Aerial census of animals in Botswana, dry season 2012

Abstract

Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) initiated countrywide aerial surveys in response to a number of wildlife management challenges, including a severe drought in the 1980s which resulted in high wildlife mortalities and rangeland degradation. These challenges required information on wildlife population, abundance and distribution before any informed management decisions can be made. Recent concerns that some species in key wildlife areas were declining further underlined the need for monitoring data.