Mana Pools National Park Game Count Report 2015

Home , Mana Pools National Park

ABSTRACT The Mana Pools Game Count took place on the 26th and 27th September. The census had a total of 119 voluntary participants in 21 teams divided into 18 transect teams and 3 static teams. Though the number of individuals was less as compared to previous years, all transects were

covered with the exception of the recently introduced Mana Pools National Park Croton bush. Each transect was counted twice. This year twenty-nine (29) Game Count Report 2015 animal species were observed

WEZ National Office 2015 Game Counts

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Table of Contents Background of Mana Pools National Park ...... 2 Background of the organization ...... 2 Background and Rationale of the Game Count ...... 3 Aim and objective of the Game Count ...... 3 Methodology ...... 3 General overview of the count ...... 4 Recommendations ...... 5 Acknowledgements ...... 6 2015 TRANSECT COUNT SPECIES SUMMARY ...... 8 2015 STATIC COUNT RESULTS ...... 11 ANNUAL NUMBER OF PANS AND SPECIES ...... 14 GROUP 1 COUNTS 1993- 2015 ...... 15 GROUP 2 COUNTS 1993- 2015 ...... 16 TOTAL IMPALA COUNTS 1994 - 2015 ...... 17

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Background of Mana Pools National Park

Mana Pools National Park is 2,196 square kilometres in extent but is part of the 10,500 square kilometre Parks and Wildlife Estate that runs from the Kariba Dam in the west to the Mozambique border in the east. This large area is without physical boundaries and the wildlife is free to move throughout the area - even northwards across the Zambezi River into Zambia, where there are also large wilderness areas set aside for wildlife conservation. The Park is a World Heritage Site and is also part of Zimbabwe’s first biosphere reserve (Middle Zambezi Biosphere Reserve) as inscribed by the United Nations Education Science and Communications Organisation (UNESCO).

The name "Mana'' means "four" in the local Shona language. This applies to the four large pools inland from the Zambezi River. These pools are the remnant ox-bow lakes that the Zambezi River carved out thousands of years ago as it changed its course northwards. ''Long Pool'', is the largest of the four pools, extending some six kilometres in a west-east direction. This unique popular park has a wide range of large mammals, over 350 bird species and aquatic wildlife (Zimparks, 2015).Tourists have the privilege of walking unaccompanied by guides in one of the worlds’ wildest and preserved natural ecological areas, another exclusive Zimbabwean experience. As one moves northwards towards the Zambezi River from the forests on the Karoo sediments, the vegetation changes to open Faidherbia albida woodlands on the old river terraces. Large mammals usually seen include elephant, eland, buffalo, impala, waterbuck, baboons, monkeys, zebra, warthog and hippo ,lions, leopards, spotted hyaena and cheetah.

Background of the organization Wildlife and Environment Zimbabwe (WEZ) is a membership based organisation founded in 1927. Its members consist of individuals, families, corporate and educational institutions that care for the future of Zimbabwe’s environment, wildlife and its people. It liaises with other environmental organizations locally, regionally, and internationally, and collaborates with Government Departments that are in charge of conservation of natural resources.

WEZ aims to support efforts towards using Zimbabwe’s human resources to ensure sustainable usage and conservation of natural resources for the benefit of present and future generations. To this effect, the organisation came up with several initiatives to encourage and assist all people in Zimbabwe to understand the importance of wildlife and the environment. Game counts have been conducted by our members since 1972 as one of these initiatives in partnership with Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority in the following areas: Mana Pools National Park Hwange National Park Gonarezhou National Park Matusadonha National Park and

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Sebakwe Recreational Park

Background and Rationale of the Game Count WEZ has been on the forefront of conservation, lobbying for the establishment of National Parks and protected areas, assisting in the management of these, and spreading knowledge on conservation and environmental issues. Game counts have therefore been incorporated in order to engage more people to have an active interest in their environmental heritage. These censuses: give trends and rough indications of game population sizes indicate if animals are being disturbed by poachers or not show animals that a tourist is likely to see assess the status of vegetation cover and the availability of water for the animals use the census information to advise National Parks on the status of biodiversity and on how to put in place biodiversity conservation and management priorities.

Aim and objective of the Game Count Though a layman’s appraisal, the idea behind the Mana Pools Game Count is to collect and collate data to establish the state of the environment and the wildlife numbers within the park. Through these results, WEZ is able to assess the trends in populations of each species and determine if there are any signs of strain on the environment or on a particular species. The results may also be used in the formulation of Parks’ management plan. WEZ has organized annual game counts in other Parks that have been a great source of data to scientific researches and the trends observed have shown significant factors affecting species populations.

Methodology Volunteer members of the Society took part in the Count. All teams arrived the day before the count began so as to get acclimatised to the area, attend pre-count team briefing.

Static Counts

Static counts are held over a 24 hour period, taking advantage of the setting of the sun and the rising of the moon when there is maximum visibility.

Transect Counts

Each team walked four different transects during the weekend and each transect was counted two times. The teams navigated by compass or GPS along the transects. There was a choice of walking unaccompanied or with one of the National Parks Rangers or professional guides.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

General overview of the count The Mana Pools Game Count took place on the 26th and 27th September. The census had a total of 119 voluntary participants in 21 teams divided into 18 transect teams and 3 static teams. Though the number of individuals was less as compared to previous years, all transects were covered with the exception of the recently introduced Croton bush. Over the counting period, it was hot by day, and warm by night. Visibility was excellent during the whole of the counting period, with the moonlight providing good viewing throughout the night for those participating in the static count.

This year twenty-nine (29) animal species were observed. A pack of 14 wild dogs were seen in one of the transects but were not recorded as it was after the counting period. Across the flood plain, volunteers were able to see the hooded vulture which is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List. An elephant carcass with tusks intact was found in Transect 55.5 and Parks officials were notified. A pair of elephant tasks were picked up in one of the transects and were handed over to the Parks Offices.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Please note that data from the 2002 and 2014 Game Counts is missing and efforts to obtain it from the previous Mana Game Count Committee were not successful.

Recommendations The following recommendations were made by the participants so as to make future Game Censuses yield even better results:

The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA) rangers are excellent with identification of animal species, however, there is need for training on birdlife. It would be of benefit if WEZ could partner and provide bird books and facilitate the training. A complete map of Mana Pools National Park to be provided to participants. There is no current mechanism for communication in the Park. It was recommended to have a radio system that will allow communication between teams and a base station in case there are problems faced by a team in the remote Park. Some participants suggested the use of one bus for picking up and dropping off transect teams during the count so as to reduce the large volumes of vehicle movement in the Park.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Acknowledgements

WEZ would like to extend their sincere gratitude to everyone involved in the successful conduction of the Mana Pools Game Count. Firstly, to the Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority for allowing us to carry out the count in the Parks and for giving us 50% discount on accommodation and conservation fees. Secondly, to the Mana Pools National Park management and staff for their assistance to us and to our counters prior, during and after the count with special mention to Mr Marvellous Mbikiyana (Area Manager), Mr Zachariah Nyakomba (Wildlife Officer) and the rangers. Thanks also to John Reid- Rowland, his team and David Norman for helping out with the transect pegging prior the count. WEZ appreciates all the volunteers who signed up to participate in this count and providing us with the data. We also extend our gratitude to Chris Collyer and Kevin van Breda who provided photographs (the shake down- elephant and the announcement- impala respectively) for this report through the 2015 WEZ Photographic Competition. Both photographs were shot in Mana Pools National Park. Finally we wish to thank the WEZ team for organising the game count and preparation of this report:

Isaiah D. Nyakusendwa

Alex L. Norman

Rachel R. R. Chiwara

Dr. Sue Kageler

Moleen T. Kundhlande

2015 TRANSECT COUNT RESULTS

26-Sep-15 27-Sep-15 Grand Total Species Name Sat am Sat pm Total Sun am Sun pm Total Average Animal 2788 2827 5615 2751 2678 5429 11044 4733 BABOON 309 390 699 323 345 668 1367 586 BANDED COBRA 1 1 1 1 BANDED MONGOOSE 11 21 32 5 5 37 19 BLACK TAILED MONGOOSE 1 2 3 2 2 5 3 BROWN HOUSE SNAKE 1 1 1 1 BUFFALO 54 25 79 8 32 40 119 51 CIVET 2 2 2 2 CROCODILE 40 23 63 14 12 26 89 38 DWARF MONGOOSE 19 19 19 19 ELAND 40 33 73 30 44 74 147 63 ELEPHANT 96 139 235 205 181 386 621 266 GENET CAT 1 1 1 1 GRYSBOK 1 1 1 1 HIPPO 92 244 336 69 122 191 527 226 HYENA 6 1 7 1 1 8 4 IMPALA 1889 1638 3527 1821 1691 3512 7039 3017 KUDU 32 40 72 18 27 45 117 50 LEOPARD 1 1 1 1 LION 6 1 7 8 8 15 8 LONG TAILED SQUIRREL 1 1 1 1 MONITOR LIZARD 2 2 1 1 3 2 SIDE STRIPED JACKAL 2 1 3 2 2 5 3 SLENDER MONGOOSE 1 1 1 1 TREE SQUIRREL 5 1 6 6 5 VERVET MONKEY 17 9 26 1 12 13 39 17 WARTHOG 44 20 64 40 34 74 138 59 WATERBUCK 120 112 232 143 97 240 472 202 WILD DOG 25 25 25 25 ZEBRA 20 106 126 36 75 111 237 102 WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Species Name Sat am Sat Total Sun am Sun Total Grand Total Average pm pm Birds 404 233 637 387 273 660 1297 556 AFRICAN SKIMMER 1 1 1 1 BATELEUR EAGLE 1 2 3 3 3 6 3 BLACK BILLED STORK 17 17 17 17 BLACK SMITH PLOVER 2 2 2 2 BLACK STORK 2 2 2 2 2015 TRANSECT COUNT SPECIES BLACK WINGED STILT 18 18 4 31 35 53 27 SUMMARY BLACKCOLLAREDCAPEDOVE 3 3 3 3 BLUE STERLING 1 1 1 1 CARMINE BEEEATER 1 1 2 2 3 2 CLOVER 1 1 1 1 COMMON BEE EATER 2 2 2 2 CRESTED GUINEA FOWL 17 17 17 17 CROWNED HORNBILL 4 4 4 4 DOVE 5 12 17 17 13 EAGLE 1 1 1 1 2 3 2 EGRET 9 9 5 2 7 16 8 EGYPTIAN GOOSE 6 4 10 17 6 23 33 14 EUROPEAN BEE EATER 18 18 18 18 FISH EAGLE 7 4 11 1 3 4 15 6 FORK TAILED DRONGO 2 2 2 2 GO AWAY BIRD 1 1 4 4 5 3 GOLIATH HERON 1 1 1 1 2 1 GREATER EGRET 1 1 1 1 GREY HEADED PARROT 2 2 2 2 GREY HERON 8 3 11 1 1 12 6 GROUND HORNBILL 6 1 7 13 6 19 26 11 GUINEA FOWL 38 36 74 61 14 75 149 64 HADEDA IBIS 2 4 6 4 5 9 15 6 HAMMERKOP 8 8 6 1 7 15 8 HELMETED GUINEAFOWL 103 24 127 67 36 103 230 99 HOODED VULTURE 2 1 3 3 2

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Species Name Sat am Sat Total Sun am Sun Total Grand Total Average pm pm IBIS 3 3 3 3 LAP WING PLOVER 2 2 2 2 LILAC TWISTED ROLLER 1 1 1 1 LILIAN'S LOVE BIRD 2 2 11 32 43 45 23 LITTLE EGRET 1 1 1 1 MARABOU STORK 23 5 28 59 3 62 90 39 2015 TRANSECT COUNT SPECIES MATIAL EAGLE 1 1 1 1 SUMMARY MAVIS STARLING 3 3 12 12 15 9 MEYER'S PARROT 4 4 1 2 3 7 4 OPEN BILLED STORK 12 6 18 3 4 7 25 11 OXPECKER 4 4 2 6 8 12 6 PARROT 2 2 2 2 PELICAN 13 13 13 13 PIED KINGFISHER 1 1 1 1 PLOVER 2 2 2 2 QUELEA 20 20 20 20 40 24 REDBILL HOOPOE 8 8 8 8 ROCKET TAILED ROLLER 1 1 1 1 SACRED IBIS 9 9 9 9 SADDLE BILLED STORK 4 4 8 13 13 21 11 SANDPIPER 4 4 2 2 6 4 SNAKE EAGLE 1 1 1 1 2 1 SPOONBILL STORK 3 3 6 25 25 31 16 SPURWING GOOSE 14 5 19 8 8 27 14 STARLING 9 8 17 17 13 STORK 46 46 2 2 48 29 TROPICAL BOUBOU 1 1 1 1 TRUMPETER HORNBILL 6 9 15 7 2 9 24 10 VULTURE 2 2 0 0 2 1 WHITE BACKED VULTURE 1 11 12 12 1 13 25 11 WHITE EGRET 14 7 21 21 16 WHITE FACED DUCK 11 11 11 11

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Species Name Sat am Sat Total Sun am Sun Total Grand Total Average pm pm WHITE STORK 7 7 7 7 WHITEHELMETEDGUINEAFOWL 1 1 1 1 WOODED VULTURE 2 2 2 2 YELLOW BILLED KITE 1 1 2 0 0 2 1 YELLOW BILLED STORK 18 18 20 57 77 95 48 2015 TRANSECT COUNT SPECIES SUMMARY

2015 STATIC COUNT RESULTS

Static Site: CHITAKE PAN

Species Males Females Unspecified Juveniles Species Total BABOON 23 43 2 22 90 BUFFALO 457 31 488 CIVET 1 1 ELEPHANT 23 46 59 47 175 FIELD MOUSE 6 1 7 IMPALA 37 218 70 2 327 KUDU 3 3 SLENDER MANGOOSE 1 1 TAWNY EAGLE 1 1 VERVET MONKEY 2 6 11 5 24 WHITE TAILED BADGER 1 1 Grand Total 85 316 608 109 1118

Comments

The following birds were identified:

1 male brown snake eagle,

6 unspecified guinea fowls and

1 unspecified vulture.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Static site: MASHUMA PAN

Row Labels Males Females Unspecified Juveniles Species Total BUSHBUCK 1 1 COMMON DUIKER 2 1 2 5 CROCODILE 1 1 ELEPHANT 40 32 87 56 215 IMPALA 1 1 6 4 12 KUDU 2 8 10 NYALA 8 24 1 7 40 Grand Total 54 66 97 67 284

Comments

The following birds were identified:

1 brown snake eagle, 114 crested guinea fowls, 1 eagle owl, 1 great egret, 3 fish eagles, 18 ground hornbill, 1 unspecified hamerkop, 5 marabou stork, 5 male and 5 female helmeted guinea fowls, 3 Meyer’s parrots, 1 male and 1 female saddle billed stork and 2 trumpeter hornbills.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

Static site: NJIRI PAN

Row Labels Males Females Unspecified Juveniles Species Total BABOON 20 8 163 78 269 CIVET 2 2 EARGE GREY MANGOOSE 1 1 ELAND 4 1 5 ELEPHANT 15 7 52 9 83 GROUND SQUIRREL 1 1 HIPPO 1 1 HYENA 2 2 IMPALA 69 121 86 276 KUDU 2 12 14 LARGE GREY MANGOOSE 3 3 MONGOOSE 1 1 PAINTED DOG 8 8 SQUIRREL 1 1 WARTHOG 1 3 3 7 WATERBUCK 7 2 7 16 ZEBRA 10 1 11 Grand Total 118 151 341 91 701

Comments

13 egrets were recorded at this site.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

ANNUAL NUMBER OF PANS AND SPECIES

Note:

Static Count results for the years 1993- 1999, 2001, 2002, 2005- 2010 and 2014 could not be found.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

GROUP 1 COUNTS 1993- 2015

Note The above graph is representative of the selected herbivore totals from 1993-2015.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

GROUP 2 COUNTS 1993- 2015

Note:

The bar graph above was used to clearly show sightings of the selected carnivores from 1993-2015.

WILDLIFE & ENVIRONMENT ZIMBABWE (WEZ) WEZ Environmental Awareness and Education Programme

TOTAL IMPALA COUNTS 1994 - 2015

Note:

Impala may be used as an indicator species for feed and water availability, disturbance and other environmental parameters.