Reliable carnivore population estimates and what affects these numbers are still unknown in Namibia’s flagship Etosha National Park. However, this information is crucial for effectively managing and conserving these keystone species, ensuring their continued presence in this vital ecosystem. This recognition led the members of the Greater Etosha Carnivore Programme – a collaboration between Ongava Research Centre, the Etosha Ecological Institute and other national and international collaborators – to address this knowledge gap and conduct large-scale surveys in the park in 2024.

Carnivores are notoriously difficult to count due to their wide-ranging behaviours, nocturnal habits, elusive nature and low densities. Fortunately, methods to monitor population sizes have become relatively well developed. For instance, playback surveys are used to estimate the numbers of social and vocal species such as spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) and lions (Panthera leo). Camera traps are ideal for species with unique coat patterns, enabling individual identification based on photographic evidence. However, due to the differing behaviours of leopards and cheetahs, two separate sampling designs of camera traps deployment would be necessary for reliable population size estimates of these two species. Consequently, a citizen science survey is the most practical approach, allowing for the collection of images for individual identification of both species over a long period and across the whole park, yielding useful population estimates.

A citizen science survey was therefore launched on 1 June 2024 and will continue until the end of May 2025. This survey is led by Ongava Research Centre’s 24-year-old master’s student, Mburaje Keja, in collaboration with Namibia University of Science and Technology. Mburaje aims to apply individual identification techniques to the photographs shared by Etosha’s visitors to produce the first population size estimates for these two species. This groundbreaking initiative seeks to fill a critical knowledge gap and enhance conservation efforts for cheetahs and leopards in the region.

At key locations in the park, posters and flyers containing all the essential information encourage visitors to share their sightings by filing an online form, providing details such as the date and location of sightings, number of individuals in a group and email address (no spamming, promise!). They will then receive an email from Mburaje inviting them to share their photographs. These images will be processed using a specialised artificial intelligence (AI) platform called the African Carnivore Wildbook.