IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), Antelope Specialist Group

Part 3 of the Antelopes, Global Survey and Regional Action Plans completes the coverage of the Ethiopian Fauna Region. What distinguishes this portion of the earth from others is the wealth of the megafauna, of which antelopes constitute a dominant component. All major climatic-vegetation zones are included, from the lowland rain forests of the Congo basin and West Africa to the Great Saharan Desert.

The fourth part in a series of action plan, this publication covers less than one-quarter of the world's antelope species that are found in North Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Herds numbering in the tens of thousands formerly occurred across the steppes and semi-deserts of Eurasia and India, but these have nearly all been reduced to fractions of their earlier size. Populations are fragmented across the region and several species have disappeared altogether during recent decades.

Although most antelope species still exist in large numbers in sub-Saharan Africa (some in hundreds of thousands), up to three-quarters of the species are in decline. Threats to their survival arise from the rapid growth of human and livestock populations, with consequent degradation and destruction of natural habitats, and excessive offtake by meat hunters. In addition, some parts of Africa are mow almost completely devoid of large wild animals because of uncontrolled slaughter during recent civil wars.