KAZA elephant survey results released this week
The results of the elephant census in the Kavango Zambezi (KAZA) Transfrontier Park will be announced next Thursday.The census was successfully completed in late October last year, with a total of 700 flight hours spent over 68 days collecting data.
The methodology and scale of the survey was first of its kind, with almost 60% of the 520 000 km² KAZA landscape covered by coordinated flights. It is a strategic action within the KAZA Strategic Planning Framework for the Conservation and Management of Elephants (2019) undertaken to produce a relatively precise and accurate estimate of the number of KAZA's elephant population.
“In addition, carcasses and the distribution of elephants and other large wild and domestic herbivores were estimated. The results of the survey will therefore provide up-to-date insights into population status, habitats and other factors important to elephant policy and management in KAZA,” the organisation said.
The data analysis was completed in March this year and culminated in a comprehensive technical report documenting the implementation process and the results of the survey, which was completed in May 2023.
After consultation with the African Elephant Specialist Group, an independent review of the technical report was carried out by three leading experts who submitted their report to the KAZA Secretariat with the following comments: “The KAZA Elephant Survey 2022 was a remarkable achievement as, for the first time, the largest elephant population in Africa was surveyed in a single, fully coordinated process. Considerable effort has been made to ensure that the survey was conducted in accordance with CITES-MIKE Standards. These efforts have been largely successful, and the survey has set a new standard for strip-type aerial surveys of elephants. The main objective of the survey, a precise and accurate estimate of the number of living elephants in KAZA, was achieved within the well-known limitations of the technology.”