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...
top of page
Blog & News
Update from the field
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...
Dipanjan Naha
- Sep 8, 2022
- 2 min
Carnivore, livestock and humans- Living along the edge of Etosha National Park
Human-wildlife conflicts at the interface of protected areas and farmlands are a common problem worldwide. The conflicts are severe when...
Stéphanie Périquet
- Aug 22, 2022
- 2 min
Life & death on a roll: dung beetles and honey badgers
Sometimes we come upon curious things while working in the field. It happened a few weeks ago when we noticed strange looking spherical...
John Mendelsohn
- Jul 21, 2022
- 3 min
The Cuando (aka Kwando): a river in its own right!
International convention holds that a river should have one name along its entire course, which is normally the name given at its source....
John Mendelsohn
- Jun 30, 2022
- 1 min
Feasts of Grasses
ORC has enjoyed visits from several eminent scientists and conservationists in the past year: Paul Maritz (conservationist and software...
bottom of page