Populations of large mammals and ostriches in Zakouma National Park, Chad:their status and trends

Zakouma National Park is situated in the south-east of Chad Republic and co vers more than 3000 km(2). Rehabilitated in 1989, it is certainly one of th e best-preserved wildlife sanctuaries in Sahelian Africa. Aerial census sho ws that most of its original fauna is still present, making the Park an exc eption in the region despite the recent troubled history of this country. T otal population estimates of elephants, buffaloes and topis are given and d istribution maps are presented for eleven species. Results are compared wit h two previous estimates. Except for the ostrich and perhaps the warthog, p robably in regression, the populations of two species are stable (hartebees t and giraffe) while the others are clearly increasing (buffalo, topi, elep hant and room antelope). Those encouraging results are the consequence of t he remoteness of the park, wich is far from any big town, and also overfloo ded and isolated during the wet season. Those facts contribute to maintain the human pressure at a sustainable level.