This report provides information on an aerial total count survey of elephants in the Central Limpopo River Valley conducted in August 2014 using a Cessna 206 and two C182Ts.
A total of 1 449 elephants were counted in an area of 6 295km², slightly more than in any of the previous counts. The report notes that distributions have changed dramatically since the 2007 count but also substantially since 2012 count. It states that over the past decade, increasing numbers of elephants have moved into Mapungubwe National Park and onto game ranches in South Africa, while numbers in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve seem to be declining slightly.
As a result of the shift in elephant distribution and higher numbers moving along the Limpopo River, the report observes that human-elephant conflict is increasing in the area.
Source:Selier, J., & Page, B. (2015). Dry Season Fixed-Wing Aerial Survey Of Large Mammals In The Northern Tuli Game Reserve And Mapungubwe National Park And Of Elephants In The Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area, Botswana, South Africa And Zimbabwe, August 2014 (p. 44). Central Limpopo River Valley Elephant Research Project and the University of KwaZulu-Natal.
