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In 2022, an aerial survey for African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana) was conducted over the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) in southern Africa. KAZA is a 520,000-km² network of protected areas in Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The aerial survey found that KAZA holds ~228,000 elephants, confirming that this is the world’s largest population of savanna elephants and a critical stronghold for this endangered species.

African elephants (Loxodonta africana) are imperiled by poaching and habitat loss. Despite global attention to the plight of elephants, their population sizes and trends are uncertain or unknown over much of Africa. To conserve this iconic species, conservationists need timely, accurate data on elephant populations. Here, we report the results of the Great Elephant Census (GEC), the first continent-wide, standardized survey of African savannah elephants. We also provide the first quantitative model of elephant population trends across Africa.

As part of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) the Mudumu Complexes of the east Zambezi Region of Namibia are important areas for wildlife connectivity and dispersal. The national parks of the east Zambezi Region, i.e. Mudumu and Nkasa Rupara, are too small to maintain viable populations of some wildlife species, which depend on being able to move across a network of landscapes, such as the conservancies and woodland areas to connect to protected areas in neighbouring countries such as Angola, Botswana and Zambia.

Areas surveyed: The Okavango River in Namibia, from just northwest the bridge on the Trans-Caprivi highway south to the Botswana border; the entire length of the Kwandu-Linyanti-Lake Liambezi-Chobe system, including the Mamili National Park; and the Zambezi river for its entire length on Namibia's border, including parts of the adjacent East Caprivi floodplains.

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.