African Parks’ core focus is on strengthening conservation law enforcement and securing Kafue National Park against immediate threats to its wildlife populations. Our vision is to establish Kafue as a globally significant wildlife sanctuary and a premiere tourism destination, providing healthy ecosystem services and sustainable revenue streams for the Zambian people.
At 22,400 km2 Kafue is Zambia’s largest national park. It is surrounded by nine Game Management Areas (GMAs), which has ensured that the vast wilderness landscape is buffered and has remained largely intact. Although the park has endured, the negative impacts of illegal hunting and other threats, Kafue still contains a large diversity of flora and fauna 158 mammal, 515 bird, 70 reptile, 58 fish and 36 amphibious species. Such diverse wildlife includes elephant, wild dog, cheetah and lion.
Monitoring and Surveys
Annual aerial surveys provide insight into Kafue’s wildlife and help park teams gain a deeper understanding of the conservation needs across the vast landscape. Elephant population numbers were confirmed by the latest survey to be growing, a sign of an increasingly secure environment, while species such as buffalo, puku, sable and hartebeest were recorded in good numbers.
In addition, a number of individuals have been collared – elephant, buffalo, lion, wild dog, cheetah, eland and hyaena – through partnerships with the Zambian Carnivore Programme, Musekese, Game Rangers International, Mushingashi and Panthera. Vultures are being tracked through a partnership with North Carolina Zoo and BirdWatch Zambia.
The results of the survey, together with the collared animal monitoring data, have begun to contribute to a baseline against which to measure the progress of restoration of the ecosystem and help improve protection measures.
Conservation Law Enforcement
The Conservation Law Enforcement team continues to grow and develop, with 20 new scouts being recruited in the past year, resulting in a team of 100 field rangers. This, together with additional specialist training, has yielded excellent results in disrupting and reducing the illegal wildlife trade networks. The Aerial Support Unit supports the team with its helicopter and Light Sport Aircraft used for reaction to events as well as surveillance platforms. Fire management skills and equipment were prioritised to manage this element which is a significant driver of ecosystem functions in Kafue.