BASENJI  AFRICA DOG

 

information worth knowing about Basenjis

           

 

 

BASENJI HOMELAND

 

PURE BRED BASENJIS HAVE BECOME VERY SELDOM IN THEIR HOMELAND

 

In the 19th century, Africa explorers discovered Basenjis in two areas. The White Nile runs through the Bahr-el-Ghasal region and forms the Sudd swamps. The Nile tributary Bahr al-Arab roughly delineates the northwestern part of the border with Northern Sudan. The northern portion of Southern Sudan is characterized by savannahs and arid forest lands; the southern part is tropical forest. The Azande mainly inhabit the banks of the Ulele in the southwest of Sudan..

 

The drawing and the report below from the Africa explorer Dr. Georg Schweinfurth is the very first information about Basenjis to the western world.

 

 

1871  Camp Niam Niam                               Basenjis in their natural surroundings

 

Georg Schweinfurth   Im Herzen von Afrika

 

In 1868/71 the explorer Dr. Georg Schweinfurth discovered dogs in the area Bahr-el-Ghasal ( Central Africa ) what seemed remarkable to him. He described them as "Congo Terrier". They served as hunting dogs for the Azande and Mangbetu and are still used for this purpose today. Fascinated by them, he decided to bring a Basenji female with him to Europe to introduce her there as a remarkable dog. On the return trip to Europe, however, yielding to the Basenji’s innate urge for freedom she leapt out of a second story window of an Alexandria hotel to her death. With his report about Basenjis he  aroused the interest  in these dogs in Europe. Today we know that Basenjis   as hunting dogs live  in Central-Africa since thousand of years. They are high estimated till this day and their market value is adequate. Unfortunately, Basenjis are highly threatened in the African areas of civil unrest.

 

1882 Sir Harry Hamilton Johnston found similar dogs that never barked in an expedition from the mouth of the Congo to Bolobo which he described as the Basenji as we know it.

 

The world-famous Basenji expert Miss Veronica Tudor-Williams wrote an article (Journal of the Society for the Preservation of the Fauna of the Empire, Nr.54) on the Basenjis of Central Africa and called them a "living fossils". She wrote: "It would be a tragedy if these canines of such ancient lineage, having maintained their identity over numerous centuries, would now be lost to us forever as a consequence of expanding civilization".

 

I want to add, it is my concern that the Basenjis be not bred with purely fashionable or commercial goals in mind. It is our opinion that the BASENJI is perfect since hundreds of years.

 

Vegetationskarte Afrikas.   Tiefgrün: Tropischer Regenwald.

 

Quelle: R. van Chi-Bonnardel, Grand atlas du Continent africain (Paris 1973).

 

 

   

 

 

Natural surroundment is the Ituri Rainforest. The Rainforest is threatened.

You can help.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basenji     wwf.org/ 

 

 

In 1956 Tiki Tiki obtained by Dr. Chapin from the pygmies of the Ituri Rainforest

 

Photo  The complete Basenji by Elspet Ford

 

 

1930 Photo P. Schebesta                  The dwarfs from the Congo   Pygmies  

 

 

   

 

Basenjis as helping hunting dogs with wooden bells

 

 

Basenji with bell in the Rainforest 1990                  Photo William F. Wheler

 

 

 

Projects   2002  DZANGA SANGHA   cocan.de 

 

Basenji search. Did you find the Basenjis and one pet ?

 

 

 

The mysterious forest elephant in the rainforest of Africa

 

 

Fotos: WWF-Canon/Rick Weyerhaeuser

 

The WWF is campaigning for the co-existence of forest elephants and the local population, as well as for the protection of the natural habitat of these small giants. Only in large unbroken areas of rain forest is the existence of pygmy elephants guaranteed. Along with the prairie elephants, the legendary forest elephants live in Africa.  Other descriptions of the forest elephant are “round eared elephant”, “dwarf elephant” and “pigmy elephant”.

 

Because of their hidden lives, one still does not know much about these secretive animals.  They are seldom seen because in the dense forest visibility is so limited that they usually flee from any confrontation. In contrast to the three to four meter shoulder height of the grassland elephant, the forest elephant has only a shoulder height of two to two and one half meters.  A few of them are even less that two meters high.  Their ears are relatively small and round.  Their tusks are long, thin and only slightly curved.  In the thick jungle, a smaller body and downwards pointing tusks are an advantage. And make the forest elephant much more agile.

 

The rain forest provides the elephants with all the food and water they need.  They eat fruits, branches and herbs of over one hundred fifty varieties.  Forest elephants often migrate to the areas where their beloved fruit trees grow.  At the same time they spread the population of these trees through the undigested seeds in their dung.  A few of these tree species are only capable of growth after their fruits have been eaten.  Without the forest elephants these trees would disappear.

One is rarely lucky enough to observe forest elephants outside of the forest.