The Endangered Species of Malawi Breeding Sanctuary
72 hour Waterhole Animal Count 2/10/2009 – 5/10/2009
The 72 Hour Sanctuary Animal Waterhole Count was carried out from 10:00 hours onFriday 2nd October until 10:00 hours on Monday 5 th of October. This year we tried a new schedule with three 5 hour day shifts starting at 05:00 hours and going through to 20:00 and three 3 hour night shifts, initial feed-back has been positive with people commenting that they had more time to socialize with other observer teams. The official Liwonde Animal Populations will be released later by DNPW although observer data collected from this count will be used when the Department’s report is compiled. The 2009 census was carried out by teams of observers manning three waterholes on a continuous basis for 72 hours. Before commencing the count all other waterholes either dried out naturally or were pumped dry and as there is some confusion whether or not this practice was carried out in previous years we caution there may be some minor differences between 2009 and previous years. The census numbers (see charts and tables below) have been compiled from the data collected by observers over the duration of the count and confirmed or adjusted with information gathered from the Department Scouts working in the sanctuary. Apart from some overcast conditions, the worst period being early Saturday morning, we had ideal viewing weather which contributed to a very successful game count.
The Endangered Species
Black Rhino – Chipembere. In total there were 31 sightings of rhino with a third of these being identified as juvenile. The Scouts have reported seeing three female rhinos suckling which we believe are Jebesi with calf Paignton (born either late last year or early 2009), Julia with calf Leefa (born February 2008) and Justerini with a new calf that was due June 2009. If Justerini’s calf is confirmed this will put the rhino population at 11 which includes Ntangai currently residing in the boma. Craig Clow’s team reported a mother and sub-adult calf drinking when an adult male inter-reacted with the calf without any interference from the mother – disturbing in light of the injured Ntangai. Apart from the aforementioned the rhino appeared in good condition and very relaxed. Rhino were sighted at all three waterholes.
Buffalo – Njati. It is estimated that there are one hundred and eighteen buffalo in the sanctuary. The main herd numbered 97 and spent over an hour at waterhole 3 giving Oresti’s team enough time to identify 7 males, 75 females (40 pregnant) and 15juveniles.
Burchell’s Zebra – Mbidzi. The Zebra were true to form, being very skittish and only drinking after spending extended periods on the approaches to waterholes. Our count would indicate a population of 85 Zebra, the biggest herd recorded was 17 with smaller herds of 14, 12 and 10 being identified. Their condition is good.
Eland – Nchefu. We estimate numbers of Eland at 50. This is considerably down from numbers reported from the 2008 census which we find hard to explain. The main herd numbered 28 with 4 males, 15 females and 9 juveniles. A second herd of 12 was seen together with a few smaller groups of 8 or less. The condition of the Eland is good.
Roan Antelope – Chilembwe. The largest herd sighted numbered 16 comprising of 9 females, 2 yearlings and 5 sub-adults. These animals were not in very good condition – Br Harry has photographs taken by Kory Cox of this herd. Our estimated population of Roan in the sanctuary is 38. It is interesting to note that a herd of 16 Roan in good condition were sighted & photographed outside the sanctuary
Lichtenstein’s Hartebeest – Nkhozi. We estimate that there are one hundred hartebeest residing in the sanctuary, with a breeding herd of 32 (2 male, 27 female and 3 yearlings). There are several smaller groups of between 5 and 14 sighted of which a group of 5 males and another group of 6 females were reportedly showing their ribs – all other hartebeest were in good condition.
Sable Antelope – Mphalapala. There appears to be one large breading herd of 54 (8 males, 30 females and 16 juveniles) another breeding herd of 26 (4 males, 12 females 10 juveniles) and a small breeding herd of 15 (2 males 6 females 7 juveniles). These breeding herds together with the other sightings suggest numbers around 250.
Kudu. While this species have not had a specific mention in the past, we believe that their influence in the park is contributing to the excessive number of animals in the sanctuary. Our observation records show that most herds are small, between 4 and 10 with only one sighting of 22 waterhole 4. We estimate populations of Kudu at 90, an increase from 65 for the 2008 count.
Problems
With Ntangai being tendered to in the boma there was an additional two trips being made by the ESOM vehicle to deliver food. While this could not be avoided it did tend to spook the animals especially at waterhole 4 and to a limited degree at waterhole 1.
A suggestion was put forward that the morning shift should start at 04:30 instead of 05:00 as this change in shift was disturbing the animals that came to drink at sun-up – we will see if this suggestion can be adopted for our next game count.
There were also some complaints that observers were using flashlights and camera flashes in the sanctuary and to avoid this happening again ESOM will circulate a comprehensive list of “Do’s and Don’ts” prior to the 2010 census.
Problem species at this years count
Elephants go in and out of the sanctuary at will with approximately 10 fence breaks a day. These daily incursions are having a detrimental effect on the condition of the fence which will have to be rehabilitated in the not too distant future. In the meantime ESOM members will construct some kind of collapsible fence in sections where the elephants habitually cross and at the same time will adopt some of the practices currently being experimented with at Majete. This year’s census monitored numbers of Elephants at the waterholes and it appears that there are between 35 and 37 drinking daily at the waterholes.
The injuries inflicted on Ntangai by Bentley indicate that we have too many male rhinos for the size of our sanctuary. It is also of some concern that Bentley will at some time start mating with his off-spring. Meetings with the Department and relevant stakeholders will be carried out in order to resolve both problems.
While still very high, populations of warthog, impala and sable appear to be stabilizing. We recorded a modest increase in Buffalo numbers with marked increases in Bushbuck, Zebra, Hartebeest and Kudu. All of the aforementioned are putting strain on the resources of the sanctuary and in order to avert any mishaps it is now imperative that a substantial game translocation is initiated in the coming months or the introduction of Lions/Leopards as suggested in last years census report.
Other sightings
As in previous years Oribi, duiker, Sharpe’s grysbok, hyena, civets, and several mongoose species were sighted together with a large number of bird species.
Summary
Apart from the scout sightings of rhino calves, this year’s count numbers are taken entirely from the observers’ reports. We were lucky not to have any interruptions and therefore feel that the numbers as reported are relatively accurate.
ESOM would like to thank all the volunteer observers who joined us and gave up their time and effort to help make this 72-hour count another success. Thanks to the Director of National Parks Mr. Leonard Sefu for his support and to all the Department Staff who provided security and help to the observer teams. Our thanks also to Chris Badger and his Mvuu Staff whose assistance is most appreciated.
Graph and Table
Please see the statistical graph on our Sanctuary Waterhole Count 2002 – 2009 and our Annual Population Comparison Chart. 1999 - 2009
72 HOUR WATERHOLE COUNT - STATISTICAL INFORMATION 2009
ANNUAL POPULATION COMPARISON 2009
