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Crane species in Namibia. Blue crane ( Anthropoides paradiseus ) Wattled crane ( Grus carunculatus ) Grey crowned crane ( Balearica regulorum ). Wattled crane. Distribution and abundance - overall Largest and rarest crane in Africa; with an estimated African population of 7500 – 15000 birds
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Crane species in Namibia Blue crane (Anthropoides paradiseus) Wattled crane (Grus carunculatus) Grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum)
Wattled crane Distribution and abundance - overall • Largest and rarest crane in Africa; with an estimated African population of 7500 – 15000 birds • Largely restricted to southern and central Africa - wetland areas of Zambia, DRC and the Okavango Delta - with an isolated population in Ethiopia of a few hundred birds • Major stronghold lies in Zambia which supports c. 5500 birds • In southern Africa, centered on Okavango Delta, with 1000 – 3000 birds there • Feeds on small amphibians and tubers, small reptiles, small mammals, insects, grain, tubers, rhizomes • Egglaying March – September (Okavango and Caprivi), year-round with a peak in April – September (Zimbabwe and South Africa) • Threats include wetland degradation by drainage, damming and afforestation, direct disturbance and poisoning
Wattled crane In Namibia: • Namibian population, estimated at around 200 birds, is an overflow of the Okavango population • Feeds on small amphibians and tubers • Recorded regularly in 13 wetlands • Utilises large low-lying wetlands and swamps in northern Namibia, and ephemerally flooded pans • Small numbers found on floodplains of Okavango, Kwando and Chobe rivers and in ephemeral pans near Tsumkwe. Also Oponono, Oshituntu, Mahango, Sishika channel, Linyanti swamps • Little known about breeding in Namibia – only 4 records
No of birds recorded in Wetland counts: Wattled crane * Includes Oshituntu
Distribution of Wattled crane in relation to protected areas and conservancies
Distribution of Wattled crane in relation to human population
Wattled crane – potential for range expansion? Population density Cleared land Livestock density
Wattled crane Red Data status – Critically Endangered in Namibia, – population stable Threats • Degradation of wetlands, though most are protected, in conservancies or remote and rarely visited by humans • Flow regulation (e.g. proposed weirs) on major rivers • Increased tourism • Ability to recover from natural disasters or disturbance is limited because: • - rear only one young • - reach sexual maturity as late as 8 or 9 years old Actions • Research on movements of individuals through radio/satellite tracking • Enhanced protection of Nyae Nyae pans – a potential nursery area for subadults
This presentation was compiled using information and data from: • The Atlas of Southern African Birds (Ed. Harrison et al, 1997) • Avifaunal Database of Namibia, held at the Directorate of Environmental Affairs, MET • Atlas of Namibia – A Portrait of the Land and its People (Mendelsohn et al, 2002) • An environmental profile and atlas of Caprivi (Mendelsohn et al, 1997) • Draft text from the Red Data Book on birds of Namibia (Simmons, in prep)