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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Zambezi Game Count_East 2020.pdf | 937.73 KB |
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Nyae Nyae waterhole 2020.pdf | 946.21 KB |
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Southern Conservancy Game Count 2020.pdf | 818.01 KB |
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Nyae Nyae transect count 2020 final.pdf | 1.2 MB |
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North Central Game Count 2020.pdf | 1.06 MB |
Counts were undertaken at waterholes in the escarpment zone of north west Namibia. In 2018,18 waterholes in 7 conservancies were counted while in 2019 and 2020, the number of waterholes was increased to 26 covering 10 conservancies. Counts were undertaken over a period of 2, 3 or 4 days during which time all animals seen were counted.
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Waterholes_NW_poster_2020 final.pdf | 509.47 KB |
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North West Game Count_Hobatere 2020.pdf | 623.55 KB |
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North West Game Count_Palmwag and Etendeka 2020.pdf | 682.97 KB |
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North West Game Count_South of Vet Fence 2020.pdf | 689.61 KB |
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North West Game Count_North of Vet Fence 2020.pdf | 679.95 KB |
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North West Game Count_Regional 2020.pdf | 693.43 KB |
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Hardap and Naute Game Count 2020.pdf | 774.7 KB |
Robust abundance estimates of wild animal populations are needed to inform management policies and are often obtained through mark–recapture (MR) studies. Visual methods are commonly used, which limits data collection to daylight hours and good weather conditions. Passive acoustic monitoring offers an alternative, particularly if acoustic cues are naturally produced and individually distinctive. Here we investigate the potential of using individually distinctive signature whistles in a MR framework and evaluate different components of study design.
Knowledge of a population’s abundance is of primary importance for conservation management. However, robust estimates of abundance are often difficult to obtain, especially for cetaceans which spend most of their lives submerged. Cetacean abundance is commonly estimated using aerial or vessel-based line transect surveys and distance sampling methods. During 2012–2014, the first line transect surveys to estimate cetacean abundance were conducted in Namibian waters.
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First Abundance Estimates of Heavisides and Dusky Dolphin off Namibia.pdf | 5.23 MB |
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Zambezi Game Count_Bwabwata 2020.pdf | 1.22 MB |
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).
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Gondwana Canyon Park Game Count 2020_poster.pdf | 1.7 MB |
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 |
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.
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Abundance estimation of unmarked animals based on camera_trap data.pdf | 1.35 MB |
Estimating abundance of wildlife populations can be challenging and costly, especially for species that are difficult to detect and that live at low densities, such as cougars (Puma concolor). Remote, motion‐sensitive cameras are a relatively efficient monitoring tool, but most abundance estimation techniques using remote cameras rely on some or all of the population being uniquely identifiable. Recently developed methods estimate abundance from encounter rates with remote cameras and do not require identifiable individuals.
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Estimating abundance of an unmarked_low_density species using cameras.pdf | 590.21 KB |
Leopards are among the most enchanting big cats in the world. Their beauty, raw power and elusiveness have fascinated humans through the ages. Our fascination with leopards is a double-edged sword for the big cat, however. The value we place on seeing this beautiful big cat draws tourists and provides funding for conservation.
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Counting Cats_An updated national leopard survey for Namibia.pdf | 2.58 MB |
An overview of elephant conservation and management in Namibia.
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An overview of elephant conservation and management in Namibia.pdf | 5.72 MB |
A total of 250,786 Cape Cormorants, of which 16,038 were individuals on nests in 349 colonies, and 15,831 Cape Fur Seals were counted during a complete aerial photographic census of the island of Tigres and part of the adjacent coast in Angola in March 2017. Such a concentration of birds and seals and the large number of breeding Cape Cormorants highlights the need to protect Tigres and its rich surrounding waters. Keywords: aerial census, Arctocephalus pusillus pusillus, Baía dos Tigres, Cape cormorant, Cape fur seal, Phalacrocorax capensis.
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Aerial census of Cape Cormorants and Cape Fur Seals at Baia dos Tigres.pdf | 3.54 MB |
A boat survey conducted on 30 December 2017 along an 8.6 km stretch of the Okavango River revealed 45 adult Rock Pratincoles and 20 young birds. This brings the estimated number of Rock Pratincoles in the Okavango system in Namibia to about 361 birds, and for all river systems in Namibia to about 410 birds. Keywords: Glareola nuchalis, Namibia, Okavango river, Rock Pratincole, status.
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Status of the Rock Pratincole in the Kapako area of the Okavango River_2018_Brown.pdf | 1.03 MB |
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Summary of the 2017 winter wetland bird counts in Namibia.pdf | 468.26 KB |
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Game counts in Hardap Game Park_July 2018.pdf | 772.41 KB |
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Game counts in north_west Namibia_ Regional Summary_2018.pdf | 1.12 MB |
Summary of game counts in north-west Namibia: Conservancies north of the veterinary fence, June 2018.
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Game counts in north_west Namibia_Conservancies north of the veterinary fence_June 2018.pdf | 622.61 KB |
Summary of game counts in north-west Namibia: Conservancies north of the veterinary fence, June 2018.
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Game counts in north_west Namibia_Conservancies north of the veterinary fence_June 2018.pdf | 622.61 KB |
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Game counts in north_west Namibia_Palmwag and Etendeka_June 2018.pdf | 662.25 KB |
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Game counts in north_west Namibia_Hobatere concession_June 2018.pdf | 581.38 KB |
Summary of game counts in north-central Namibia: Total Numbers of animals seen: last 5 years.
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Game counts in north_central Namibia_Total Numbers of animals seen_last 5 years_2018.pdf | 850.88 KB |
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Game counts in southern Namibia_June 2018.pdf | 759.21 KB |
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North Central Game Count data 2018.xlsx | 146.33 KB |
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North West Game Count data 2018.xlsx | 434.86 KB |
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Gondwana Canyon Park Game Count 2018.jpg | 3.01 MB |
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Gondwana Kalahari Park Game Count 2018.jpg | 3.15 MB |
Carnivore populations face threats from increasing human populations and rapidly diminishing, suitable habitat. Large carnivores such as African lions (Panthera leo) commonly attack livestock on lands adjacent to protected areas. This can lead to human-wildlife conflict (HWC) events that result in retaliatory lion killings. Conflict is a primary driver of wild lion population declines which are estimated to have decreased by 43% in the last 20 years.
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Etosha National Park Carnivore Monitoring Project_Lion GPS_Satelllite Monitoring.pdf | 2.09 MB |
Carnivore populations face threats from increasing human populations and rapidly diminishing, suitable habitat. Large carnivores such as African lions (Panthera leo) commonly range outside of their protected areas and attack livestock on adjacent farmlands. This can lead to human-carnivore conflict (HCC) events often resulting in retaliatory lion killings. HCC retaliation by poisoning the offending animals is highly costly to lions due to the species’ group hunting and feeding habits.
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Brown CJ 1988 Gabar 3_21_25.pdf | 415.77 KB |
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Total aerial census of eastern Bushmanland 1988.pdf | 1.22 MB |
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Department Agriculture and Nature Conservation 1988.pdf | 2.87 MB |
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First approximation on the role of predators and scavangers on Etoshas grasslands.pdf | 29.32 MB |
Aerial Survey of Bushmanland 9-17 June 1980.
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Aerial Survey of Bushmanland 9_17 June 1980.PDF | 879.55 KB |
Modern faunal communities in South West Africa/Namibia - A census of mammals in 16 districts in South West Africa/Namibia was undertaken by Joubert and Mostert. These were distributed in northern, central, and southern S.W.A., and varied in area from approximately 20 000 to 60 000 km². Despite the uncertainties and limitations of this census, the data provide useful information on distribution patterns, relative abundances and species diversity.
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Department Agriculture and Nature Conservation 1980.pdf | 19 MB |