Pacer with calf Roja (born 19 September 2001) |
Native to Botswana, Zambia and southeastern Zaire, this small marsh antelope was placed under threat when, in 1978, the Kafue gorge hydroelectric scheme reduced populations by 50%. The scheme deprived the animal, which is adapted to life on flood plains and swamps where it spends much of its time grazing on aquatic plants, of a major part of its habitat. The U. S. FWS listed the related red lechwe (Kobus leche leche) as endangered in 1970. Control of hunting and listing on Appendix I of CITES resulted in stable or increasing populations over much of their range. In 1979, the Conference of the parties to CITES changed the listing of the red lechwe from Appendix I to Appendix II, and in 1980, the FWS downlisted the red lechwe from endangered to threatened. (more info)
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