There are few places on Earth as remote as parts of southern
Sudan. Roads are scarce, and many locations are only accessible
by airplane. Scientists working there have discovered an
unexpected windfall of nature near the border with Ethiopia, a
place that endured Sudan's long civil war, and where the wild
things are. Boma National Park in southern Sudan appears
virtually untouched by humans. There are some people living in
the area, but it is mainly a wilderness of woodlands and
grasslands, bordering the largest continuous savanna in all of
Africa. Boma, coupled with the savanna and wetlands of
neighboring Jonglei state, is nearly the size of California.
"It's big. The Boma-Jonglei landscape is 200,000 square
kilometers (about 80,000 square miles). So this is an amazing
size of an area," says Michelle Wieland, a community outreach
coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society. A flight over
the area in a small airplane reveals the abundance of wildlife:
rare birds, elephants, buffaloes, hippos and hartebe