ORC Intern
Life as an intern at the Ongava Research Centre
Hello everyone! I am Rhys, a wildlife sciences undergraduate student at the University of Georgia, USA working in Dr. Jim Beasley’s lab,...
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Blog & News
Update from the field
Jessy Patterson
- Sep 4
- 4 min
Looking beyond the light: how does artificial lighting at waterholes affect mammal behaviour?
Earlier this year, I wrote a blog post about one of my PhD dissertation chapters on carnivore diets. A few weeks ago, we kicked off data...
ORC Intern
- Aug 14
- 3 min
Seeing Sounds: Surveying Ongava’s bats
Of all mammal groups, bats are the second most diverse with a whooping total of 1400 species worldwide and no less than 34 species native...
Maddie Melton
- Jul 26
- 3 min
The more, the merrier! Deploying more collars on Etosha’s carnivores
The end of May 2023 was an exciting time as we began the second year of capturing and collaring carnivores as part of the Greater Etosha...
Rubén Portas
- May 31
- 2 min
Ringing in a new collaboration
On May 7th, an inaugural bird-ringing session took place at the Ongava Game Reserve. The session was organized by the ORC and led by...
Rebecca Dannock
- May 24
- 3 min
If two heads are better than one, then two field sites are absolutely better than one
I’m back in Namibia for 2023’s Bio-Indicator Project sampling. But this time, along with Ongava, I’ve also spent a couple of weeks at...
Saskia Borger
- May 10
- 2 min
All big things start small
During my time at the Ongava Research Centre (ORC) this year, I worked in the lab analysing biological samples from elephants. The lab is...
ORC collaborator
- Mar 13
- 4 min
Long-term vegetation monitoring infrastructure at Ongava
The SECO project aims to increase our understanding of carbon fluxes across dry tropical vegetation. Globally, savannas, woodlands and...
Maddie Melton
- Feb 24
- 3 min
Monitoring wildlife crossing the fence between Etosha and the surrounding human landscape
As the global human population increases, the competition for space and resources results in increased human-wildlife interactions from...
Stéphanie Périquet
- Feb 6
- 2 min
A camera trap grid runs through it: surveying Etosha wildlife large scale and long term!
One of the many challenges that wildlife biologists and managers face is to know how many animals occur in a given area, how they...
Jessy Patterson
- Jan 25
- 2 min
sDNA Metabarcoding: Opening the Doors to Understanding Carnivore Diets
Understanding carnivore diets, especially in Namibia where multiple large carnivores have overlapping niches, is important for...
Josephine Amwaalwa
- Jan 9
- 2 min
Big birds with even bigger personalities
The Kori bustard, Ardeotis kori, and the Secretarybird, Sagittarius serpentarius, are the world’s heaviest flying bird and the world’s...
Dipanjan Naha
- Dec 20, 2022
- 2 min
Animal husbandry, herding & livestock movements in the northern periphery of Etosha National Park
Villages in rural Africa are multifunctional and play important ecosystem services in providing space for grazing, crop cultivation,...
John Mendelsohn
- Dec 6, 2022
- 2 min
Ongava’s social spiders and Gabar goshawks
Although Gabar Goshawks are the commonest birds of prey (or raptor) on Ongava, finding their nests is not that easy. And each time we...
John Mendelsohn
- Nov 21, 2022
- 2 min
Waterholes in a semi-arid environment
Sources of water and hubs for interaction between pathogens, hosts, vectors, predators, prey, plants and people Aside from perennial...
ORC Student
- Nov 21, 2022
- 1 min
Identifying potential corridors and conservation areas for lions and elephants in northern Namibia
Hello, I am Corsa Liu, a recent graduate of the Technical University of Munich. In 2021 and 2022, I had the opportunity to work on my...
John Mendelsohn
- Nov 7, 2022
- 4 min
Seeds for a new generation of conservationists and scientists
Environmental science and conservation are life-long pursuits to understand and conserve the living world. Both vocations are built on...
ORC Team
- Oct 24, 2022
- 1 min
What we have been missing but the cameras haven’t! Annual camera trap waterhole monitoring
September was that time of the year again… What time?? Well, annual waterhole monitoring of course!! As those who have been following us...
ORC Intern
- Oct 11, 2022
- 2 min
The Elephants Versus The Bush: Photopoints help to reveal forgotten landscapes
The Okaukuejo Waterhole is arguably Etosha’s most famous landmark. Its desolate landscape and memorable bare white rocks have been the...
ORC collaborator
- Sep 26, 2022
- 2 min
Mammals and their microbes: Unraveling the gut microbiome of Etosha's herbivores
Working with animal scat may not be the most glamorous way of studying African mammals, but thanks to advancements in molecular...
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