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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.

Following several years of preparation, the KAZA Elephant Survey (2022) commenced on 22 August 2022 and ran until 28 October 2022. The primary objective of the survey was to obtain a relatively precise and accurate estimate of the number of African savanna elephants (hereafter elephants) in the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), by synchronising data collection, particularly in areas of transboundary elephant movement.

The first flight to begin an elephant survey covering parts of Angola, Botswana, Namibia,Zambia and Zimbabwe took off from a dirt strip in Zimbabwe on 22 August 2022. The survey area, known as the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), hosts over half of Africa's savanna elephants, which underlines the importance of the survey.

The lions of Namibia's Kunene Region are sought after by tourists, but they are a local threat to livestock farming, and are still largely unresearched in terms of their ecology and ranging behaviour. Though lions in Kunene have been monitored for more than twenty years, it may come as a surprise that the population has not been systematically counted throughout its range - until now. It is less surprising when one realises that the lion range in Kunene covers more than 51,000 km² of mountainous desert landscape.

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. The 2023 data suggest: populations for 4 of the main game species (Roan, Eland, Steenbok and Duiker) showed positive or stable trends. There were however sharp drops in the numbers of gemsbok and kudu seen. Estimates suggest that these populations are still well balanced in number.

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.

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 broad-leafed savannah with several riparian networks crossing the park. In total 28 species have been recorded. For large herd species like buffalo, or floodplain species like red lechwe, extrapolation is not appropriate.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 subsequent prolonged dry phase has resulted in a steady decline in populations of many game species. It is unclear how much illegal harvesting has contributed to this decline.

Namibia's elephants extend across the north of the country. They occur in six main areas of the known Namibian range - the north-west, Etosha National Park (NP), Mangetti National Park, northern Kavango, Khaudum National Park/Nyae Nyae Conservancy and Zambezi Region. Seasonal changes in distribution are related to water availability. There are movements of elephants between Namibia and its neighbours, particularly Botswana, and mainly from Zambezi Region. The largest populations are found in the north-east of the country, in Khaudum/Nyae Nyae and Zambezi Region.

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.

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 for some species are provided, these should only be considered as an approximate guide to species abundance.

The fundamental purpose of these annual game counts is to inform MEFT of general wildlife trends in the parks. While estimates for some species are provided, these should only be considered as an approximate guide to species abundance.

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, 2020 and 2021, the number of waterholes was increased to around 26 covering 10 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.

Line transects were started 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 23 species including 6 predator species. Based on average spoor sightings hyaena are the most common predator, followed by leopard and wild dog.

The partner states of the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), Namibia, Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Zimbabwe last week launched the first-ever coordinated aerial survey of elephants in Windhoek. Speaking at the launch, Executive Director in the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism, Theofilus Nghitila said the survey is a fundamental component of the KAZA Strategic Planning Framework for the Conservation and Management of Elephants. "The survey will be coordinated by the KAZA Secretariat in close collaboration with designated teams in…

Numbers of elephants counted by Nad Brain and NamPol observers between 16 -31 Dec 2021 as part of antipoaching surveillance work. The unstructered aerial search counts focussed on the river systems and were done from the Westair / NCE Cessna 182 V5 –IIM flying out of Palmwag airfield and using SRT's base camp Ma – I – Go. It was not possible to record demographics of the herds, but did count bulls individually. The bulls are in addition to the herd numbers.

The Greater Sossusvlei-Namib Landscape (GSNL; Figure 1) promotes collaborative management between the owners and custodians of land, both private and public, for the purpose of improved ecosystem and biodiversity management and socio-economic development (Anon. 2013).

Poster summarising the results of the 2013 south game count.

Poster summarising the results of the 2013 North West game count.

Poster summarising the results of the 2013 Hardap game count.

Game counts in Bwabwata and Caprivi; dry season, live sightings. showing Numbers seen by conservation area, habitat, compared to 2012, population estimates and trends.

The Okavango River system, about 480 kms of which constitutes the border between Namibia and Angola, has previously been largely neglected in the annual wetland water-bird counts programme conducted throughout Namibia. The exceptions have been the Mahango Game Reserve and a section of the river at Shamvura Camp where voluntary wetland water-bird counts have however been conducted over a consecutive period of 15 years and 11 years respectively. The remainder of the river had been left uncounted until 2012.

The following is a summary of waterbird count data for selected species in Namibia, covering the period 1977 to December 2008.

An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in the Caprivi from 29 May to 8 June 2013. A total area of 16733 km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 12.7%. The estimates of numbers of each species (with their 95% confidence range) are given in the table below. The population of elephants has increased at an average rate of between 1.4% and 8.3%.per annum. However, the ratio of carcasses to live elephants indicates a possibly unsustainable number of animals being killed in much of the Caprivi.

An aerial survey of wildlife and domestic livestock took place in the Khaudum National Park and surrounding conservancies from 17th to the 22nd September 2013. A total area of 15200 km2 was sampled at an average intensity of 7.1%.

Mountain Zebra numbers were up in 2013 due to movement into the park from the west to take advantage of the artificial waters and better grazing.