ONGAVA

Etosha National Park’s diverse landscapes harbor some of the most elusive species across Africa. Fortunately, camera traps allow us to delve into …

Hello, I'm Saskia Borger, a recent graduate from the Technical University of Munich. I completed my Master's thesis in collaboration with the …

People travel from far to see iconic elephants, rhinos and lions in Ongava – three of the Big Five. Ecologists laud these animals for being …

At ORC, our mission extends beyond our daily work in the field and our commitment to research and conservation. It includes a dedication to sharing…

Hello everyone! I am Rhys, a wildlife sciences undergraduate student at the University of Georgia, USA working in Dr. Jim Beasley’s lab, and I got …

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 collection…

In order to better understand the local carnivore populations, ORC recently placed camera traps at several cheetah marking trees on Ongava. …

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 Ruben Portas, …

During my time at the Ongava Research Centre (ORC) this year, I worked in the lab analysing biological samples from elephants. The lab is equipped …

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 to …

The SECO project aims to increase our understanding of carbon fluxes across dry tropical vegetation. Globally, savannas, woodlands and dry forests …

Updated: Feb 7, 2023 One of the many challenges that wildlife biologists and managers face is to know how many animals occur in a given area, …

Understanding carnivore diets, especially in Namibia where multiple large carnivores have overlapping niches, is important for conservation efforts…

Updated: Jan 16, 2023 The Kori bustard, Ardeotis kori, and the Secretarybird, Sagittarius serpentarius, are the world’s heaviest flying bird and…

Villages in rural Africa are multifunctional and play important ecosystem services in providing space for grazing, crop cultivation, rainwater …

Although Gabar Goshawks are the commonest birds of prey (or raptor) on Ongava, finding their nests is not that easy. And each time we find one, …

Sources of water and hubs for interaction between pathogens, hosts, vectors, predators, prey, plants and people Aside from perennial rivers …

Updated: Nov 9, 2022 Environmental science and conservation are life-long pursuits to understand and conserve the living world. Both vocations …

In fenced game reserves, it is very important to have a clear idea of how many animals you have in order to manage them appropriately. Every year …

The Okaukuejo Waterhole is arguably Etosha’s most famous landmark. Its desolate landscape and memorable bare white rocks have been the background …

Elephant dung along a game trail Working with animal scat may not be the most glamorous way of studying African mammals, but thanks to …

Updated: Nov 10, 2022 Sometimes we come upon curious things while working in the field. It happened a few weeks ago when we noticed strange …

International convention holds that a river should have one name along its entire course, which is normally the name given at its source. This …

Wildlife produces a lot of sound. From insects to mammals, including fish and birds, auditory communication –signals emitted through the acoustic …

Updated: Jul 25, 2022 ORC has enjoyed visits from several eminent scientists and conservationists in the past year: Paul Maritz (conservationist…

It’s high biomass season here at Ongava which means ORC’s Bio-Indicator Project, funded by Nedbank’s Go-Green Fund, is in full swing. The project …

All living organisms go through stages of growth and reproduction. The emperor moth does its growing and reproducing in remarkable ways. The egg …

The mopane worm (Gonimbrasia belina) is an unusual edible little critter found in parts of southern Africa. Its life cycle is particularly …

Anyone who has ever worked with carnivores knows that this can be a rather smelly business. Whether it involves carcasses or fresh faeces, their …

Hello! I´m Tomás Azevedo, a veterinary student from Portugal. As of late I have been learning more about wildlife veterinary care, as well as …

Updated: Mar 7, 2022 When I came to Ongava in mid-2018 its vegetation was extremely sparse and dry. Little rain fell in the 2018/2019 summer, …

In October 2021, we conducted our annual camera trap monitoring of Ongava's waterholes. For a period of 7 days, we deployed multiple camera traps …

The arrival of the rains not only triggers striking changes in the landscape with the vegetation turning from brown yellow to lush green, but it …

Updated: Jan 25, 2022 The roof top of the Visitor Centre is the best spot to watch the sunset (or the sunrise if you are a morning person…), so …

As with other protected areas in the world, Etosha National Park in north-western Namibia has similar problems with humans and dangerous wildlife …

Updated: Jan 21, 2022 Every year after the first significant rains, we are witnesses to one of Nature's fantastic shows: the flight of termites.…

During field trips around Ongava, we see some termite mounds surrounded by areas of bare ground, while other mounds have shrubs, trees and grasses …

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 Master’s …

Updated: Dec 22, 2021 Placing camera traps in unusual places can go one of two way: an  interesting find or a great disappointment. Camera …

Updated: Dec 17, 2021 If you are a large carnivore enthusiast, you probably have heard that they are wide ranging species requiring a lot of …

Updated: Dec 22, 2021 Have you ever heard about queleas? Chances are you did hear about these huge flocks of small, red-billed birds destroying …

In this day and age, plenty of information is available online, thanks to the well-established electronic system. In Namibia, old and young …

Namibia is well known for harbouring about 25% of the remaining global cheetah population. Given the healthy lion and spotted hyaena populations on…

Updated: Dec 28, 2021 After a good rainy season in North Central Namibia in 2020, the Ongava Research Centre received an ~ 514mm of rain and the…

Updated: Dec 30, 2021 Hi! I’m Theresa a Wildlife Conservation student from the UK who despite all the madness of the last 18 months was able to …

When we think about the African lion (Panthera leo), we picture a majestic predator from Africa, the king of the savanna. This iconic species was …

Astonishing bloody battles play out in the nests of several species of eagles, herons, boobies, pelicans and certain other large birds. These are …

This image covers 9.5 km from west to east, and shows a stretch of miombo woodland in eastern Angola. Miombo is the name given to a broad area of …

Updated: Dec 17, 2021 Coming in different shapes and colours, termite mount are a common sight when driving around on Ongava. For the …

Say Hello to Eremoides bicristatus, one of southern Africa’s owl-flies. We picked it up at the ORC research campus on Ongava Game Reserve one early…

Several features of Black-winged Kite come from their specialisation on rodent prey which typically fluctuate widely in abundance from season to …

One thing biologists often curse is the lack of historical data, especially information recorded methodically on when certain events take place: …

You probably have quite often heard that Namibia is a very dry place. Indeed, some parts of the country are ones of the driest on the planet and …

Updated: Dec 17, 2021 Ongava Research Centre staff recently came across a distinct and intriguing vegetation patch on the western plains of …

In southern Africa, summer rains bring countless flying, crawling and creeping visitors. But in the Mopane belt, in which Ongava is located, we are…

The first good rains of the year fell last week on the 4th of December when an unusual weather system reached Ongava. The winds and rain brought …

Camera traps are one of the most popular wildlife monitoring and  research tools. They record spectacular wildlife images, such as this  leopard, …

Life has been tough for Ongava’s animals and plants during this year's extraordinary drought, the worst since 1980 and 1981. We expect lots of …

Updated: Jun 15, 2022 There are many challenges associated with managing wild populations within fenced areas. One of the major challenges …

We are often asked what we do on Sundays since we live in the bush far from town. Well, last Sunday someone made that decision for us! Each morning…

Updated: Feb 6, 2023 In these troubled times, we are revisiting ‘historical’ data - our giraffe data from 2016. After identifying the …

The world’s natural environment is changing rapidly, and in many ways. Although these changes are apparent, their causes and drivers are often more…

Fires could do great damage if they could get into the fairy forests shown in the previous blog, which leads us to the intriguing possibility that …

One of Ongava Research Centre's major interests focuses on this question: How can rural poverty be eradicated, and land degradation be reversed in …

After the few seconds spent in awe following spotting a leopard, we usually grab our camera to record that rare encounter. As scientists, we do the…

Different weaver species usually nest separately, but two species sometimes occupy a tree. Seldom are there three species, but that rare …

Most large mammals enjoy a good scratch, rhinos especially after a mud bath. To find out more about this behaviour, we video-monitored a …

Have you ever heard what the call of a giraffe? No? Well, us neither! This is why 2 French researchers (Thierry Lengagne & Christophe …

Updated: Feb 6, 2023 Obtaining reliable estimate for wildlife population sizes is highly desirable for management and conservation purposes but …

During the second half of September, at the peak of this year’s drought, ORC conducted an intensive camera trapping survey on Ongava. During the …

Ongava is home to numerous endemic mammal, bird, reptile and plant species. But among mammals, only one is a carnivore and it is the black mongoose…

August full moon nocturnal monitoring was filled with sightings of our most secretive big cat. It started with 2 leopards were observed mating. …

A seasoned scientist once told me: 'Everything starts with a good map'. And that’s entirely true. Wildlife researchers struggle to interpret …

Updated: Dec 17, 2021 To maintain a stable core body temperature, mammals need to regulate heat stress effectively. This is essential as many …