AWF Conducts Aerial Survey in Banhine National Park

Banhine National Park, known for its wetlands, used to be home to notable herbivores, including buffalo, sable, tsetsebe, hartebeest, zebra, and wildebeest. Sadly, those populations were decimated in the civil wars of the 1980s and early 1990s. Today, Banhine National Park is still home to the endangered wattled cranes, a host of migratory birds, and several large herbivores.

But, how are these, and other species surviving? To assess both the populations and distribution of Bahine's wildlife populations, the African Wildlife Foundation conducted an aerial survey of the landscape between the 25th and 29th of October 2004. The survey included block sampling in all but one of the park's landscapes. The only landscape not sampled was the Androstachys woodland thickets due their unusually low carrying capacity for large mammals.

Preliminary results show that Banhine still supports healthy populations of ostrich, kudu, impala, reedbuck, duiker, steenbok, porcupine, warthog, and the increasingly rare oribi. The distribution of wildlife was particularly noteworthy. Grasslands and wetlands which were once dominated by large herbivores are now dominated by medium and small ungulates. The results of this survey are currently being analyzed. Once completed, this analysis will help inform and shape park practices.

Established in 1973, Banhine National Park measures more than 7,000 square kilometers. The park is part of AWF's Limpopo Heartland and is comprised of a variety of landscapes, including grasslands and wetlands. As part of a recently signed Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Mozambique and AWF, both AWF and the Mozambique Ministry of Tourism (MITUR) will work on restoring the park. Priority projects include the complete analysis of the aerial survey and the establishment of a scientific research center. AWF and MITUR will also be working to engage the local communities, as well as the private sector, in the management of the park.

The enormous Limpopo Heartland spans three diverse countries; Mozambique, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Centered on the Limpopo River, this Heartland includes South Africa's popular Kruger National Park which attracts more than 1.5 million visitors a year thanks to the huge variety of wildlife species, including 10,000 elephants.