The Guembeul Faunal Reserve is one of three reserves connected to the network of lagoons and creeks which follow the Senegal River towards its mouth in northern Senegal. Created in 1983, Guembeul was set aside primarily to protect a variety of resident and migrant water birds, and it received international recognition three years later when it was designated a Ramsar wetland.

The Senegal River is the first substantial freshwater body south of the Sahara, which means that Guembeul, together with the nearby Djoudj and Langue de Barberie National Parks, forms an important stopover site for thousands upon thousands of migrant birds. The centrepiece of the reserve is a large lagoon which supports breeding colonies of a variety of terns, as well as seasonal flocks of Greater and Lesser flamingo, and over-wintering avocet, Black-tailed godwit, Grey and Ringed plover, European spoonbill and curlew.

Since Guembeul's inception, its sandy soil and the arid acacia woodland surrounding the lagoon have been used as a breeding ground for several managed populations of dry-country animals associated with the Sahel. These include the relatively widespread patas monkey (a long-limbed terrestrial guenon which ranges freely in and around Guembeul) and the massive Spurred tortoise (a Sahelian endemic which breeds in subterranean dens around the reserve's research centre).

The most noteworthy of Guembeul's established inhabitants is the Dama gazelle, seven of which were introduced to the reserve in 1984. This is the world's largest gazelle and arguably the most handsome, boasting a striking rich sandy-red and white coat. A regional endemic, the Dama gazelle once ranged widely across the Sahel and Sahara, but it had been hunted to extinction within Senegal by the early 20th century and has subsequently declined in numbers elsewhere in its range. Today, fewer than 1000 Dama gazelle are thought to remain in the wild, split across Niger and Mali, with relic populations possibly surviving in parts of Chad and the Sudan.

The western race of Dama gazelle - also known as the Mhorr gazelle - has not been observed in the wild since 1968. Fewer than 200 Mhorr gazelle survive in captivity, and the Guembeul herd, which has bred up to roughly 25 animals, probably represents the closest thing to a wild population anywhere in the world.

In early 1999, Guembeul's small herd of Dama gazelle was joined by three male and five female Scimitar-horned oryx donated by Israel. Although not closely related to the Dama gazelle, this handsome oryx has similar markings and was also hunted to extinction in Senegal in the early 20th century. The Scimitar-horned oryx is the most immediately endangered of all African antelopes - fewer than 250 individuals were thought to survive outside captivity in 1990 and recent findings suggest it may actually be extinct in the wild. The long-term future of the Scimitar-horned oryx rests on the reintroduction of captive populations into suitable protected areas.

Senegal's recently acquired oryx derive from a breeding herd in Israel's Hai-Bar Nature Reserve, where a number of endangered desert exotics have thrived in an arid habitat closely approximating their natural environment. Initial indications are that the oryx have adjusted well to Guembeul: within a year of their arrival, the herd had been boosted by what might well be the first oryx born on Senegalese soil in more than a century.

At present, these threatened creatures are closely monitored by rangers and they rarely stray far from the semi-enclosed area in which they are fed. As one resident of nearby Saint Louis pointed out, Guembeul can feel like little more than a glorified zoo. But to say that is surely to miss the point. In the long-term, it is expected that both types of antelope will breed in sufficient numbers for them to be reintroduced freely to the much larger Ferlo Game Reserve, a vast tract of thinly-populated Sahelian scrub which is scheduled to become Senegal's seventh National Park within the next couple of years.

Until such time as that happens, Guembeul provides a thoroughly absorbing and accessible day trip from Saint Louis. The reserve is only 12km from this historical port and is reached via a good tar road. Enthusiastic rangers will gladly show you the antelope and, for a small tip, take you to see the flamingos at the nearby lagoon. The entrance fee is nominal, and seems a small contribution to make towards the re-establishment of wild populations of two of Africa's most endangered antelope.