- Gondwana Namib Park/ News 15.06.07



		News 2007News 15.06.07


		Springbok at the watering place - 15.06.07 The first game count in the park, conducted last weekend, established a healthy increase in the game numbers for the park area. Compared to the estimated figures two and a half years ago, when the area was taken over (December 2004), there is a particularly noticeable increase in the number of springbok (450) and Oryx antelope (gemsbok, 180). Thus it is no wonder that springbok and Oryx antelope are frequently seen at the illuminated watering place at Namib Desert Lodge. But the steenbok and ostrich populations have also developed well. Just before the game count even a group of kudu was spotted among the shrubs in the riverbed.



		Migration and offspring are seen as the reason for the positive development. Both prove that game in this area does not get disturbed. Some of the neighbouring areas have since also switched from stock farming to tourism and nature conservation.

		Birds and smaller mammals were also recorded during the game count: Lappet Faced Vultures, Martial Eagles and Pale Chanting Goshawks, jackals, bat-eared foxes and mongooses. Even though there may be considerable short-term fluctuations, depending on rainfalls, their occurrence and numbers serve as important ecological indicators in the long term.

		The count is conducted from a slowly moving vehicle. The same four routes through changing terrain are used for every count so that the results of different years can be compared. Totals are determined by multiplying the number of animals which were spotted during the count by adjusting factors for species and terrain.

		The aim of the count is to obtain reliable data on populations in the park area, their distribution and the development of figures from year to year. This is a prerequisite for sustainable game management. Rain is not only sparse in this arid region, but there are also significant fluctuations in annual quantities; this affects the condition of grazing, of course. Game management implies that strict attention is being paid to not exceeding the carrying capacity of the land. Game animals, by the way, instinctively respond to changing conditions by migrating - that is, they move along with the rain and the grazing. Therefore Gondwana is striving for neighbourly cooperation in nature conservation and to dismantle as many fences as possible so that game is once again able to roam extensively without obstruction.