hidden, which can hamper the conservation actions for these two species. This conservation news is made prominent here in order to raise public awareness and emphasis the importance of the conservation of these species. For example, in Tunisia there is a collaborative government project between Italy and Tunisia called “Geo Med GIS 19/96—2019” aiming to classify the distribution range of the dorcas gazelle as a protected area (see www.dahargmg.info). These types of initiatives are also needed in Algeria. These multi-faceted actions would carry out more efficient protection of these two endemic species and a more sustainable future for the local biodiversity.