Wildlife research meeting

The Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks held a meeting in Maun this past week for independent researchers to share information about ongoing wildlife research in the region. A variety of researchers made presentations about their work:

Michael Briggs – Multidisciplinary carnivore study in the Kwando River Basin
Moses Selebatso – Migration patterns of ungulates in the Kalahari ecosystem
Glyn Maude – Spatial and forging aspects of brown hyena ecology
Harriet Bartlam – Large herbivore population structure and patterns of assembly patterns in the Okavango Delta, Botswana
Rudi van Aarde and Sam Ferreira – Megaparks for Metapopulations Initiative: progess in Botswana
Marlies Heesen – Social behaviour and the causes of stress in wild baboons
Tshepo Kgokilwe – Preliminary analysis of large carnivore spoor sampling in Ngamiland
Chris Brooks – Zebra migration in Makgadikgadi Pans
Graham McCulloch – Conservation of Makgadikgadi wetlands and flamingo populations
Christiaan Winterbach – FIV prevalence in lion
J.W. McNutt – An overview of the Predator Conservation Program, Northern Botswana
Michael Chase – Home ranges, transboundary movements and harvest of elephants in northern Botswana and factors affecting elephant distribution and abundance in the Lower Kwando River Basin
Sarel van der Merwe – Evaluation of the impact of livestock and wildlife management practices on lion – livestock interactions in the Kgalagadi – South region of Botswana
Khawulani Bachobeli – Poverty and conservation : assessment of carnivore predation on livelihoods of Chobe communities
Lucas Rutina – Soil nutrients and elephant impacts
Moses Selebatso – Livestock losses and cheetah conservation in Ghanzi District
Pete Hancock – Baseline study of the Slaty Egret in the Okavango Delta
Lucas Rutina – Effects of water on wildlife distributions in Chobe National Park
Gaseitsewe Masunga – Fire in open Baikiaea woodlands
Kyle Good – Overview of Cheetah Conservation Botswana.

Wildlife and National Parks representative, Dr Cyril Taolo, also updated researchers about Government of Botswana independent research guidelines and the Department’s draft research strategy.