Search results

Game counts in Luengue-Luiana N.P. (proclaimed in 2011) were initiated in 2018. Three road section transect routes were initially established. A further two were added in 2021. The transects are limited to the extreme south-eastern portion of the park and represent an area of approximately 2,030 km² . The vegetation of the park is dominated by broadleafed savannah with several riparian networks crossing the park. In total 29 species have been recorded. For large herd species like buffalo, or floodplain species like red lechwe linear density provides the best measure of animal…

Estimates were calculated for 2024 using DISTANCE. Due to low numbers of sightings, in most cases, at least the last 5 years of data were used in analyses to generate detection profiles for each species. Only foot transects were used in analyses for Mudumu N.P. Some contiguous conservancies have been grouped in which case estimates are provided for the combined area. The bottom row of hyphenated numbers = 95% Confidence Intervals.

Estimates were calculated using DISTANCE. Most transects were foot counts, although some vehicle transects were also counted (5 in Mahango and 3 each in Buffalo and Kwando). While foot transects conform to an evenly spaced regular grid system, vehicle transects follow park roads and are prone to sampling and habitat bias due to the oversampling of boundary tracks and river sections. Consequently, the estimates presented below were derived from analyses restricted to foot transects only.

conservancy and 2 in Muduva Nyangana. Counts were undertaken over a period of 2 days during which time all animals seen were counted. Game species differ in the frequency with which they need to visit water resources with some able to acquire much of their hydration needs through foraging. Waterhole counts are therefore best suited to species (like elephants) which need to make regular trips to water points. Estimates are calculated using the number of count days, and the drinking frequency of the species.

Waterhole counts were undertaken at selected sites in the escarpment zone of north-west Namibia. In 2018,18 waterholes in 7 conservancies were counted but from 2019 onwards, the number of waterholes was increased to more than 25 covering 11 conservancies. Counts were undertaken over a period of 2, 3 or 4 days during which time all animals seen were counted. Game species differ in the frequency with which they need to visit water resources with some able to acquire much of their hydration needs through foraging.

The fundamental purpose of game counts in communal areas is to inform conservancies and MEFT of wildlife trends for the purposes of adaptive management of resources. While estimates of species numbers are provided, these should only be considered as an approximate guide to species abundance. In 2024: populations of the main game species showed positive or stable trends and numbers of gemsbok and kudu were at more typical levels compared with 2023. The only species showing a downward trend was steenbok. Elephant numbers were similar over the past 3 counts.

Line transects were initiated in 2017 and represent almost half of the total area of the conservancy and include most of the waterholes. The area not covered by transects has low animal densities due to reduced habitat suitability and people pressure. Transect counts have recorded 27 species including 7 predator species. Based on average spoor sightings and Event Book records, hyaena are the most common predator, followed by wild dog, leopard and jackal. The top 3 species in terms of sightings between 2017 and 2024 included wildebeest, elephant and kudu.

Wildlife populations in north-west Namibia were severely impacted in the 1980s by a combination of severe drought and poaching. Community conservation, formalised in 1996 through conservancies facilitated an increase in wildlife numbers through controlled utilisation and effective control of poaching. Between 1996 and 2012 most species experienced stable or growing population trends, however, the populations of many species have since shown a steady decline.

Line transects were initiated in 2017 and represent almost half of the total area of the conservancy and include most of the waterholes. The area not covered by transects has low animal densities due to reduced habitat suitability and people pressure. Transect counts have recorded 27 species including 7 predator species. Based on average spoor sightings and Event Book records, hyaena are the most common predator, followed by wild dog, leopard and jackal. The top 3 species in terms of sightings between 2017 and 2023 included wildebeest, elephant and kudu.

Estimates were calculated using DISTANCE which takes account in drop-off in detectability of animals with distance from the transect line. Where there are no values too few observations were recorded to allow for meaningful estimates to be derived. Attempts should be made to fill these gaps. Kwandu conservancy differs from the other 3 more strictly protected areas in that it contains a significant human presence. It is not expected to have the same species densities, but it is an important wildlife corridor between the national parks.

Wildlife populations in north-west Namibia were severely impacted in the 1980s by a combination of severe drought and poaching. Community conservation, formalised in 1996 through conservancies facilitated an increase in wildlife numbers through controlled utilisation and effective control of poaching. Between 1996 and 2012 most species experienced stable or growing population trends, however, a prolonged dry phase after 2013 resulted in a steady decline in populations of many game species. It is unclear how much illegal harvesting contributed to the drop in animal numbers.

Waterhole counts were undertaken at selected sites in the escarpment zone of north-west Namibia. In 2018,18 waterholes in 7 conservancies were counted but from 2019 onwards, the number of waterholes was increased to more than 25 covering 11 conservancies. Counts were undertaken over a period of 2, 3 or 4 days during which time all animals seen were counted. Game species differ in the frequency with which they need to visit water resources with some able to acquire much of their hydration needs through foraging.

In 2012, a simplified territory mapping method was employed to study the distribution and numbers of all birds breeding in the Ogongo Game Park (OGP). OGP is situated approximately 50 km north-west of Oshakati, in the Outapi district, Omusati region, North-Central Namibia. The area of the park is approximately 1000 ha. The vegetation of OGP comprises mainly mopane savanna Colophospermum-Acacia nilotica. In total, 142 bird species were recorded: 101 breeding residents, 19 regular visitors, 10 irregular visitors, 3 vagrants, 10 Palaearctic migrants.

Annual game counts have been undertaken in Sioma-Ngwezi National Park since 2017 using road-route sections covering the western boundary, the southern area, and central area of the park. The vegetation of the park is dominated by miombo broad-leafed savanna but with some marshland associated with the Kwando river in the west (Sinjembela road and Mufulani road A). In 2021 several new routes were driven, however data from all except Namulilo road were discarded as they overlapped existing routes. Only a portion of Mulamba road route was counted.

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.

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.

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!

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).

Accurately estimating hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius) numbers is difficult due to their aggressive nature, amphibious lifestyle, and habit of diving and surfacing. Traditionally, hippos are counted using aerial surveys and land/boat surveys. We compared estimates of numbers of hippos in a lagoon in the Okavango Delta, counted from land to counts from video taken from a DJI Phantom 4TM drone, testing for effectiveness at three heights (40 m, 80 m, and 120 m) and four times of day (early morning, late morning, early afternoon, and late afternoon).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Vultures provide essential ecological services, yet are amongst the world's most threatened species with populations having declined by more than 95% within ten years in some places. The biggest factor causing this decline is the use of poison, either intentionally or unintentionally. Other factors causing declines are collision with and electrocution by powerlines, illegal harvesting for traditional medicines, habitat loss and drowning in reservoirs.

The species accounts are very detailed, doubtlessly benefitting from Peter's intimate and long-term knowledge of Botswana's birds. The range maps give one an immediate indication of where the bird occurs and the breeding bars give one an idea of when to expect the bird and when it breeds. These will prove handy when identifying e.g. migratory birds. The excellent illustrations show the birds in their local race and where sexes and ages differ, these are also illustrated. Perhaps one shortcoming of the illustrations is, that diagnostic features e.g.

Summary of the 2015 Summer Wetland Bird Counts in Namibia.

Many long-distance migrating shorebird (i.e., sandpipers, plovers, flamingos, oystercatchers) populations are declining. Although regular shorebird monitoring programs exist worldwide, most estimates of shorebird population trends and sizes are poor or nonexistent. We built a state-space model to estimate shorebird population trends. Compared with more commonly used methods of trend estimation, state-space models are more mechanistic, allow for the separation of observation and state process, and can easily accommodate multivariate time series and nonlinear trends.

Summary of the 2014 Summer Wetland Bird counts in Namibia.