Aerial Wildlife Census of the Caprivi River Systems a Survey of Rivers, Wetlands and Floodplains September 2007 ______
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____________________________________________________________ AERIAL WILDLIFE CENSUS OF THE CAPRIVI RIVER SYSTEMS A SURVEY OF RIVERS, WETLANDS AND FLOODPLAINS SEPTEMBER 2007 ____________________________________ Funded by GEF Report Prepared by Michael Chase Elephants Without Borders PO Box 682 Kasane Botswana Tel: 267 6250505 Email: [email protected] October 2007 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I gratefully acknowledge the long hours flown by Alan Parnass from Wings4Wildlife. Patrick Aust is recognized for his support and participation with the aerial survey. I would like to thank Simon Mayes for introducing the survey team to community members and to the Ministry of Environment staff based in the protected areas of the Caprivi. Chris Brown from the Namibia Nature Foundation and Jo Tagg of the ICEMA project were particularly encouraging of this study and I am grateful for their support. I appreciate the assistance of my aerial observers, Thandazani Nkala and Kelly Landen. I am particularly indebted to Kelly who spent many hours meticulously verifying hundreds of observer photos. ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report presents the results of an aerial wildlife census of the Caprivi River systems in Namibia conducted during September 2007. The purpose of this survey was to provide recent information on the distribution and abundance of wildlife species relative to protected areas and conservancies. The report compares the results of the September 2007 (Sept07) aerial survey to an earlier survey conducted in August 2004 (Aug04). Maps and tables illustrating the distribution and abundance of wildlife species in various land use categories are presented. Wildlife numbers were highest in, or bordering conservation areas. A total of 17,050 head of wildlife was observed during the aerial survey. For wetland species hippo occurred in the greatest numbers (1,269), further we recorded 1,924 pelicans, which were concentrated alongside 10 km of the Chobe River. For woodland species, buffalo occurred in the highest numbers (5,951) followed by elephants (3,062). Wildlife numbers near the river systems of the Caprivi have increased between the two surveys. Our Sept07 survey observed 79% more wildlife observations than a survey conducted in Aug04. The rise in wildlife numbers both within the protected and conservancy areas may be attributed to the seasonal dispersal of wildlife within the Caprivi and movements between Botswana and the Caprivi. Further, conservation projects within conservancies encourage increasing wildlife numbers. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................................ii EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................................iii LIST OF TABLES............................................................................................................ v LIST OF FIGURES .........................................................................................................vi AERIAL WILDLIFE CENSUS OF THE CAPRIVI RIVER SYSTEMS A SURVEY OF RIVERS, WETLANDS AND FLOODPLAINS ................................... 1 Introduction........................................................................................................... 1 Study Area ............................................................................................................ 1 Methods................................................................................................................. 2 Data Analyses ............................................................................... 4 Results................................................................................................................... 5 Wildlife Distribution..................................................................... 6 Herd Observations and Abundance ............................................ 16 Discussion........................................................................................................... 22 Wildlife Distribution................................................................... 22 Herd Observations and Abundance ............................................ 22 Variations in Wildlife Densities.................................................. 22 Conclusion .......................................................................................................... 23 Literature Cited ................................................................................................... 23 Appendix............................................................................................................. 24 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page Table 1. Herd observations (Obs) and mean (Av.) herd sizes in protected areas and conservancies on the aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. ............................................................................................................. 17 Table 2. Total number of wildlife species counted in five strata on two aerial surveys (2004 and 2007) of the Caprivi river systems, Namibia..................... 18 Table 3. Wildlife species counted and densities (km2) between Protected Areas and Conservancies.. ......................................................................................... 20 Table 4. The numbers of cattle and mokoro in each stratum......................................... 22 v LIST OF FIGURES Figure Page Figure 1. Conservancies and National Parks (NP) in the Caprivi Strip, Namibia............ 2 Figure 2. Layout of five strata for Caprivi River Systems survey.................................... 3 Figure 3. Recorded track log of flight paths during the survey. ...................................... 5 Figure 4. Wildlife sightings in relation to conservancies and protected areas.................. 7 Figure 5. Distribution of hippo during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. ............................................................................................................ 8 Figure 6. Distribution of lechwe during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. ............................................................................................................ 8 Figure 7. Distribution of reedbuck during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. ............................................................................................................ 9 Figure 8. Distribution of crocodile during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. ............................................................................................................ 9 Figure 9. Distribution of buffalo during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 10 Figure 10. Distribution of elephant during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07............................................................................................. 10 Figure 11. Distribution of impala during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 11 Figure 12. Distribution of zebra during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 11 Figure 13. Distribution of wildlife during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 12 Figure 14. Distribution of wattled crane during aerial survey of Caprivi river systems, Sept07............................................................................................. 12 Figure 15. Distribution of hippo during aerial survey of Kavango River, Sept07.......... 13 vi Figure 16. Distribution of crocodile during aerial survey of Kavango River, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 13 Figure 17. Distribution of lechwe during aerial survey of Kavango River, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 14 Figure 18. Distribution of reedbuck during aerial survey of Kavango River, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 14 Figure 19. Distribution of buffalo during aerial survey of Kavango River, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 15 Figure 20. Distribution of elephant during aerial survey of Kavango River, Sept07. .......................................................................................................... 15 Figure 21. Density (km 2) of wildlife species by strata and differences between the Aug04 (2004) and Sept07 (2007) aerial surveys. ................................... 19 Figure 22. Density (km 2) of water/floodplain and woodland species between protected areas (pa) and conservancies (con) on two aerial surveys (Aug04 and Sept07). ..................................................................................... 20 Figure 23. Density (km 2) of wildlife species, cattle and mokoros in community conservancies and differences between the Aug04 (2004) and Sept07 (2007) aerial surveys..................................................................................... 21 vii AERIAL WILDLIFE CENSUS OF THE CAPRIVI