Over the last five years, CCF has conducted multiple large-scale camera trapping surveys to get a better understanding of where carnivores are located in Namibia’s central-eastern landscape. This vast and remote area is notably understudied, despite the region’s critical position in proximity to the southern African conservation network, particularly the massive Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA), the largest transboundary conservation area on the planet.
Placing camera traps across this vast landscape was challenging, and researchers often relied on the help of local communities and the use of detection dogs to find signs of carnivores. And, the camera traps revealed some very interesting results! Dominant predators - like lions and spotted hyenas - were largely missing, indicating a substantial shift in the historic carnivore community in the region. In their place, we found smaller brown hyenas to be widespread, while African wild dogs and cheetahs showed clear habitat preferences. Wild dogs preferred areas of high vegetation productivity, while cheetahs favored areas with sufficient grasslands. Leopards, known for their adaptability, were found in rugged and vegetated areas away from humans.
The changing carnivore population in Namibia reflects the challenges faced by wildlife in areas that are shared by animals and humans. While the absence of top predators, including lions and spotted hyenas, is troubling, the presence of more adaptable species, like African wild dogs, cheetahs, brown hyenas, and leopards, does offer hope. These species are finding ways to persist in human-dominated landscapes, their survival is still threatened by the encroachment of people – and livestock.
The findings demonstrate the need for developing conservation strategies that consider multiple species together – while also recognizing that different species have specific habitat needs and preferences.
Thank you Clive Johnson and B2Gold Corp. for your funding support over the past 4 years.
