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Namibian Wildlife Surveys archive

This archive of reports of wildlife surveys in Namibia aims to:

  • provide easy public access to published information and statistics
  • enable easy stakeholder access to recent and historical data on wildlife populations
  • provide a comprehensive archive of wildlife survey reports in Namibia

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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Displaying results 1 - 28 of 28
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2020. Gondwana Kalahari Park Game Count 2020.

This year's game count results showed the drastic decrease in game numbers, with gemsbok numbers being down 86% compared to 2019 and plains zebra and wildebeest down 93% and 97% respectively. Red hartebeest have all disappeared from the park as most of them died, a few were harvested, and a few got onto neighbouring properties. Only giraffe managed to increase, as 4 more calves were born over the last year, bringing the total to 22. Naturally, successful reproduction in the other game species over the past season has been very low.

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Gondwana Kalahari Park Game Count 2020.pdf 965.72 KB
Gilbert NA, Clare JD, Stenglein JL, Zuckerberg B 2020. Abundance estimation of unmarked animals based on camera-trap data. Conservation Biology 35 (1) 88-100

The rapid improvement of camera traps in recent decades has revolutionized biodiversity monitoring. Despite clear applications in conservation biology, camera traps have seldom been used to model the abundance of unmarked animal populations. The goals of this review are to summarize the challenges facing abundance estimation of unmarked animals, present an overview of existing analytical frameworks, and provide guidance for practitioners seeking a suitable method.

Gondwana Collection Namibia 2020. Gondwana Canyon Park Game Count 2020.

The year’s results show a significant decrease in animals counted (-37%) and overall population estimate (-19%). The game harvesting operations done in the preceding year would have contributed to the lower game numbers. The northern sections of the park (zone 6, 7, 8 and 9) received the most rain and thus an overwhelming majority (53%) of the animals were counted in this area. For the first time in 8 years the park’s modelled carrying capacity is higher than the total grazer biomass (stocking rate).

Gondwana Collection Namibia 2018. Gondwana Kalahari Park Game Count 2018.
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2018. Gondwana Canyon Park Game Count 2018.
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2016. Gondwana Kalahari Park Game Count 2016.
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2016.   Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2016.
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2016. Gondwana Canyon Park Game Count 2016.
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2015. Gondwana Canon Park game count 2015.

Numbers of most species dropped during 2015 due to the effects of the drought & the lack of grazing. Although there were a few mortalities, many animals have moved to areas outside the park where conditions are more favourable. This is to be expected in an open system.

Gondwana Collection Namibia 2015. Gondwana Kalahari Park annual game count 2015.
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2015. Gondwana Namib Park game count June 2015.
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2014.   Gondwana Namib Park game count 2014.
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Gondwana Namib Park game count 2014.pdf 2.29 MB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2013. Gondwana Canon Park game count 2013.

Mountain Zebra numbers were up in 2013 due to movement into the park from the west to take advantage of the artificial waters and better grazing.

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Gondwana Canon Park game count 2013.pdf 954.13 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2013. Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2013.
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Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2013.pdf 1009.24 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2012. Gondwana Canon Park game count 2012.

Springbok numbers were down during 2012 due to dispersal into broken hilly country to the west of the park. Where they were present, they were only found in small groups which could have resulted in under counting.

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Gondwana Canon Park game count 2012.pdf 680.93 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2012. Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2012.
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Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2012.pdf 950.46 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2011. Gondwana Canon Park game count 2011.

Numbers of some species were up in 2011 due to the effect of good rains. This also caused a decrease in Mountain Zebra numbers as they moved westwards out of the park.

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Gondwana Canon Park game count 2011.pdf 955.49 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2011. Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2011.
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Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2011.pdf 570.52 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2010. Gondwana Canon Park game count 2010.
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Gondwana Canon Park game count 2010.pdf 763.08 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2009. Gondwana Namib Park game count 2009.
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Gondwana Namib Park game count 2009.pdf 539.94 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2009. Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2009.
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Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2009.pdf 451.66 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2008. Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2008.
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Gondwana Kalahari Park game count 2008.pdf 758.78 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2008. Gondwana Namib Park game count 2008.
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Gondwana Namib Park game count 2008.pdf 962.06 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2008. Gondwana Canon Park game count 2008.
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Gondwana Canon Park game count 2008.pdf 981.19 KB
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2004. 2004 Game count in Gondwana Canon Park .
Gondwana Collection Namibia 2003. 2003 Game count in Gondwana Canon Park - Methodology.

A vehicle-based road count method is used. This method works well for common plains game but will not give good results for all species; especially smaller secretive animals, nocturnal animals, and animals in mountainous areas. Other monitoring methods (e.g. aerial census, foot patrols, specialist species monitoring) and local knowledge are also important. This means that the road counts will provide part of the information rather than replace these other methods - i.e. the methods all work together each providing a piece of the 'pie'.

Robertson A, Simmons RE, Jarvis AM, Brown CJ 1995. Can Bird Atlas data be used to estimate population size? A case study using Namibian endemics . Biological Conservation 71 87 - 95

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.

Berry H, Orford J, van Wyk T, van der Walt A, Siegfried R, Starfield A, Behrens I, Stander PE 1984. The ecology, behaviour and population dynamics of large predators at Etosha. Part 1: The lion - Panthera leo.

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