The main areas of biodiversity are located within the Wetlands and Protected Areas. These areas are described in more details in the relevant sections. The Etosha pan and Kunene River mouth form Biodiversity Hotspots. The Kaokoveld desert is an area of interesting biodiversity and endemism.
The biology of the Kaokoveld is extremely diverse.
Source: © Ostby 2007 www.pgoimages.com
( click to enlarge )
Information on biodiversity in Namibia is decentralized at various sources. An overview of some of the available online data is provided by the Ministry of Tourism and Environment at http://www.met.gov.na/.
Total Number of Species
|
Taxon
|
Total number of species in Angola
|
Total number of species in Namibia
|
|
Mammals
|
298
|
192
|
|
Plants
|
unknown
|
4 334
|
|
Reptiles
|
unknown
|
256
|
|
Amphibians
|
unknown
|
70
|
|
Fish
|
unknown
|
114
|
|
Arachnids
|
unknown
|
5 650
|
|
Birds
|
988
|
644
|
|
Insects
|
unknown
|
35 000
|
Adapted from Namibia Nature Foundation 2009
The above table shows the number of species for the whole of Namibia. The number of species inside the Kunene basin on the Namibian side is likely to be much lower. No comprehensive list with numbers of species is available for Angola.
Mammals
The numbers of large mammal have shrunk dramatically as a result of years of conflict, uncontrolled hunting and a dry period in Angola. Formerly prominent species such as elephant, black rhino, zebra, black faced impala, lion and wild dogs have been decimated or are even considered locally extinct.
Other mammals such as Gemsbok, Springbok, Black-backed Jackal or Brown Hyena can still be found, especially in more isolated areas like the Kunene River mouth as described by Anderson 2001. Marine mammals like the Cape Fur Seal, Heaviside’s Dolphin, Killer Whale and Long-finned Pilot Whale also live along the coast in the vicinity to the Kunene River mouth.
 Lioness with cubs. Source: Khayat 2008 ( click to enlarge ) |
 Blue Crane. Source: Khayat 2008 ( click to enlarge ) |
Birds
379 species of birds have been recorded on the Lower Kunene of which 62 species are registered in the IUCN red list (Burmeister&Partner). Birdlife International states that Angola is one of the ornithologically least known regions of the world. Rich avifauna is suspected in some areas for example Mupa National Park on the Middle Kunene. Avibase, an online bird database suspects 988 species of birds of which 14 are endemic and 20 globally threatened including Blue Crane and the critically endangered Wattled Crane (D. Lepage 2010).
Fish
Fish surveys between 1994 and 2004 (Hay 2008) identify 50 fish species in the Lower Kunene River. Other studies mention 68 species (Burmeister&Partners 1998) and 77 species (Okeyo 2000).
Reptiles
Nile Crocodile, Green Turtle, Nile Soft-shelled Terrapin, Western Rock Skink, Horned Adder, Reticulated Desert Lizard, Kaokoveld Namib Day Gecko can all be found in Kunene River Mouth (Anderson et al. 2001.)
