This archive of reports of wildlife surveys in Namibia aims to:
Public access to information is a vital component of ensuring community engagement in prevalent issues. Wildlife surveys are critical to determine the health of wildlife populations and determine trends over time to guide conservation and management actions.
Wildlife surveys are done for different species using methods that are suited to counting them (e.g. by air or road) in their natural habitats. Such surveys need to be repeated over time to detect long-term trends and inform conservation managers. The Namibian government, non-governmental organisations and private reserves all conduct regular surveys covering different parts of Namibia and targeting different species. This archive will thus serve as a repository of our collective knowledge of the trends and status of a variety of species occurring throughout Namibia.
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Namibia's elephants extend across the north of the country. They occur in six main areas of the known Namibian range - the north-west, Etosha National Park (NP), Mangetti National Park, northern Kavango, Khaudum National Park/Nyae Nyae Conservancy and Zambezi Region. Seasonal changes in distribution are related to water availability. There are movements of elephants between Namibia and its neighbours, particularly Botswana, and mainly from Zambezi Region. The largest populations are found in the north-east of the country, in Khaudum/Nyae Nyae and Zambezi Region.
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Namibias elephants_population_distribution and trends.pdf | 2.21 MB |
An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in Zambezi Region from 25 th September to 4 th October 2019 as part of a wider survey including Khaudum National Park and its neighbouring conservancies. A total area of 17 380km2 was sampled at intensities between 10 and 40%. The estimates of numbers of each species are tabulated below. The estimated number of elephants is lower than that from the 2015 survey, but the change is not statistically significant. There were considerably fewer elephant carcasses seen in 2019.
An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in the Khaudum National Park and its neighbouring areas from 18th to 23th September 2019 as part of a wider survey including Zambezi Region. A total area of 14029 km2 was sampled at intensities from 5% to 20%. The estimated numbers of numbers of each species are given in the table below. The increase in estimated numbers of elephants since 2013 has been greater than expected from natural reproduction, but the overall trend from 1998 shows an average rate of increase of 4.4% per annum.
The 2019 aerial survey of wildlife in Khaudum National Park and Neighbouring Areas, Namibia, was commissioned by KfW on behalf of the Directorate of Scientific Services, Ministry of Environment and Tourism (MET), Government of Namibia as part of the survey of elephants in north-eastern Namibia.
An aerial survey of elephants and other animals was conducted in North West Namibia from 16th September to 8 th October 2016. A total area of 63431km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 8.19% using both transects (at an average of 6.7% sample intensity) and block counts (9.88% sample intensity). Total counts were conducted additionally by flying 921.5km along six rivers.
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Aerial survey of elephants and other animals in north western Namibia.pdf | 8.93 MB |
An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in the Khaudum National Park and its neighbouring conservancies from 6 th to 14 th October 2015. A total area of 12851km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 9%. The focus of the survey was on obtaining good estimates of elephant numbers. Other species were recorded although it is likely that their numbers would be underestimated (Craig and Gibson, 2013a).
An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in Zambezi Region from 25 th September to 4 th October 2015. A total area of 17474km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 13%. The estimates of numbers of each species are tabulated below. The number of elephants estimated has decreased since the 2014 survey, although the change is notstatistically significant. However there has been a very highly significant increase in the estimated number of elephant carcasses since 2014. Other observations suggest that illegal hunting of elephants continues to take place in the…
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Aerial survey of elephants and other wildlife in Zambezi Region_September_October 2015.pdf | 5.82 MB |
The 2014 aerial survey of wildlife in Zambezi Region (formerly Caprivi Region) was conducted between 25 September and 4 October 2014. While the main emphasis was on numbers and distributions of elephants and elephant carcasses, sightings of other species were recorded as well as sightings of illegal activities and human settlements. The survey was conducted according to standard practices using stratified systematic transect sampling (Norton Griffiths, 1978) in a light aircraft (a Cessna 182) flying at a nominal height of 300 feet above the ground.
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Report Zambezi region 2014 aerial survey.pdf | 5.32 MB |
This report provides summarised results and analysis of the annual game count held on the NamibRand Nature Reserve and the Pro-Namib Conservancy on the 31st of May 2014. This is the tenth consecutive year that the count was held since 2005 and the third year that the farms Springbokvlakte and Saffier have been included. Teamwork was once again the essence of the day as concessionaires, landowners, neighbours and NRNR staff joined in to participate in the event.
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NRNR game count report 2014.pdf | 2.14 MB |
An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in Zambezi Region from 25th September to 4th October 2014. A total area of 11713 km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 14%.
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Aerial survey of elephants and other wildlife in Zambezi Region_September_October 2014.pdf | 5.32 MB |
This report provides summarised results and analysis of the annual game count held on the NamibRand Nature Reserve and Pro-Namib Conservancy on the 1st of June 2013- for the ninth consecutive year since the count was initiated in 2005. This was also the second year running that the farms Springbokvlakte and Saffier were included in the count since they joined to the reserve in 2012. Teamwork was once again the essence of the day as all concessionaires, landowners, neighbours and NRNR staff joined in to participate in the event.
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Game count report 2013_Namib Rand.pdf | 1.29 MB |
An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in the Caprivi from 29 May to 8 June 2013. A total area of 16733 km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 12.7%. The estimates of numbers of each species (with their 95% confidence range) are given in the table below. The population of elephants has increased at an average rate of between 1.4% and 8.3%.per annum. However, the ratio of carcasses to live elephants indicates a possibly unsustainable number of animals being killed in much of the Caprivi.
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Aerial survey of elephants and other wildlife in the Caprivi May_June 2013.pdf | 3.73 MB |
An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in the Khaudum National Park and surrounding conservancies from 17th to the 22nd September 2013. A total area of 15200 km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 7.1%.
Areas surveyed: The Okavango River in Namibia, from just northwest the bridge on the Trans-Caprivi highway south to the Botswana border; the entire length of the Kwandu-Linyanti-Lake Liambezi-Chobe system, including the Mamili National Park; and the Zambezi river for its entire length on Namibia's border, including parts of the adjacent East Caprivi floodplains.
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Wattled Crane Survey_2004.pdf | 1.02 MB |
Human and, increasingly, elephant pressure on Namibia's wetlands and riparian belts are a major cause of conservation concern. Many wetland birds are listed in Namibia's Red Data Book (Simmons & Brown in prep) because of population declines caused by the degradation and destruction of wetland habitats, and because of high levels of disturbance. Good information on the status of major wetlands and their avifauna is important for their conservation management. Birds provide one of the best indicators of wetland health.
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Kwandu wetland and floodplain Bird counts Aug 2004.pdf | 349.12 KB |
This study has provided baseline data on crocodile numbers from aerial and spotlight counts. These data can be used with the results of future counts to determine population trends. The census has also provided information on their distribution of crocodiles in the Kavango and Caprivi regions. And third, it has resulted in the first population estimate for crocodiles in the north-east wetlands of Namibia.
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Crocodile Survey in NE Namibia_2004.pdf | 404.87 KB |
An assessment of population size is a fundamental stage in the conservation of any species. The recent availability of data from the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP) provides a tool to investigate the status and distribution of approximately 900 bird species covered by this work. Here, we assess whether or not reporting rate can be used to establish absolute abundance and thereby produce estimates of population size.
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Can Bird Atlas data be used to estimate population size.doc | 634.5 KB |
Short paper discussing previous documented records and interpretation in relation to records data.
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European Rollers in Namibia_1993.pdf | 3.06 MB |
Report on an elephant count in the Cunene province, Namibia. Keywords: Namibia, Kunene River, aerial survey, wildlife management, wildlife density, elephant census, elephant distribution, wildlife conservation.
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Report on an elephant count in the Cunene province.pdf | 12.25 MB |
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Birds of the Swakop River lagoon_1991.pdf | 400.4 KB |
Distribution is restricted by the availability of Sociable Weaver nests, rather than by other environmental factors. There is a 26% occupancy rate and the falcons choose larger Sociable Weaver nest masses.
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Pygmy falcon population in the central Namiba desert.pdf | 6.9 MB |
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Brown CJ 1988 Gabar 3_21_25.pdf | 415.77 KB |
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Some observations on oxpeckers in eastern Caprivi_Brown_Brown 1987.pdf | 191.6 KB |
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Brown_1987_Madoqua_15_3_raptors.pdf | 1.51 MB |
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Brown CJ 1985 Vulture News 14_4_15.pdf | 386.16 KB |
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Williams and Brown 1984 Preliminary report on Walvis Bay bird count.pdf | 1.23 MB |
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Brown and Williams 1983 Bird census at Walvis Bay November 1983.pdf | 1.03 MB |