Page 11 - SoMJ Vol 74 - No 1, 2021

Wildlife and Environmental Society of Malawi’s
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54 Annual Lengwe Game Count 10-11 October 2020

Introduction by Paul Taylor
Data compiled and presented by Sarah Burr
Photos courtesy of Dave Montreuil and Marc Henrion

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WESM Blantyre Branch’s 54 Annual Game Count in Lengwe National
Park was held on the second weekend of October 2020. Five waterholes/hides
were covered: Lodge, Main Hide, Njati Hide, Jasi Hide and Nyanga. In the weeks
prior to the count, the waterhole at Main Hide ran dry due to issues with the
pipes/pump. Water began pumping into Main Hide just two days before the count
began.
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The count began at 6:00am on Saturday 10 and continued for 12 hours,
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stopping at 6:00pm. Counting resumed Sunday 11 at 6:00am and continued for
another 12 hours. Sixteen WESM Blantyre members took part, taking 3-hour
shifts throughout the day. Another 7 counters were provided by the Department
of National Parks and Wildlife.
The weather throughout the weekend was hot and sunny, with a
temperature high of over 40°C on Saturday afternoon. It began raining in Lengwe
just 10 hours after the count ended.
A total of 250 nyala, the primary focus of the count, were recorded over the course
of the weekend, giving an average of 125 nyala per day. Most of the nyala were
seen at the Lodge waterhole and Main Hide. Only 1 nyala was seen at Njati Hide.

Table 1. Total number of nyala counted, by waterhole.

Adults Young Calves Daily
Hide Total
M F M F M F average*
Lodge 17 58 9 14 2 0 100 50
Main 7 44 14 11 1 0 77 38
Njati 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 1
Jasi 3 4 0 2 0 0 9 4
Nyanga 24 23 8 6 2 0 63 31
Total 52 129 31 33 5 0 250 125
*daily averages are rounded down to the nearest whole number.
In comparison to previous years, the daily average nyala count of 125
was higher than that recorded in 2019 (85), 2018 (86) and 2017 (89) but still a
fraction of what has been recorded in the past (Table 2).