Africa-Press – Mozambique. Mozambique will conduct a new aerial survey of elephants and other large mammals later this year, seven years after the last official count. The announcement was made in Maputo during a seminar on the methodology to be used in the process, which is expected to take place between this month and December, with the support of international partners.
“In principle, [the survey] should be conducted every five years, but we’ve been lacking the resources to carry it out. But I believe that, once we get started, we will fulfil our plan,” said Severiano Khoy, deputy director-general of the National Administration of Conservation Areas (ANAC).
According to Khoy, who was speaking during the seminar in Maputo on the methodology of the National Survey of Elephants and Large Mammals, the process is supported by international partners, with the survey scheduled to take place from this month of September until December, although he acknowledged that delays may occur.
Severiano Khoy explained that the survey aims to “update the number of animals and their distribution”, after previous censuses recorded a 13% drop in the population, from 10,496 animals in 2014 to 9,122 in 2018, the year of the last census, due to poaching and natural disasters.
“The Niassa reserve was one of the most affected because it had the greatest potential, if we look at it from the perspective of the elephant population,” said Samiro Magane, coordinator of the Biodiversity Conservation Program at Biofund.
Without disclosing the project’s budget, the official also explained that, among the international supporters, Swedish funding is “essential” to making an exercise viable, which he considered “an expensive undertaking,” involving aircraft and “quite a lot of logistics”.
For Magane, the survey is “fundamental” for assessing the status of species of great economic value and guiding protection strategies.
ANAC is to conduct the process in accordance with standards defined by the African Elephant Specialist Group (AFESG) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The National Survey of Elephants and Large Mammals will take place between September 20 and October 30, 2025, throughout the country, ANAC highlights in a communiqué. The survey will cover areas with recent records of elephants and other large mammals, both within and outside the country’s conservation areas, ANAC adds.
The survey is part of the joint efforts of the Government of Mozambique, through the National Administration of Conservation Areas, and the Foundation for Biodiversity Conservation, with funding from Sweden. The initiative also has the support of several international conservation and development cooperation institutions, notably the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
For More News And Analysis About Mozambique Follow Africa-Press
