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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 - 37 of 37
Elwen SH, Leeney RH, Gridley T 2019. Abundance estimates of an isolated population of common bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in Walvis Bay, Namibia, 2008–2012 . African Journal of Marine Science (41) 61-70

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
Kopij G, Paxton M 2019. Waterbirds in the panhandle of the Okavango Delta: dry season counts over two seven-year periods. Zoology and Ecology (29) 15-27

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.

Richmond-Coggan L 2019. The Namibian leopard: National census and sustainable hunting practices.

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.

Kolberg H 2019. Summary of the 2018 winter wetland bird counts in Namibia. Lanioturdus 52 (2) 17-20
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts in East Zambezi: Dry season - Live sightings, August 2019.

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
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts in Bwabwata N.P.: Dry season - Live sightings, August 2019.
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Zambezi Game Count_Bwabwata 2019.pdf 748.18 KB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts in southern Namibia: May 2019.
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts in north-central Namibia: May 2019.
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North Central Game Count 2019 final.pdf 875.06 KB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts: Kavango East, August 2019.
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Kavango East poster 2019 Final.pdf 767.43 KB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts in Hardap Game Park: May 2019.
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Hardap Game Count 2019 final.pdf 693.66 KB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019.  Game Counts in north-west Namibia: Hobatere Concession, May 2019.
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North West Game Count_Hobatere 2019.pdf 581.69 KB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts in north-west Namibia: Conservancies north of veterinary fence, May 2019.
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game Counts in north-west Namibia: Conservancies south of the veterinary fence, May 2019.
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2019. Game counts - line transect: Nyae Nyae Conservancy, Jul/Aug 2019.
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Nyae Nyae transect count 2019.pdf 705.14 KB
Craig GC, Gibson DSC 2019. Aerial survey of north-east Namibia - Elephants and other wildlife in Khaudum National Park and neighbouring areas, September 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.

Craig GC, Gibson DSC 2019. Aerial survey of north-east Namibia - Elephants and other wildlife in Zambezi Region, September/October 2019.

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.

de Rock P, Elwen SH, Roux JP, Leeney RH, James BS, Visser V, Martin MJ, Gridley T 2019. Predicting large-scale habitat suitability for cetaceans off Namibia using MinxEnt. Marine Ecology Progress Series 619 149-167

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.

Amutenya KL 2019. Khaudum National Park's full moon waterhole game count, October 2019.

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.

Augustine BC, Royle A, Murphy SM, Chandler RB, Cox JJ, Kelly MJ 2019. Spatial capture-recapture for categorically marked populations with an application to genetic capture-recapture. Ecosphere 10 (4) e02627

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.

Efford MG, Boulanger J 2019. Fast evaluation of study designs for spatially explicit capture-recapture. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 2019
  1. Spatially explicit capture–recapture methods use data from the detection of marked animals at known points in space to estimate animal population density without bias from edge effects. Detection is by means of stationary devices such as traps, automatic cameras or DNA hair snags. Data collection is often expensive, and it is not obvious how to optimize the frequency of sampling and the spatial layout of detectors.
Craig GC, Gibson DSC 2019. Aerial survey of north-eastern Namibia - Elephants and other wildlife in Khaudum National Park and neighbouring areas, September 2019.

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.

Craig GC, Gibson DSC 2019. Aerial survey of north-eastern Namibia: Elephant and other wildlife in Zambezi Region, September/October 2019. An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in Zambezi Region from 25th September to 4th 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. However as a result of the policy of MET to remove carcasses from the field, mortality can no longer be estimated from the aerial survey results. Illegal hunting of elephants continues to take place in the area.
Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE) 2019. Gaining insights into the secret lives of wild animals. Conservation and the Environment in Namibia (2019)

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?

Potgieter GC 2019. Angolan island paradise for Cape Cormorants. Conservation and the Environment in Namibia (2019)

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!

2009. Wildlife census of Namibia's North East Rivers - 2009 .

Caprivi is a key area for wildlife, which moves freely between Namibia and neighbouring countries. Caprivi has a number of community conservancy programmes, in addition to state protected areas. Conservancies have a strong commitment towards conservation, which contributes to rural livelihoods through the development of wildlife-based enterprises. A total of 19,212 head of wildlife (excluding birds) were observed. Information shown on this poster comes from the report: Fixed-wing aerial wildlife census of the Caprivi river systems. A survey of rivers, wetlands and…

Kolberg H 2009. Summary of the 2007 Ringing Season in Namibia . Lanioturdus 42 (1) 15-19

The 30 June 2008 signaled the end of the 2007 ringing season and the following is a summary thereof. In total 9 637 birds of 270 species were ringed or re-trapped, controlled etc. this season. Out of this total 9 033 were newly ringed birds (i.e. SAFRING code 1). Data from 19 ringers was received and Dirk Heinrich once again is the "ringing king" of code 1 birds, followed by Tim Osborne and Mark Boorman but in the re-trap etc. category Tim pipped Dirk, followed by Ursula Franke. Dirk also held top spot in the number of different species ringed category.

Kolberg H 2009. Population Census of Flamingos in Namibia, July 2008 . Lanioturdus 42 (2) 12-14

The southern African Lesser Flamingo population was estimated to number 55,000 - 65,000 individuals in the mid-1990s, but these were either under estimates or the numbers have increased since, because at times Kamfers Dam, the Goldfields wetlands (in South Africa), Etosha Pan (Namibia) and Sua Pan (Botswana) each support more than that number. In order to try and get to grips with the size of the southern African population of Lesser Flamingos, a coordinated survey was planned for 20-21 July 2008.

Kolberg H 2009. Of gale-force winds and balmy days - Narrative of twenty-five days of bird counting in the wild hinterland of Namibia . Lanioturdus 42 (2) 2-4
Kolberg H 2009. Report on the Summer Wetland Bird Counts, January/February 2009 . Lanioturdus 42 (3) 11

The start of the new year once again meant that Namibia's bird watchers had to dust off their binoculars and venture out to do the annual summer wetland counts. The global economic crisis does not seem to have affected the birders because I'm pleased to report that twenty-seven sites were counted although the geographic coverage is still very much biased in favour of the coast. The two Ramsar sites, Sandwich Harbour and Walvis Bay, once again came up trumps in terms of bird numbers but the most species were encountered by Wilferd at Oponono.

Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2009. Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi, dry season 2009 .

Poster summarising results of the Dry Season 2009 game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi - numbers seen, population trends and estimates.

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Caprivi game count poster 2009.pdf 244.86 KB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2009. Game counts in north-west Namibia, June 2009 .

Summary of game count in north west in 2009: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

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NW game count poster 2009.pdf 5.92 MB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2009. Game counts in southern Namibia, May 2009 .

Poster summarising game count results for 5 conservancies in the south of Namibia in 2009, with trends for 2005 - 2009.

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South game count poster 2009.pdf 1.42 MB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2009. North west game count 2009 .

Maps showing number of animals counted per 100km: springbok, gemsbok, kudu, giraffe, zebra, ostrich. Plu sightings per 2x2 km grid.

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NW game count poster maps 2009.pdf 1.49 MB
BirdLife Botswana 2009. 2008 Status report for Protected Important Bird Areas of Botswana .

BirdLife Botswana (the BirdLife partner in Botswana) identified and documented 12 sites as Important Bird Areas (IBAs) of Botswana. These sites are; Chobe National Park, Linyanti Swamps, Okavango Delta, Lake Ngami, Central Kalahari and Khutse Game Reserves (CKGR), Makgadikgadi Pans, Gemsbok National Park, Tswapong Hills, Mannyelanong Hill, Phakalane Sewage ponds, South Eastern Botswana and Bokaa Dam. Even though a huge amount of work has been done by BirdLife Botswana, monitoring efforts in these areas lack adequate co-ordination.

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2008_Botswana_IBA_monitoring_report.pdf 1.81 MB
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 2009. Gondwana Namib Park game count 2009.
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Gondwana Namib Park game count 2009.pdf 539.94 KB
Chase M 2009. Fixed-wing aerial wildlife census of the Caprivi river systems: A survey of rivers, wetlands and floodplains in September 2009.

This report presents the results of the third fixed-wing aerial wildlife census of the Caprivi River systems in Namibia conducted during September 2009. The purpose of this survey is to provide recent information on the distribution, abundance and trend of wildlife species including comparisons between protected areas and conservancies. The report compares the results of this survey with earlier fixed-wing aerial surveys conducted in September 2007 and August 2004.

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