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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The coastal population of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus found in Namibia is regionally isolated and unique. This population faces several potential anthropogenic threats, especially in Walvis Bay, including boat-based tourism, a commercial harbour undergoing expansion, and aquaculture for oysters and mussels. Between 2008 and 2012, 238 boat-based surveys were conducted, resulting in 170 encounters with bottlenose dolphins. Overall, group sizes varied from 1 to 45 individuals (mean 10.7).
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Tursiops truncatus in Walvis Bay.pdf | 2.67 MB |
We counted waterbirds along a fixed route in the panhandle of the Okavango River in Mahango Game Reserve in the dry season during two seven-year periods (1991–1997 and 2000–2006). Palearctic migrants represented by 11 species in 1991–1997 and nine species in 2000–2006 together composed only a small percentage of all birds recorded in both periods. The two most numerous foraging guilds were birds foraging in shallow water and those foraging in deep water. The former guild was more numerous in 2000–2006, while the latter guild was more numerous in 1991–1997.
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Waterbirds in the panhandle of the Okavango Delta_2019.pdf | 3.73 MB |
The African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is one of Africa's most distinguishable big cats. As the leopard has such a broad geographical range combined with its cryptic activities there is a limited amount of empirical evidence that exists which in turn can be applied to adaptive management strategies, through practical conservation methods and monitoring across Namibia and Southern Africa.
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The Namibian leopard_National census and sustainable hunting practices.pdf | 4.25 MB |
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Summary of the 2018 winter wetland bird counts in Namibia.pdf | 360.78 KB |
From 2016 onwards Bamunu (2) was included in counts. In 2018 the two Protected Areas Mudumu (7) and Nkasa Ruparo (8) were not included in counts. It is important to bear this in mind when interpreting tables, charts and a time series of posters.
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Zambezi Game Count_East 2019.pdf | 544.93 KB |
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Zambezi Game Count_Bwabwata 2019.pdf | 748.18 KB |
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Southern Conservancy Game Count 2019.pdf | 761 KB |
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North Central Game Count 2019 final.pdf | 875.06 KB |
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Kavango East poster 2019 Final.pdf | 767.43 KB |
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Hardap Game Count 2019 final.pdf | 693.66 KB |
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North West Game Count_Hobatere 2019.pdf | 581.69 KB |
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North West Game Count_North of Vet Fence 2019.pdf | 599.7 KB |
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North West Game Count-South of Vet Fence 2019.pdf | 604.11 KB |
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Nyae Nyae transect count 2019.pdf | 705.14 KB |
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.
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.
Knowledge of the occurrence and distribution of cetaceans is particularly important for conservation and management, but is still limited within Namibian waters. We collated 3211 cetacean records from the Namibian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) for the period 2008 to 2016 and applied the principle of minimum cross entropy (MinxEnt) to predict habitat suitability. MinxEnt is a generalised form of maximum entropy modelling that allows incorporation of additional information such as sampling bias.
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Predicting large_scale habitat suitability for cetaceans off Namibia using MinxEnt.pdf | 2.91 MB |
The waterhole fool-moon game count survey was conducted during the hottest period of the year (October) for a duration of 72 hours (3 days and 3 nights), which ensured that wildlife in the park is solely dependent on artificial water points. The survey was conducted at all the 13 water points (11 artificial and 2 fountains), with each water point having a team of eight people, working in shifts. The counting commenced on 12 October 2019, a day before the full moon and finished on 15 October 2019, a day after the full moon.
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Khaudum National Parks full moon waterhole game count_October 2019.pdf | 1.06 MB |
Recently introduced unmarked spatial capture–recapture (SCR), spatial mark–resight (SMR), and 2-flank spatial partial identity models (SPIMs) extend the domain of SCR to populations or observation systems that do not always allow for individual identity to be determined with certainty. For example, some species do not have natural marks that can reliably produce individual identities from photographs, and some methods of observation produce partial identity samples as is the case with remote cameras that sometimes produce single-flank photographs.
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SCR for categorically marked populations with an application to genetic capture_recapture.pdf | 2.75 MB |
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.
If you have had the privilege of spending plenty of time watching wildlife in Africa's wilderness areas, it is likely that you have spotted an animal wearing a collar. In the context of a safari in the wilderness the presence of a clunky leather collar around the neck of a majestic lion or elephant may seem out of place and even jarring, as it reminds us that man's impact on the environment extends right into the lives of individual animals. This may leave you wondering: why are collars necessary? What benefit do the animals get from humans catching and collaring them?
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Gaining insights into the secret lives of wild animals.pdf | 7.83 MB |
Take a close look at the image above. Each black dot is a Cape Cormorant (see below) as seen from a light aircraft. Can you count the cormorants? This aerial view of a colony of Cape Cormorants is a composite of several of the thousands of images taken during a 2017 survey of Ilha dos Tigres, an island off the coast of Angola. The purpose of this survey was to document all visible animals using this island, so every dot counts!
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Angolan island paradise for Cape Cormorants.pdf | 2.75 MB |
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Birds of the Swakop River lagoon_1991.pdf | 400.4 KB |
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Etosha NP_Aerial census 1983 05 west.PDF | 581.27 KB |
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Aerial and ground census of western Etosha National Park_1983.PDF | 581.27 KB |
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Department Agriculture and Nature Conservation 1983.pdf | 38.37 MB |
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Brown and Williams 1983 Bird census at Walvis Bay November 1983.pdf | 1.03 MB |