Hartmann's mountain zebra studbook 2011 - Marwell Zoo

Conservation Conservation Conservation research research on on mountain mountain mountain zebra zebra zebra in in in NNamibia
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amibia amibia
Prof. L.M. Gosling, NIReS, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK; and
Mountain Zebra Project, Namibia Nature Foundation, PO Box 245, Windhoek, Namibia.
morris.gosling@newcastle.ac.uk
I continued with individual-based monitoring at three main sites in southern Namibia during 2011 and
started a pilot study in the Naukluft National Park. As before, the main practical techniques are camera
trapping at water holes plus occasional field observations of wild groups. Here, I will focus on
Gondwana Cañon Park (GCP) and NamibRand Nature Reserve (NRNR) where mark-recapture
population estimates were carried out in the dry season of 2011 using camera trap data. These
supplement estimates of numbers obtained from accumulating the numbers of individually recognised
animals, a process that goes on continuously as camera trap images are analysed. This exercise has
become more useful as the owners of GCP and NRNR have also acquired camera traps to create
extensive monitoring networks. The mountain zebra populations in these two protected areas are
healthy and are probably increasing and, from all reports, this seems to be the case in most other
parts of Namibia. However, a new conservation threat is emerging, the potential problem of
hybridisation with plains zebra, and this is discussed at the end of this report.
AII
Figure 1:
Namibia showing the main blocks
of contiguous protected areas (1,
2 and 3) and mountain zebra
study sites. The map is modified,
with permission, from one in a
forthcoming review of the 'State of
Biodiversity in Namibia' by Chris
Brown.