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Population and Distribution of Wattled Cranes and Other Large Waterbirds on the Kafue Flats, Zambia

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Population and Distribution of Wattled Cranes and Other Large Waterbirds on the Kafue Flats, Zambia Population and distribution of Wattled Cranes and other large waterbirds on the Kafue Flats, Zambia WORKING PAPER # 1 ZAMBIA CRANE AND WETLAND CONSERVATION PROJECT Bernard Kamweneshe Richard Beilfuss Zambia Crane and Wetland Conservation Project February 2002 International Crane Foundation WORKING PAPERS OF THE ZAMBIA CRANE AND WETLAND CONSERVATION PROJECT 1. Population and distribution of Wattled Cranes and other large waterbirds on the Kafue Flats, Zambia (Kamweneshe and Beilfuss 2002) 2. Population and distribution of Kafue lechwe and other large mammals on the Kafue flats, Zambia (Kamweneshe, Beilfuss, and Simukonda 2002) 3. Wattled Cranes, waterbirds, and large mammals of the Lukanga Swamp, Zambia (Kamweneshe and Beilfuss 2002) 4. Wattled Cranes, waterbirds, and large mammals of the Liuwa Plain National Park, Zambia (Kamweneshe, Beilfuss, and Morrison in prep) 5. Wattled Cranes, Shoebills, and other large waterbirds of the Bangweulu Swamps, Zambia (Kamweneshe, Beilfuss, McCann, and Zyambo in prep) 2 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS We are especially grateful to the Disney Wildlife Conservation Fund for providing core funding for the Zambia Crane and Wetland Conservation Program and the aerial and ground surveys described in this report. We are also grateful to WWF-Partners for Wetlands Program for providing funding assistance for the November aerial surveys of the Kafue Flats. Additional funding was also provided by the International Crane Foundation. We are very grateful to Dave Gunns of Dullstroom, South Africa, for generously volunteering his plane and piloting skills for the November aerial surveys. We thank also John Murphy of Airwaves Airlink for piloting the September aerial survey. Thanks also to Richard Jeffery for advice. We wish to sincerely acknowledge the Zambia Wildlife Authority for their help in procuring the authority to fly over the Kafue Flats from the Department of Civil Aviation and Zambia Airforce. Real Africa Safaris assisted us greatly during the reconnaissance flights in September, including permission to use their landing strip and free accommodation and refreshments. We also thank Star of Africa in Lochinvar National Park for their warm welcome when we visited their camp during the ground preparations. We thank the WWF Country Office for logistical support. We are grateful to Chuma Simukonda of the WWF Partners for Wetlands Program for his participation in the aerial surveys. We are also grateful to the South Africa Crane Working Group, especially Lindy Rodwell and Kerryn Morrisson, for assisting with the surveys. We thank also Carlos Bento of the Museum of Natural History, Maputo-Mozambique, Friday Maozeka of Harare-Zimbabwe, and Katie Beilfuss of the Urban Open Space Foundation, Wisconsin-USA, for their participation in the aerial and ground surveys. FOREWORD The Zambia Crane and Wetlands Conservation Project, under the auspices of the International Crane Foundation-USA, aims to conserve cranes and their wetland habitats in Zambia, with special emphasis on the sustainable management of the Kafue Flats ecosystem. The ZCWCP is part of a regional program that is investigating the role of Wattled Cranes as a flagship species for wetland conservation and management in Southern Africa. The ZCWCP works in close collaboration with other government and non-government organizations in Zambia, especially the WWF Partners for Wetlands Program and the Zambia Wildlife Authority for the benefit of the people and wildlife that share Zambia’s wetland resources. This report, Population and distribution of Wattled Cranes and other large waterbirds on the Kafue Flats, Zambia, provides the results from recent fieldwork and aerial surveys that assessed the population and distribution of Wattled Cranes and other waterfowl of international importance in the Kafue Flats during September and November 2001. A second report, Population of large mammals on the Kafue Flats, Zambia, provides the results from an aerial census of large mammals on the Kafue Flats during November 2001. This views expressed in these reports are intended to stimulate discussion and debate on the status of the wildlife and wetlands of the Kafue Flats. Readers are encouraged to provide comments to the authors for incorporation into future drafts. 3 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1.0 INTRODUCTION ...............................................................................................................................5 2.0 OVERVIEW OF THE KAFUE FLATS ..............................................................................................7 2.1 CLIMATE AND HYDROLOGY OF THE KAFUE FLATS.........................................................9 2.2 VEGETATION OF THE KAFUE FLATS..................................................................................15 3.0 WATTLED CRANE AND WATERBIRD SURVEYS ON THE KAFUE FLATS........................17 3.1 METHODS.....................................................................................................................................17 3.2 RESULTS........................................................................................................................................19 3.3 DISCUSSION.................................................................................................................................22 3.4 FURTHER RESEARCH................................................................................................................24 4.0 REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................26 4 1.0 INTRODUCTION Of the six species of cranes that occur in Africa, two species occur in Zambia and live and breed on the Kafue flats, the Wattled Crane (Bugeranus carunculatus) and the Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina). The Wattled Crane is the largest, rarest, and most wetland-dependent of the African cranes, and is classified as a global endangered species. Most Wattled Cranes occur in the extensive floodplains of southern Africa’s large river basins (most notably the Zambezi and Okavango basins), although they are also found in the smaller isolated dambos of parts of Zambia, Zimbabwe, and South Africa (Figure 1). An isolated population of Wattled Cranes also occurs in the highlands of Ethiopia, and may soon be classified as a genetically distinct sub- species (Ken Jones, pers. comm.). Figure 1. Distribution of Wattled Cranes (shaded area) in southern Africa, showing core concentration in the floodplains of Zambia and northern Botswana extending to southeastern Angola, southeastern DRC, western Tanzania, central Mozambique, and northeastern Namibia, with more isolated populations in the highland dambos of Zimbabwe, Malawi, and South Africa. (Source: Meine and Archibald 1996). The status of Wattled Cranes in Zambia and elsewhere in southern Africa is uncertain. Urban (1985, 1996) estimated the global population of Wattled Cranes at about 13,000-15,000 birds, with 7,000 – 11,000 birds occurring in Zambia. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red Data Book suggests that the global population is only about 7,000 birds, 5 however (Collar and Stuart, 1985). A recent coordinated international survey effort in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, and Zambia suggests that the population may even be less than 7,000, with no more than 4,000 Wattled Cranes in Zambia. Wattled Cranes are distributed throughout most of Zambia (Figure 2), and are resident in all major wetland systems of Zambia including the Bangweulu Swamps, Lake Mweru Wantipa swamps, Lake Tanganyika swamps, Barotse Plain, Liuwa Plain, Busanga Swamps, Lukanga Swamps, and Kafue Flats. Figure 2. Distribution of Wattled Cranes in Zambia, according to their recorded presence in quarter degree-squares (Source: Dodman 1996). The population of Wattled Cranes on the Kafue Flats has attracted particular attention because of the potential negative effects of Itezhitezhi and Kafue Gorge Dams on natural flooding patterns in the flats (Douthwaite, 1974, Konrad, 1980, Howard & Aspinwall, 1984). In undisturbed floodplain systems elsewhere in Africa, the breeding cycle of Wattled Cranes is intimately linked to the natural flood cycles of rivers. Wattled Crane pairs are “triggered” to nest as floodwaters begin receding after peak flooding. Nesting in shallow open water after the major flood rise and crest ensures that nests will be protected from predators and wildfires but will not be drowned by further rising floodwaters. As floodwaters slowly recede, Wattled Cranes raise their single chick on the pulse of exposed plant and insect life (Konrad 1981), especially tubers of the Eleocharis spike rushes (Beilfuss 2000). When flooding patterns are erratic or mistimed, Wattled Crane pairs may not be induced by hydrologic conditions to initiate nesting. Where nesting is attempted, unanticipated water level rises can drown nests and food sources. Rapid 6 water level drawdown in the floodplains may expose nests to wildfires and predators and limit food availability. Prior to dam construction on the Kafue River, Douthwaite (1974) observed that whereas 40% of Wattled Crane pairs attempt to breed in a year of normal flooding conditions, only 3% of all pairs breed in a year of negligible flooding conditions due to drought. When the Itezhitezhi Dam altered the hydrological regime of the Kafue Flats, Konrad (1981) predicted a dramatic restriction in Wattled Crane nesting sites and feeding area. Despite these concerns, there have been no detailed studies
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