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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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We compiled data from our research (2006-2025) along with published accounts dating back to 1975 on the desert-dwelling elephant population in our study area of Skeleton Coast National Park and western Kunene region. This includes the Hoarusib River, Hoanib River, and Uniab River sub populations. Our analysis of the data reveal the profound influence that human-caused elephant mortality has had on the population over this time period. An initial precipitous decline occurred due to wartime poaching in the 1980s.
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| Status and distribution of desert_dwelling elephants in the Hoarusib_Hoanib_and Uniab River_2025.pdf | 628.13 KB |
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| North West Game Count_North of Vet Fence 2020.pdf | 679.95 KB |
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| Southern Conservancy Game Count 2020.pdf | 818.01 KB |
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| North West Game Count_South of Vet Fence 2020.pdf | 689.61 KB |
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| Nyae Nyae waterhole 2020.pdf | 946.21 KB |
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| North West Game Count_Palmwag and Etendeka 2020.pdf | 682.97 KB |
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| Zambezi Game Count_East 2020.pdf | 937.73 KB |
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| North West Game Count_Hobatere 2020.pdf | 623.55 KB |
In the Hoarusib River, a third of the remaining elephant population was lost in 2019. From a total of 16 elephants in 2018, there are now only 11 that remain. All the elephants were in poor condition due to the extensive drought that has affected the region and killed most of the cattle. The ongoing drought, in combination with continuing human-wildlife conflict, has had a serious impact on elephants and other wildlife species as well.
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 Central Game Count 2020.pdf | 1.06 MB |
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| North West Game Count_Regional 2020.pdf | 693.43 KB |
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| Nyae Nyae transect count 2020 final.pdf | 1.2 MB |