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Date: June 5-8 2004
Participants: Rebecca Klein
Location: Jwaneng, Southern Botswana 
Activities: Cheetah Conservation Botswana is dedicated to conserving the wild cheetah population in Botswana. Although the group is based in the Mokolodi Nature Reserve near Gabarone, the capital, their research is conducted in the Jwaneng Nature Reserve near the Kalahari Desert. In an attempt to track the local cheetah population two groups have been radio collared; one a group of three females traveling together, and the second a group of three males. Both groups have traveled out of land based tracking range. Using an airplane an area of about 150 sq km. will be searched for these animals.
We conducted two tracking flights, one in the vicinity of the Jwaneng Nature Reserve and a much longer flight over 100 miles to the east looking for a translocated cheetah that was harassing domestic livestock. The animal was not found either in the capture or release area. It is possible that the collar malfunctioned or continued to attack cattle and was killed by a local farmer. The local flight yielded two cheetahs that could not be located using ground based tracking equipment; one with the reserve and another just outside the fence. Fences are of little value in containing predators since with the help of warthogs they can easily burrow under.
 Organization: Tau Consultants - Lion Camp
Date: June 26-29 2004
Participants: Hanlie and Christiaan Winterbach
Location: Xudum, Okavango Delta, Botswana
Activities: Hanlie and Christiaan have been studying lions in a private concession about 50 miles northwest of Maun. They are independent researchers (there are a number of independents operating here in Botswana) who manage to solicit sufficient funding to operate. In their case they have established a participant programs that accepts ordinary folks to assist in the various aspects of lion research such as tracking, darting, observing, etc. Both have been trained in wildlife management in South Africa, their country of origin.
Their work includes the monitoring of the various lion prides in their research area. Most of the position information is obtained from daily reports transmitted via satellite from collars that incorporate a miniature GPS. However, some of the collars are either VHF signal only, or the GPS transmission have failed. We conducted several flights to locate as many of the collars as possible. The effort was well rewarded allowing them to get an up to date picture on their lion movements.
 Organization: San Diego Zoological Society
Date: July 1-10 2004
Participants: Anne Carlson
Location: Kafue National Park, Zambia
Activities: Kafue National Park is located about 100 nm north of Livingstone in the southern portion of Zambia. Anne and her husband Ron are veterans of wild dog studies elsewhere in Africa. Wild dogs are highly endangered, requiring an urgent attempt to understand the movement and behavior of these predators in order to avoid certain extinction. Although wild dogs have been spotted within the boundaries of Kafue National Park, no animals have been collared, or extensively studied. Due to weather conditions and the poor road quality the Carlsons have limited their field work to the winter months of April through October. During their first season they had limited success in locating dogs, and none were collared.
This season they are hoping to locate the animals early in their stay, with the goal of establishing one or two trackable packs. Using our airplane we will conduct an extensive aerial survey where the dogs are most likely to congregate. Since this year’s pups are still quite small, the pack will stay close to their den until the juveniles are able to travel.
Dens are usually located in abandoned termite mounds which are often out in the open grass land. It is hoped that this behavior will substantially improve the likelihood of spotting animals from the air. A ground support team will be dispatched to dart the animals and attach the collar. If successful, the collaring will significantly improve the results of their efforts.
 Organization: Tau Consultants - Lion Camp
Date: August 4 - 12, 2004
Participants: Hanlie and Christiaan Winterbach
Location: Xudum, Okavango Delta, Botswana
Activities: Our second visit to Lion camp incorporated two separate objectives. The initial goal was to locate members of several prides whose collar batteries were expiring. Unfortunately, the replacements were delayed (TAB - that’s Africa baby) so the darting operation was postponed until November when the American veterinary volunteer (Dane) will return. However, we did track most of the subject animals just to determine their present location.
Following the tracking we conducted a game count survey of the research area. An essential of predator research is to determine the number and variety of prey animals that provide food for the lions. This count is done using two methods. A road count requires a vehicle to drive along certain reference roads counting the number and species of animals that have crossed the road. This is done by examining the spoor (foot prints) to determine which animals have passed over this road. Although not very accurate it provides a rough estimate of population changes on a year to year basis.
The second approach is to fly over the area and count the animals along each strip or transect. This is done with a pilot, coordinator, and two observers who identify the number and type of animals passing under their viewing range. Although not perfect this is the most effective method for conducting an animal census. Since a great deal of conservation work focuses on ”How many are there?” and “Where are they?” aerial surveys are a vital component. This is very tedious work requiring up to five hours of flight per day over a predefined course at an altitude of 300 feet above ground level at a fairly slow speed. The flying must be precise, and the spotting and counting accurate, especially for large herds or small animals.
 Organization: Elephants Without Borders
Date: August, 2004
Participants: Mike Chase
Location: Sioma Ngwezi National Park, Zambia
Activities: This was a five day elephant survey of the Sioma Ngwezi National Park in Zambia. Our base of operations was from Kasane, Botswana due to the lack of fuel and an airstrip closer to the study area. Consequently we incurred a very long ferry time (over one hour each way) resulting in the longest survey session to date of more than 5hr and 20min air time. The park is a poorly maintained area on the western side of the country which has been severely burned by the local population. This destruction of the plant life was reflected in the scarcity of all types of animals, especially elephants. The park is in desperate need of rehabilitation but sorely neglected by the Zambian Wildlife Authority (ZAWA) which has minimal funds to go around. The area has great potential as a human free reserve for the rapidly growing elephant population in Northern Botswana to seek refuge. However, a migration corridor needs to be established to this area where elephants can travel safely, and a plan to restore the vegetation is essential. Unfortunately lack of funds and distractions from other National Parks shows little promise for the immediate future.
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 Organization: University of Pretoria
Date: September, 2004
Participants: Rudi van Aarde, Annouska Kinehan, Ian Whyte
Location: Kafue National Park, Ngoma, Zambia
Activities: This was the first of two elephant survey sessions of the park, Zambia’s oldest and by far largest. We concentrated on the southern half of the park from our base in Ngoma, the site of ZAWA operations for this area. Like Sioma Ngwezi a substantial portion of the southern perimeter of the park was inhabited by the local population that has moved inside the park boundaries. These squatter settlements had a small number of thatched buildings surrounded by cultivated plots of corn, and the raising of domestic animals. This is in violation of property laws and strongly in conflict with the wild animal population. Additionally, extensive areas were severely burned creating an uninhabitable wasteland although water seemed sufficient to support animal life. Most of the elephants were found to congregate around the Ngoma are about one third of the way up the park. Also, they preferred the eastern boundary which made the domestic crops easy targets for raiding. We logged over 25 hours of flight time in five days in order to complete this portion of the survey.
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 Organization: Elephants Without Borders
Date: September, 2004
Participants: Mike Chase
Location: Maun, Botswana
Activities: A short tracking session to help Mike locate some of his collared elephants around the Okavango delta.
 Organization: University of Durban, South Africa
Date: October, 2004
Participants: Jeanetta Selier, Bruce Page
Location: Tuli Block, Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe
Activities: Elephant survey. The Tuli Block is located on Botswana’s eastern border where it adjoins both Zimbabwe and South Africa. Unlike other protected areas of Botswana such as the Okavango Delta, Chobe, Moremi, and Linyanti areas this is a multi use area containing both animal reserves and traditional farming and the raising of livestock. Two airplanes were used to conduct this survey, our Cessna 206 and a Cessna 210 out of Johannesburg. Low clouds grounded us for one day, but the ceiling lifted enough on the other days to complete the project. Unlike other surveys this was a total count, meaning we did not concentrate on a portion of the transect strips but counted every elephant we found. In the case of breeding herds of as many as 80 adult females and juveniles we circled the area to get a more accurate count and take photographs to confirm our estimates. All totaled more than 1200 elephants were counted during the three days of flying. One of the major concerns for the local elephant population is the effect of poaching in the economically and politically challenged areas of Zimbabwe. Future surveys will allow the study team to assess the resulting damage to the elephant population.
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 Organization: University of Pretoria
Date: November, 2004
Participants: Rudi Van Aarde, Tim Jackson
Location: Kafue National Park, Chunga Zambia
Activities: Elephant survey. This was the second half of the survey started in September. The northern section of the park extends both east and west of the Kafue River, a vital water source for the park and much of the agriculture and human population down stream. The Busanga Plains area in the northwest corner is a lush habitat of open savannahs and woodlands which should support an abundance of all species of animal life. The potential economic value of this area is reflected in the development of several photographic safari tourist camps. In conjunction with the traditional survey techniques, Rudi and his team used a helicopter to photograph individual elephants to obtain age estimates and distributions. The photograph is analyzed to estimate the shoulder height of the animal. From this data the population growth is extrapolated. Knowing whether the elephant population is growing or declining is vital to establishing management plans. A population decline may be a source of concern, but as important is a surging growth rate of 8% or more. Like humans, overpopulation can irreparably damage the habitat for elephants or impact other species that depend on the destroyed plant life.
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