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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 51 - 100 of 104
Longden EG, Elwen SH, McGovern B, James BS, Embling CB, Gridley T 2020. Mark-recapture of individually distinctive calls-a case study with signature whistles of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) . Journal of Mammalogy 101 (5) 1289-1301

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.

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
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
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.

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.

Mendelsohn J, Haraes L 2018. Aerial census of Cape Cormorants and Cape Fur Seals at Baía dos Tigres, Angola. Namibian Journal of Environment (2) 1-6

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.

Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2018. Game counts in north-central Namibia: Total Numbers of animals seen: last 5 years.

Summary of game counts in north-central Namibia: Total Numbers of animals seen: last 5 years.

Goelst C, Moeller M, Kilian W 2018. Etosha National Park Carnivore Monitoring Project Update, Unofficial Report Re: Lion GPS-Satellite Monitoring, 2018 Lion Population Call-Up Survey.

Carnivore populations face threats from increasing human populations and rapidly diminishing, suitable habitat. Large carnivores such as African lions (Panthera leo) commonly attack livestock on lands adjacent to protected areas. This can lead to human-wildlife conflict (HWC) events that result in retaliatory lion killings. Conflict is a primary driver of wild lion population declines which are estimated to have decreased by 43% in the last 20 years.

Beytell PC 2017. Aerial count of the roan antelope and other wildlife species in Khaudum National Park.
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2017. Game counts in north-west Namibia: Hobatere concessions area, June 2017.

Summary of game counts in north-west Namibia: Hobatere concessions area, June 2017.

Weise FJ, Vijay V, Jacobson AP, Schoonover RF, Groom RJ, Horgan J, Keeping D, Klein R, Marnewick K, Maude G, Melzheimer J, Mills G, van der Merwe V, van der Meer E, Van Vuuren RJ, Wachter B, Primm SL 2017. The distribution and numbers of cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) in southern Africa . PeerJ e4096

Assessing the numbers and distribution of threatened species is a central challenge in conservation, often made difficult because the species of concern are rare and elusive. For some predators, this may be compounded by their being sparsely distributed over large areas. Such is the case with the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus. The IUCN Red List process solicits comments, is democratic, transparent, widely-used, and has recently assessed the species.

Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2016. Game counts in north-west Namibia, July 2016.

Summary of game counts in north-west Namibia, July 2016.

Noack J 2016. The assessment of leopard (Panthera pardus) density and population size via a capture – recapture framework in an island bound conservation area in Namibia. .

After the initial and in-depth assessment of the leopard population in the Okonjima Nature Reserve via the use of remote camera traps that provided a detailed insight of their demography as well as temporal and spatial distribution patterns, a long-term monitoring program has been introduced. This aims to observe and monitor fluctuations in the composition of the population, as well as shifts and overlaps of home ranges and territories.

Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2016. Game counts in Bwabwata NP, Dry season - Live sightings, 2016.

Summary of game counts in Bwabwata NP, Dry season - Live sightings, 2016.

Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2016. Game counts in north-west Namibia: Conservancies south of the veterinary fence, June 2016.

Summary of game counts in north-west Namibia: Conservancies south of the veterinary fence, June 2016.

2015. Game counts in eastern Zambezi; Dry season, live sightings - 2015.
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2014. Game counts in Bwabwata and Zambezi: Dry Season 2014 .

Game counts in Bwabwata and Zambezi (Caprivi); dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2013, population estimates and trends.

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Zambezi_game_count_poster_2014.pdf 770.48 KB
Stein AB, Aschenborn O, Kastern M, Andreas A, Thompson S 2012. Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas.

In 2011, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism conducted a questionnaire to various stakeholders to determine relative abundance of large carnivores throughout Namibia. The results of this questionnaire were quantified and mapped to establish the current range and relative abundance of the six Namibian large carnivores. Recent population estimates for leopards are used here, however, the remaining species we used estimates from the previous Atlas as our best estimates to date.

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Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas_2012.pdf 3.87 MB
Stein A, Andreas A, Aschenborn O 2011. Namibian national leopard survey - 2011.

Leopards are the most widely-distributed wild cat on earth. They are found throughout most of sub-Saharan Africa and in smaller populations within the Middle East, southwest Asia, southeast Asia and north to the Amur peninsula of the Russian Far-East. Throughout this distribution, leopards have persisted in hostile areas outside of protected areas due to their secretive nature and adaptable ability to live in a variety of habitats including sub-urban environments.

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Namibian National Leopard Survey_2011.pdf 565.33 KB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2010. Game counts in north-west Namibia, June 2010 .

Game counts in north-west Namibia, June 2010.

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NW_game_count_poster_2010.pdf 2.27 MB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2010. Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi - Dry season, 2010 .

Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi; dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2009, population estimates and trends.

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Caprivi game count poster 2010.doc 380 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.

Marker LL, Dickman AJ, Mills MGL, Jeo RM, MacDonald DW 2008. Spatial ecology of cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) on north-central Namibian farmlands . Journal of Zoology 274 226-238

Knowledge of a species' ranging behaviour is both fundamental to understanding its behavioural ecology and a prerequisite to planning its management. Few data exist on the spatial ecology of cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus outside protected areas, but such areas are particularly important to their conservation. Cheetahs on Namibian farmlands occupied exceptionally large home ranges, averaging 1651km2 (1594km2), with no detectable effect of sex, social grouping or seasonality.

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Spatial ecology of cheetahs.pdf 1.27 MB
Namibian Association of CBNRM Support Organisations (NACSO) 2007. Game counts in north-west Namibia, June 2007 .

Summary of game count in north west in 2007: route statistics, animals seen, population estimates, trends.

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NW game count poster 2007.pdf 155.13 KB
Hanssen L, Stander P 2004. Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas, December 2003 .

Namibia is one of few African countries that support six species of large carnivore. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyaenas, brown hyaenas and wild dogs occur primarily in the northern and western sections of Namibia. With the possible exception of lions and leopards we have a poor understanding of the exact distribution and density of these species, although available information suggests that the populations are stable. The Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas was launched to involve the tourism industry and the Namibian public in collecting baseline data on the six large…

Hanssen L, Stander P 2004. Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas, July 2004 .

Namibia is one of few African countries that support six species of large carnivore. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyaenas, brown hyaenas and wild dogs occur primarily in the northern and western sections of Namibia. With the possible exception of lions and leopards we have a poor understanding of the exact distribution and density of these species, although available information suggests that the populations are stable. The Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas was launched to involve the tourism industry and the Namibian public in collecting baseline data on the six large…

Hanssen L, Stander P 2004. Namibia Large Carnivore Atlas .

Namibia is one of few African countries that support six species of large carnivore. Lions, leopards, cheetahs, spotted hyaenas, brown hyaenas and wild dogs occur primarily in the northern and western sections of Namibia. With the possible exception of lions and leopards we have a poor understanding of the exact distribution and density of these species, although available information suggests that the populations are stable.

2002. Annual game census for Nyae-Nyae.
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Annual game census for Nyae_Nyae_2002.PDF 650.56 KB
Stander P, Hanssen L 2000. Population ecology and long term monitoring of free-ranging populations in Namibia's marginal and arid environments .

Our present research is focussed on lions and leopards in three study sites. The Khorixas study site (10826 km2) is located in the northern Namib desert, previously known as Damaraland, and consists of an extremely arid habitat (annual rainfall 0-100mm) that stretches into the Skeleton Coast Park. This study is focussing on desert-adapted lions that frequent the Skeleton Coast Park, Torra Conservancy and the Palmwag tourism concession.

Carter LA 1990. The wildlife survey of Skeleton Coast Park, Damaraland, Kaokoland, north-west Namibia May/June 1990 .
1984. Bushmanland 1984.
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1984_Bushmanland.PDF 1.26 MB
Berry H, Orford J, van Wyk T, van der Walt A, Siegfried R, Starfield A, Behrens I, Stander PE 1984. The ecology, behaviour and population dynamics of large predators at Etosha. Part 1: The lion - Panthera leo.
Berry H, Nott T 1983. Aerial and ground census of western Etosha National Park.
Berry H, de Villiers P 1982. Total aerial census of Etosha National Park.
du Preez JS 1974. Game count - Etosha: April 1972.
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1972_April_Etosha.PDF 305.49 KB
du Preez JS 1971. Game count - Etosha: February 1971.
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Game count_Etosha_February 1971.PDF 155.36 KB
1970. South West African Administration White Paper on the activities of the different branches for 1970.

For the protection of grazing, farmers throughout for the Territory obtained permits for shooting 3, 893 zebra, 2, 025 ostriches, 172 giraffes, 183 kudus, 404 gemsbuck, 2, 513 springboks and 12 steenboks. Permits were issued for the export of 17, 724 hides to an approximate value of R 50,000. The revenue for the Administration out of levies on the export of 760 head of game by the two licensed game dealers amounted to R 2, 323. There are no levies on the export of hides. The first Administration’s policy that game should have a monetary value for the farmer, started yielding…

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SWA Administration_1970.pdf 381.14 KB
1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Ovamboland.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - District map.
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South West Africa_District Map_1926.pdf 1.96 MB
1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Keetmanshoop.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Grootfontein.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Swakopmund.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Gobabis.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Bethanie.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Windhoek.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Omaruru.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Namutoni.
1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Outjo.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Okahandja.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

1926. Distribution of game in South West Africa - Gibeon.

Estimates of the numbers of each game species, a description of their status and maps of their distribution per district as reported to the Secretary to South West Africa by the District Office of the Magistrate.

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