Carnivores are a fascinating group of animals on which many books have been written. For some of them, we already know a lot, but for many others even the most basic knowledge of presence or abundance is missing. In the first group, we usually find the big, furry and charismatic species, while the second group is mainly composed of smaller species that are less often seen and deemed less sexy. However, no matter their size or charisma, many of these species have declining populations. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has developed a framework to evaluate species conservation status with its now famous Red List Of Threatened Species. Following this framework, 5 years ago members of the Large Carnivore Management Association of Namibia (LCMAN) embarked on a journey to establish Namibia’s own Red List data book for carnivores. We worked together with the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Tourism (MEFT), the Namibian Chamber of Environment (NCE) and many other research organisations and NGOs.
The development of this book took some time, but it is finally out! It is the second Red Data Book for Namibia following one on birds published in 2015 and provides the latest scientific information on the conservation status of Namibia’s 34 terrestrial carnivore species.
Species assessments were conducted and reviewed by experts. For each species, the book provides a detailed description of its distribution in Namibia; the latest estimates of population sizes and trends; account of its ecology and behaviour, and conservation threats, and status and recommendations for its conservation.
Because of its aridity, Namibia supports smaller carnivore populations than most other African countries, and species that prefer wetter environments (e.g. otters and side-striped jackal) are limited to areas such as the Zambezi region. However, others thrive in arid environments, like the black-footed cat, brown hyaena and cheetah. We hope that these national assessments will provide guidance for Namibia-specific carnivore conservation measures and stimulate research on the lesser-known species.
You can download the full book & poster here or head to your bookstore to purchase your copy!