For the first time in 75 years, an entire genus of mammal may go
the way of the dodo—unless a new conservation effort shepherded
by Somalian herders succeeds. The hirola, a large African
antelope known for its striking, goggle-like eye markings, is
the only remaining species in the genus Beatragus—and its
numbers are dwindling fast, conservationists say. The last
mammal genus to blink out was Thylacinus, in 1936, with the
death of the last Tasmanian Tiger. A genus is a taxonomic
ranking between species and family. Considered critically
endangered by the International Union for Conservation Of
Nature,the hirola has seen its numbers fall by as much as 90
percent since 1980. The latest survey, in February, found about
245 animals in fragmented pockets of northeastern Kenyaand
southwestern Somalia, according to the Nature Conservancy. In
all, conservationists estimate there are fewer than 400 hirolas
scattered throughout the species’ historic range of East Africa.
A range of factors, including climate change-rela