#african — Public Fediverse posts

https://www.europesays.com/africa/414990/ Africa’s richest man eyes continent’s largest IPO #Africa #African #AlikoDangote #bird #continent #Dangote #IPO #LudovicMARIN

Der Semesterschwerpunkt #DigitaleKulturen startet heute mit zwei kostenfreien Vorträgen im Haus der Bildung: Digitale Alltagskultur in #China und An #African Approach to #AI in #Healthcare. Der letzte ist eine Hybrid-Veranstaltung, an der ihr auch online teilnehmen könnt. Kommet bitte zuhauf und staunet!
Details finden sich hier:
https://www.vhs-bonn.de/programm/politik-wissenschaft-und-internationales/themenschwerpunkt.html

Der Semesterschwerpunkt #DigitaleKulturen startet heute mit zwei kostenfreien Vorträgen im Haus der Bildung: Digitale Alltagskultur in #China und An #African Approach to #AI in #Healthcare. Der letzte ist eine Hybrid-Veranstaltung, an der ihr auch online teilnehmen könnt. Kommet bitte zuhauf und staunet!
Details finden sich hier:
https://www.vhs-bonn.de/programm/politik-wissenschaft-und-internationales/themenschwerpunkt.html

Der Semesterschwerpunkt #DigitaleKulturen startet heute mit zwei kostenfreien Vorträgen im Haus der Bildung: Digitale Alltagskultur in #China und An #African Approach to #AI in #Healthcare. Der letzte ist eine Hybrid-Veranstaltung, an der ihr auch online teilnehmen könnt. Kommet bitte zuhauf und staunet!
Details finden sich hier:
https://www.vhs-bonn.de/programm/politik-wissenschaft-und-internationales/themenschwerpunkt.html

Der Semesterschwerpunkt #DigitaleKulturen startet heute mit zwei kostenfreien Vorträgen im Haus der Bildung: Digitale Alltagskultur in #China und An #African Approach to #AI in #Healthcare. Der letzte ist eine Hybrid-Veranstaltung, an der ihr auch online teilnehmen könnt. Kommet bitte zuhauf und staunet!
Details finden sich hier:
https://www.vhs-bonn.de/programm/politik-wissenschaft-und-internationales/themenschwerpunkt.html

Der Semesterschwerpunkt #DigitaleKulturen startet heute mit zwei kostenfreien Vorträgen im Haus der Bildung: Digitale Alltagskultur in #China und An #African Approach to #AI in #Healthcare. Der letzte ist eine Hybrid-Veranstaltung, an der ihr auch online teilnehmen könnt. Kommet bitte zuhauf und staunet!
Details finden sich hier:
https://www.vhs-bonn.de/programm/politik-wissenschaft-und-internationales/themenschwerpunkt.html

I'm playing records on the internet again.

Kalimera!

#owncast #streaming #music #dub #hiphop #reggae #jazz #prog #triphop #folk #african #middleeastern #acid #bleeps #jungle #electronica #onusound #liotia #soundmakers #voso #theassemblyworker #inpc #onemanandhisturntable

https://stream.mxtthxw.art

I'm playing records on the internet again.

Kalimera!

#owncast #streaming #music #dub #hiphop #reggae #jazz #prog #triphop #folk #african #middleeastern #acid #bleeps #jungle #electronica #onusound #liotia #soundmakers #voso #theassemblyworker #inpc #onemanandhisturntable

https://stream.mxtthxw.art

I'm playing records on the internet again.

Kalimera!

#owncast #streaming #music #dub #hiphop #reggae #jazz #prog #triphop #folk #african #middleeastern #acid #bleeps #jungle #electronica #onusound #liotia #soundmakers #voso #theassemblyworker #inpc #onemanandhisturntable

https://stream.mxtthxw.art

I'm playing records on the internet again.

Kalimera!

#owncast #streaming #music #dub #hiphop #reggae #jazz #prog #triphop #folk #african #middleeastern #acid #bleeps #jungle #electronica #onusound #liotia #soundmakers #voso #theassemblyworker #inpc #onemanandhisturntable

https://stream.mxtthxw.art

https://www.europesays.com/africa/413491/ Togo Scores UN Win in Push to Correct Africa’s Size on World Maps #Africa #African #behalf #group #international #led #resolution #Togo #united

https://www.europesays.com/africa/413402/ To Be African Or Not: Morocco’s Old Struggle #AFCON #African #amazigh #Arab #colonization #colorism #culture #discourse #FootballRiot #History #identity #MoroccanRacism #Morocco #MoroccoFootball #race #Racism #xenophobia

https://www.europesays.com/africa/411225/ Africa bigger and US smaller as UN adopts new map #adopt #Adopts #Africa #African #America #and #as #assembly #back #bigger #continent #countries #Europe #friday #General #makes #map #Nations #new #north #resolution #several #shrinking #smaller #spearheaded #that #Their #UN #united #US #voted #while

https://www.europesays.com/africa/411162/ UN votes to adopt new world map reflecting Africa’s true size #Africa #African #TheAfricanUnion #TheUnitedNationsGeneralAssembly #Togo #UnitedNations

I help Americans with #genealogy research to obtain 2nd #citizenship

Many Americans with #European #ancestry and *nearly all* with #African ancestry (#ECOWAS) are either entitled to apply for citizenships, or already have that citizenship, even if they're unaware (e.g. Italian, Canadian)

Many (e.g. Croatia, Italy, Canada or several African countries) only require one ancestor unlimited generations back.

I offer a free consultation.

Just reach out to me directly. Or:
https://oceaneditors.com/genealogy/Genealogy.html

This Time For the Africa Centre: Why protecting this historic institution matters for all of us

The Bounce Black Team

Some places are more than buildings. They become home…

Since 1964, The Africa Centre has been one of those places.

A space where African culture, heritage, creativity, community and possibility have been able to meet in the heart of London.

At Bounce Black, we know this because we have experienced it ourselves.

The Africa Centre has been a collaborator, a friend and an important part of the ecosystem that has supported our work. It has provided space for conversations, programmes, celebrations and connections, creating opportunities for people across African and Black communities to come together, share ideas and build something bigger than themselves.

That is why its current situation matters.

More than a building

When a cultural institution faces financial difficulty, it can be tempting to think about the problem simply in terms of a building, a venue or an organisation.

But community infrastructure is about much more than bricks and mortar.

It is about what happens inside those spaces.

It is about the young person attending an event and discovering a new possibility for their future.

It is about an artist finding an audience.

It is about a community organisation finding a place to gather.

It is about entrepreneurs, creatives, activists, professionals and community leaders meeting one another, forming relationships that lead to collaborations, opportunities and movements that reverberate years into the future.

It is about being able to walk into a space and feel that you belong there.

And for African and Black communities, those spaces matter. Massively.

In a world where our cultural institutions and community organisations are often asked to achieve extraordinary things with limited resources, protecting the infrastructure that enables this work is a collective responsibility.

A place with a legacy

The Africa Centre has been part of London’s cultural landscape for decades.

Its significance extends beyond any single programme or event. It represents a longstanding commitment to creating a platform for African culture, ideas, creativity and community.

That legacy deserves to be recognised, but it also needs to be protected.

Heritage is not simply something we preserve by looking backwards.

Heritage is something we carry forward.

The question, therefore, isn’t only what The Africa Centre has meant to previous generations.

It is what it means to us, now.

And what it could continue to mean to the next generation.

What happens when a young African Londoner walks through those doors ten years from now?

What conversations could happen there?

What businesses could be launched?

What artists could be discovered?

What friendships or romantic relationships could begin?

What ideas could become movements?

What futures could be imagined?

Those possibilities are worth investing in.

Why Bounce Black is showing up

Bounce Black exists because we believe that wellbeing, racial equity and social mobility are interconnected.

Our communities need opportunities to connect, develop, create and thrive. That requires more than individual resilience. It requires healthy ecosystems around people.

And ecosystems need infrastructure.

The Africa Centre has been part of that infrastructure for us.

As a collaborator and friend, we have seen the value of having a physical space where Black communities can gather and where organisations can do meaningful work.

So when we see an institution that has played such an important role facing an urgent financial challenge, we believe it is important to show up.

Not because one organisation can solve everything.

But because collective action starts with recognising what is worth protecting.

This is an invitation to show up

The Africa Centre has launched the “Our Africa Centre. Our Heritage. Our Future.“ fundraising campaign to help secure its future.

This is an opportunity for individuals, organisations, philanthropists, businesses and community members to contribute to the work of sustaining this important institution.

And support doesn’t have to look the same for everyone.

If you are able to donate, donate.

If you cannot donate right now, share the campaign.

If you have a platform, amplify it.

If you are connected to potential funders, philanthropists, businesses or institutions, make the introduction.

If you have benefited from The Africa Centre or from the wider ecosystem of African and Black cultural institutions, tell people why these spaces matter to you.

Sometimes solidarity looks like money.

Sometimes it looks like an introduction.

Sometimes it looks like a repost.

Sometimes it looks like simply refusing to let something important disappear quietly.

Our heritage. Our future.

There is a tendency to think of cultural institutions as something that can be dealt with later, something nice to have once the more urgent needs have been addressed.

But culture, community and belonging aren’t luxuries.

They are part of the infrastructure through which communities survive, connect and thrive.

The spaces we build today shape what becomes possible tomorrow.

That is why protecting The Africa Centre is not only about preserving the past. It is about investing in the future.

At Bounce Black, we are proud to stand with The Africa Centre as a collaborator and friend.

We hope our community will join us.

This is our Africa Centre.
Our heritage.
Our future!

Support the campaign

If you are able to contribute, please consider making a donation to the Our Africa Centre. Our Heritage. Our Future. campaign.

Donate to The Africa Centre’s GoFundMe campaign

And if you can’t donate, sharing the campaign can still make a difference.

Let’s help keep the doors open. For our communities, our culture and the generations still to come.

Become a friend to The Africa Centre

https://www.europesays.com/africa/330040/ NTAC deploys 28 TAC volunteers to Uganda to bridge educational gaps #African #AmbBiancaOjukwu #AndPacific(ACP)Countries #BolaTinubu #caribbean #enugu #Nigeria #NigerianTechnicalAidCorps(NTAC) #PeaceLandUniversity #TechnicalAidCorps(TAC) #Uganda #YusufYakub

Neues Tier in der Afrika-Serie ☺
Antilope Afrika
Tusche auf Bütten 28x23
Referenzfoto: Laura Branch
Verfügbar
Inkdrawing for sale

#antilope #antelope #africananimals #animalart #AnimalDrawing #artforsalebyartist #inkdrawing #artforsale #tuschemalerei #zeichnung #kleineKunstklasse
#art #african #tuschebild #tuschezeichnung #tierportrait #MastoArt #originalart #originalartforsalebyartist #ArtOnMasto #wildlifeart #wildlifedrawings #wildanimals

Intro

https://srsmusiq.com/2026/05/30/intro-2/

1) "Big Beautiful B|ll" tries to screw "woke" degrees [3 yrs fail & Uni has to cancel that #degree path]
"MA in Social Justice & #HumanRights" "BA in Women's & #Gender Studies" "PhD in #African American Studies" were their targets
2) Religious #schools figure out their degrees will lose funding too
3) Chr|stian #Colleges cry foul, beg for rule to be removed
#fascist #USA #GOP #KKK #federal #education #loan #cap #nurse #shortage #nursing #private #lenders = #higher #rates
https://www.foxnews.com/media/student-loan-rule-would-penalize-graduates-enter-ministry-christian-college-leaders-say

YAH ONLY TV 100 BIBLE OLD TESTAMENT LIVE STREAM|CLICK THE LINK BELOW

https://youtube.com/live/aMJfu_JQ8J8?is=OYZUBdEZbw4ytXKo

Portrait Löwe
Tuschebild 23x31 cm
Nach einem lizenzfreien Foto von Pixabay
Ein Unikat, ungerahmt
Mehr Infos über PN
Lion Inkpainting for Sale 🦁
#artonmastodon #artonpaper #lion #löwe #predator #wildlifeartwork #wildlifeart #african #africananimals #tuschezeichnung #tuschemalerei #inkpainting #MastoArt #ArtForSale #artforsalebyartist #KleineKunstKkasse #AnimalArt #wildanimals #wildtiere

https://www.alojapan.com/1470991/japan-travel-2026-part-2-snow-festival-street-food-sapporo-muroran/ Japan Travel 2026 | Part 2: Snow Festival, Street Food, Sapporo & Muroran #african #backpack #backpacking #camping #female #Hiker #hiking #IT #Outdoor #OutdoorMom #outdoors #roughing #RoughingItWithRuth #roughingitwithruth #running #ruth #RuthHike #RuthHiker #Sapporo #SapporoDestinations #SapporoTour #SapporoTravel #SapporoTrip #SapporoVacation #south #SouthAfrica #SouthAfrican #SouthAfricanHike #SouthAfricanProducts #SouthAfricanWalk #trail #TrailRun #trails #walking #札幌

3 #African Cities Restore #Nature to Revitalize Their #Rivers

By Eden Takele, Marc Manyifika, Japheth Habinshuti, Adane Kebede, Alemakef Tassew, Amanda Gcanga, Mulalo Mbedzi and Nikara Mahadeo, March 12, 2025

"Africa’s cities, from large metropolises to smaller towns, are increasingly characterized by growing #UrbanSprawl. #Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo, is expanding by about 2,000 people and 5 hectares (10 football fields) every day, according to a World Bank estimate. #Kumasi, an intermediary city in #Ghana, is growing more than 5% every year — at least twice as fast as the capital city, Accra.

As cities and surrounding farmlands expand further into their hinterlands, they encroach upon watersheds essential to water supply and climate resilience.

Watersheds are the natural area of land that drain into a common body of water. The consequences of their degradation are threefold. Without tree cover and healthy soils to absorb rainfall, cities may lose a critical source for groundwater recharge, leading to water shortages. Not only does the quantity of water suffer, so does its quality. Without strong roots to protect and anchor the soil, sediment and the chemicals within it are washed into nearby water bodies, often the primary source for a city’s drinking water. That same runoff can turn into floodwater.

How Natural Infrastructure Supports #WaterSecurity.

Many cities that once depended on their watersheds for water now face both increasing scarcity and heightened vulnerability to #extremeWeather. There are, however, #NatureBasedSolutions to help alleviate these problems.

Through a combination of upland foresting and urban greening, watershed restoration efforts are starting to deliver positive results in three African cities..."

Read more:
https://www.wri.org/insights/nature-based-solutions-river-restoration-african-cities

#SolarPunkSunday #DireDawa #Ethiopia #Kigali #Rwanda #NyabarangoRiver #Africa #MoreTrees #RiverRestoration #WaterIsLife #ClimateChange

I was out and about posting #KYR flyers in multiple languages at all the #Hilal and #African markets in #PortlandME a year ago! I've been on top of this #ICE BS before it started! I'm so glad to see folks taking this shit seriously, but sometimes I wonder why so many stayed home rather than making sure a FUCKING #Fascist didn't win in 2024. Just saying... Yeah, I don't mean to #VoteShame folks, but I am #VoteShaming folks! Seriously!!! WTF! This is better than #CorporateDemocrats? Ummmm...

#USPol

#BlackHistoryMonth 2026, hosted by the Association of #Ghanaians in Victoria.

Free Afro-themed play & learn hangout for kids.
This Black led, cultural free kids event focuses on #African History, Geography, Music, Games, Heroes and Innovations for ages 5-12.

Please register by January 17th, 2026!
https://ghanaiansinvictoriabc.ca/

#BlackCulture #BlackCanadians #BlackHistory #BlackKids #LearnAndPlay #CommunityEvent #BlackFamilies #BIPOC #BlackCommunity #CulturalDiversity #CulturalInclusion #CulturalConnections #VictoriaBC #YYJ #VancouverIsland #VanIsle #AfroCulture

Sunday, April 27 2025

Russia attacked Chornobyl Nuclear Plant in February, damaging confinement. Can it be fully restored? — US signals support for Europe’s peacekeeping coalition in Ukraine — Russia training to integrate motorcycles into summer offensive in Ukraine — Interpol investigates Russian company for human trafficking over African workers in Tatarstan drone factory … and more

https://activitypub.writeworks.uk/2025/04/sunday-april-27-2025/

Ethiopia Poised to Join as 4th African Nation in BRICS Bank #EastAfrica #NorthAfrica #SouthernAfrica #4th #African #bank #BRICS #Ethiopia #join #Nation #Poised 
https://tinyurl.com/28rjagfx

Transformative Funding: How Unsecured Loans Empower South African Startups #SouthernAfrica #African #Empower #funding #Loans #South #Startups #Transformative #Unsecured 
https://tinyurl.com/2a7vqp7l

🟡 Portrait of Emmanuel Rio with French Horn 1836 Albert Schindler⁣
⁣
#African, #AfroBrazilian, #Austria, #BrassInstruments, #Musicians, #Vienna⁣
⁣
Vintage ◦ Classic ◦ Historical | Art ◦ Design ◦ Inspiration | Restored ◦ Enhanced ◦ Remixed⁣
⁣
Prints, T-Shirts, Stickers, & More by @rocketshipretro via RedBubble → https://bigplanetprints.com/go/hg8Eeg

#RCMP issued an #apology on September 7, 2024, for the historic use of #StreetChecks and other harmful interactions with members of the #African #NovaScotian community. It was an apology too long in coming, for treatment that was, in the words of Rev. Lennett Anderson, “dehumanizing and tragic.” And the RCMP's history suggests we should be deeply skeptical that the proposed action plan will be even close to what is required to remedy these grave injustices.

In his 2019 report, written for the #NovaScotia #HumanRights Commission, Dr. Scot Wortley defines street checks as any occasion in which civilians are stopped by #police and subjected to intrusive questions, and their personal information collected into a database. He confirmed what community members have known for years: people of African descent in the #Halifax region are almost six times more likely to face street checks.

It took five years after the release of this report for the RCMP to apologize for the harms caused. They also committed to an action plan, developed in consultation with members of 13 African Nova Scotian communities and the Association of #Black #SocialWorkers.

https://mediacoop.ca/node/119259

#CDNpoli #NSpoli #DefundRCMP #SystematicRacism #ColonialViolence #RacialProfiling #RacistRCMP #RacistCops #ACAB #BlackCanadians #Maritimes #BlackCommunity #ColonialInjustices #SocialJustice #BIPOC #POCinCanada

Billie Zangewa (b.1973)

https://palianshow.wordpress.com/2024/06/09/billie-zangewa/

African Forest Elephants Help Fight Climate Change

Discover the awe-inspiring role of African forest #elephants in the Congo Basin—nature’s master gardeners who literally shape the world around them! These gentle giants roam through muddy, mineral-rich paradises called baïs, fostering the growth of carbon-absorbing trees that make our planet healthier. By tending to these unique landscapes, they are the unsung heroes in the fight against climate change. Want to ensure these ecological architects keep doing their vital work? Join the movement to protect their habitat—say no to palm oil and adopt a vegan lifestyle! 🐘🌳#BoycottPalmOil #BeVegan #Boycott4Wildlife

https://youtu.be/s584AP-BYm0?si=Zrwc5CFFjAxAqmas

Take action by sharing this!

African forest #elephants 🐘 in #Congo 🇨🇩 are essential to fighting #climatechange 🌳💚 by capturing #carbon and dispersing seeds in the rainforest. Help them every time you shop, be #vegan #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/04/28/african-forest-elephants-unsung-heroes-helping-congo-fight-climate-change/

Gentle giant pachyderms #African forest #elephants 🐘🐘 are the unsung heroes helping #climatechange. They capture #carbon in the #DRC’s 🇨🇩🌳rainforest! Help them survive with your supermarket choices #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife @palmoildetect https://palmoildetectives.com/2024/04/28/african-forest-elephants-unsung-heroes-helping-congo-fight-climate-change/

This story was written by Leonie Joubert and originally published by Mongabay on August 15, 2023 and was republished under a Creative Commons licence.

The approach to the “village of elephants” in the Sangha Rainforest in the Central African Republic must be made in complete silence. Not even the faintest rustle of backpack on rain jacket should break the soundscape as visitors wade through the sometimes waist-deep swamp at the forest’s edge. The Indigenous Ba’aka guides must be able to listen for any signs of nearby elephants, so they can steer the visitors clear and avoid a close encounter with these giants. When a few pachyderms saunter out of the dense greenery, the Ba’aka shoo them away calmly.

The thick vegetation gives way suddenly to a baï. This is no mere watering hole. The sandy clearing stretches for half a kilometer, more than a quarter of a mile, in the otherwise unbroken canopy of the world’s second-largest tropical forest.

A handful of researchers camp out on a timber observation platform, overlooking a place that has drawn generations of elephants to its mineral- and salt-laden sand and muddy water. They document how the animals use their trunks or tusks to dig into the sand, eavesdrop on the animals’ conversations, and count the many other species that congregate here.

This is Dzanga baï, a meeting place for critically endangered African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) in the Dzanga-Sangha Complex of Protected Areas where these animals come together in huge numbers to dig for nutrients they can’t get from the otherwise abundant forests.

Baïs are unique to the Congo Basin’s forests, and new research is underway to understand the role these mineral-rich pockets play as a supplement to the elephants’ diet, how this sustains the animals’ population, and how they therefore contribute to the carbon-capture function of the forest.

Unlike the Amazon, the Congo Basin’s forests still have their original megafauna, elephants in particular. And they have these salt-rich clearings. Conservationists are beginning to understand the importance of elephants as forest gardeners here, and how their taste for certain trees and fruits has sculpted a forest that absorbs more carbon per hectare than the Amazon.

The Global Carbon Budget project estimated Africa’s total greenhouse gas emissions for 2021 at 1.45 billion metric tons. Every year, the Congo Basin’s forests soak up 1.1 billion metric tons of atmospheric carbon, storing it in trees and soil; in 2020 carbon credit prices, this service would be worth $55 billion.

Forest elephants, smaller than their better-known savanna cousins or even Asian elephants, prefer certain lower-growing, tasty trees. This picky browsing pressure creates gaps in the canopy that allow other, less palatable but carbon-dense species to reach tremendous heights. Elephants’ appetite for the fruit of these bigger trees then means they spread their seeds far and wide.

A 2019 study from the Ndoki Forest in the Republic of Congo (ROC) and LuiKotale in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) estimated that if elephants were removed from these sites, the loss of their forest-shaping food preferences would reduce the forest’s carbon capture by 7%.

This finding makes a case not only to stop deforestation in the Congo Basin, but to protect the elephants too, as a way to slow climate breakdown, the study authors wrote.

Salt licks for elephants, gardeners of the forest

Mouangi baï is only about 250 km (155 mi) from Dzanga baï as the crow flies, but it takes a day or two to travel by road and river to get from one to the other.

Researchers with the conservation organization African Parks and Harvard University’s Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology are zeroing in on Mouangi and other baïs in Odzala-Kokoua National Park in the ROC, to clarify the link between baïs, elephants and the forest’s tree species composition.

Nicknamed Capitale by the locals, Mouangi baï in Odzala draws hundreds, maybe even thousands, of elephants, according to Gwili Gibbon, research and monitoring head at African Parks, which manages the park along with the ROC government.

“Mouangi is one of our largest and most renowned baïs,” Gibbon says.

At the intersection of two rivers, Mouangi is more than 1 km (0.6 mi) across and spans 91 hectares (225 acres). It’s the largest of a dozen of Odzala’s baïs that the African Parks and Harvard research collaboration is focusing on.

Odzala-Kokoua National Park extends across 1.35 million hectares (3.34 million acres), and while it has a few thousand baïs, often occurring in clusters within the forest, this ecosystem makes up only about 0.2% of the park’s footprint. Nevertheless, these clearings may be integral to the shape of the forest itself, which is why Harvard assistant professor Andrew Davies and doctoral researcher Evan Hockridge are teaming up with African Parks to understand the importance of the salty watering holes in supporting elephant populations, which then shape the forest mosaic.

The baïs are clearly a hotspot that elephants seek out for their rare minerals in an ecosystem rooted in the nutrient-poor soils typical of the region.

“The elephants use their tusks to scrape topsoil off in specific areas, and eat the finer dust on the surface,” says Hockridge, a landscape ecologist. “They also dig large mining sites or wells, as much as a meter [3 feet] deep.”

The animals’ excavations go even deeper at times, down to where water carries the salt in a more accessible form. The need to ingest the mineral-rich dust, mud and water keeps the animals returning to these sites.

But how the baïs formed in the first place — they’re present in the Congo Basin, but not in the Amazon — and why they remain clear of forest encroachment are still a mystery.

Hockridge says no one has tried to establish if the now-extinct megafauna of the Amazon once made similar clearings there, or if baï size correlates to the size of the animals visiting them.

“One hypothesis is that megafauna effectively create large, nutrient-rich, lick-like clearings. But it hasn’t been quantified that baïs are manufactured or maintained by megafauna,” he says.

The researchers say they hope to answer this puzzle: Do large mammals like elephants maintain and stabilize the baïs?

Anecdotes from the DRC might give the first glimpse of an answer, according to Harvard’s Davies.

“Baïs may be closing in the DRC, and it could be because the elephants are in a war zone, so they don’t have the big bulldozer effect,” he says.

The hypothesis is that if fewer elephants visit and maintain these clearings, the baïs will be swallowed up by the forest.

Gibbon’s African Parks team has set up experimental plots in the Odzala, where they’ve buried salt in the sand at a similar depth to which elephants excavate. Researchers are monitoring these sites to see if more animals will congregate around the plots, whether this impacts the vegetation cover in and around the baïs, and whether there’s a shift in the carbon-capture potential of the surrounding forests.

This study is centered in Odzala, although the researchers say they hope to expand the work into the Ndoki region of the Dzanga-Sangha Complex of Protected Areas.

Baïs have a busy social scene

It isn’t just elephants that congregate at the baïs. These watering holes have a bustling social scene.

Gibbon describes the flocks of African green pigeons (Treron calvus) that gather at Capitale at dawn and dusk; buffalo and several bird species that visit during daylight hours; and the hyenas that can be heard calling after dark as the elephants mine for salt.

Wildlife refuges like these in the Congo Basin are also home to the critically endangered western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla), two unusual forest and swamp-dwelling antelope — the bongo (Tragelaphus eurycerus) and sitatunga (Tragelaphus spekii) — as well as central chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes troglodytes), bonobos (Pan pansicus), and the endangered gray parrot (Psittacus erithacus).

The forests of Gabon, southern Cameroon and southern Central African Republic also have a high number of baïs, and the findings from these studies could eventually be extrapolated to give an idea of the implications for the Congo Basin more widely.

“The area that baïs’ cover is tiny, but they sustain the elephant population,” Davies says. “If our hypothesis is correct, without the baïs you’d have no elephants; without elephants there’s be no big trees with high carbon density, so carbon storage would go down.”

If the forest loses the baïs, it could lose more than just the elephants or see a change in its carbon-capturing treescape. The baïs would no longer draw the many other animals that thrive in these mineral-dense watering holes, and the tourists and environmental researchers drawn to them too.

Citation:

Berzaghi, F., Longo, M., Ciais, P., Blake, S., Bretagnolle, F., Vieira, S., … Doughty, C. E. (2019). Carbon stocks in central African forests enhanced by elephant disturbance. Nature Geoscience, 12(9), 725-729. doi:10.1038/s41561-019-0395-6

Banner image: Elephants dig for salt-rich mud in the Dzanga baï in the Sangha Rainforest in the Central African Republic. Image courtesy Jan Teede.

This story was written by Leonie Joubert and originally published by Mongabay on August 15, 2023 and was republished under a Creative Commons licence.

ENDS

Learn about other animals endangered by palm oil and other agriculture

Tucuxi Sotalia fluviatilis

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Frill-Necked Lizard Chlamydosaurus kingii

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Grey Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum

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Ecuadorean Viscacha Lagidium ahuacaense

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Southern Pudu Pudu puda

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Blue-streaked Lory Eos reticulata

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Learn about “sustainable” palm oil greenwashing

Read more about RSPO greenwashing

A 2019 World Health Organisation (WHO) report into the palm oil industry and RSPO finds extensive greenwashing of palm oil deforestation and the murder of endangered animals (i.e. biodiversity loss)

Take Action in Five Ways

1. Join the #Boycott4Wildlife on social media and subscribe to stay in the loop: Share posts from this website to your own network on Twitter, Mastadon, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube using the hashtags #Boycottpalmoil #Boycott4Wildlife.

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2. Contribute stories: Academics, conservationists, scientists, indigenous rights advocates and animal rights advocates working to expose the corruption of the palm oil industry or to save animals can contribute stories to the website.

Wildlife Artist Juanchi Pérez

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Mel Lumby: Dedicated Devotee to Borneo’s Living Beings

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Anthropologist and Author Dr Sophie Chao

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Health Physician Dr Evan Allen

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The World’s Most Loved Cup: A Social, Ethical & Environmental History of Coffee by Aviary Doert

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How do we stop the world’s ecosystems from going into a death spiral? A #SteadyState Economy

Read more

3. Supermarket sleuthing: Next time you’re in the supermarket, take photos of products containing palm oil. Share these to social media along with the hashtags to call out the greenwashing and ecocide of the brands who use palm oil. You can also take photos of palm oil free products and congratulate brands when they go palm oil free.

https://twitter.com/CuriousApe4/status/1526136783557529600?s=20

https://twitter.com/PhillDixon1/status/1749010345555788144?s=20

https://twitter.com/mugabe139/status/1678027567977078784?s=20

4. Take to the streets: Get in touch with Palm Oil Detectives to find out more.

5. Donate: Make a one-off or monthly donation to Palm Oil Detectives as a way of saying thank you and to help pay for ongoing running costs of the website and social media campaigns. Donate here

#african #africanForestElephantLoxodontaCyclotis #amazingAnimals #animalBehaviour #animalCommunication #animalIntelligence #bantrophyhunting #bevegan #biodiversity #boycottPalmOil #boycott4wildlife #boycottpalmoil #carbon #climatechange #congo #deforestation #democracticRepublicOfCongo #drc #elephant #elephants #forgottenAnimals #mammal #pachyderm #pachyderms #palmOil #palmOilDeforestation #theDemocraticRepublicOfCongo #vegan

A new General Knowledge Quiz has just been posted on our website!
https://youknowwhatblog.com/quizzes/general-knowledge-quiz-61/

#victoriafalls #zambezi #zambia #zimbabwe #nature #geography #natural #falls #river #landscape #photography #quiz #trivia #nowplaying #currentaffairsquiz #africa #southafrica #rivers #beautiful #adventure #safari #african #quiznight #quizinstagram #quizmaster #quizzing #quizknock #quiznos #quizas #quizgame

The ‘#CurseofHam’: how #peopleoffaith used a #story in #Genesis to #justify #slavery.

Since the 15th century, #religious #leaders have #cited the #passage as the #justification for the #enslavement of all #African #people.

#Women #Transgender #LGBTQ #LGBTQIA #Religion #History #Hate #Bigotry #Violence #Genocide #Racism #Slavery #BlackMastodon

https://theconversation.com/the-curse-of-ham-how-people-of-faith-used-a-story-in-genesis-to-justify-slavery-225212

African World Heritage Day
Proclaimed by the 38th session of the General Conference of #UNESCO (November 2015), #African World #Heritage Day (5 May) is an opportunity for people around the world, and particularly Africans, to celebrate the Continent’s unique #cultural and #natural #heritage.

https://www.unesco.org/en/days/african-world-heritage

HOW TO OBSERVE AFRICAN WORLD HERITAGE MONTH
People around the world, especially those in Africa, celebrate this day in various ways. #Events include the African World Heritage Youth Forum, cultural presentations, and an Instagram photo contest.

To participate:
Read about famous #historic sites in Africa, including the Isimila Stone Age Site in Tanzania, #Robben Island in South Africa, #Luxor Temple in Egypt, and #Elmina #Castle in Ghana.
Learn about African #heroes, including #Nelson #Mandela, #Desmond #Tutu, #Ellen #Johnson #Sirleaf, and #Chinua #Achebe.
Commit to taking a trip to Africa someday.
Watch a #movie set in Africa, such as Hotel Rwanda, Out of Africa, Goodbye Bafana, and Beat the Drum.

Share this day on social media with #AfricanWorldHeritageDay

https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/international/african-world-heritage-day-may-5th?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=fr&_x_tr_hl=fr&_x_tr_pto=wapp

#Algeria #Egypt #Ethiopia #Guinea #Liberia #Morocco #Senegal #Togo #Tunisia #Zambia #Angola #Benin #Botswana #BurkinaFaso #Burundi #Cameroon #CaboVerde #CentralAfrican #Chad #Comoros #Coted’Ivoire #Congo #Djibouti #EquatorialGuinea #Eritrea #Eswatini #Gabon #Gambia #Ghana #Kenya #Lesotho #Libya #Madagascar #Malawi #Mali #Mauritania #Mauritius #Mozambique #Namibia #Niger #Nigeria #Congo #Rwanda #Sao #TomeandPrincipe #Seychelles #SierraLeone #SouthAfrica #SouthSudan #Sudan #Tanzania #Uganda #Zimbabwe

#NeptuneFrost on #TheCriterionChannel is:

#GhostInTheShell, #TheMatrix, #RockyHorror, #BloodDiamonds, #HotelRwanda in an #African #prose, #poetry, #musical.

*with a heart ♥️

The largest #photography #library in Africa has opened in #Ghana ’s capital, #Accra , #showcasing the work of the continent and #diaspora ’s forgotten, established & emerging talent.
The #DikanCenter offers a #PhotoStudio & #classrooms provide space for #workshops while a #fellowship programme is aimed at #African #documentarians and #VisualArtists.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2022/dec/20/africas-biggest-photography-library-opens-in-ghana-accra-dikan-center

#GoodNews #BlackMastodon #POC #Progressive #CommunityBuilding #education #opportunities #CreativeArtists #Africa