Botswana has recorded over 200 reports of wildlife roadkill collisions from July 2024 to date, with the highest number of reports coming from the Central district, followed by Ngamiland, then Chobe.
Wildlife Roadkill Collisions (WRC) Project Founder and Okavango Research Institute (ORI) Adjunct Scholar Dr Tempe Adams has revealed this in the Wildlife Roadkill Collisions (WRC) study.
At this point, the most common reported roadkill species on the roads are black-backed jackal, yellow-billed kites, pole cats, mole snakes and the endangered wild dog, though this varies district by district.
Constant reports of wildlife roadkill collisions are also unsurprisingly received on the Nata-Kasane Road and these includes leopard, elephants, jackal amongst many other. High number of reports are also being received in the transit road of Ngoma and Sedudu gate within Chobe National Park. Another emerging hotspot is on the road to Shorobe, where a great deal of snakes and birds killed are reported.
Dr Adams lamented that wildlife roadkill collisions are a threat, saying that it is the most obvious form of human-wildlife conflict out there, which people do not discuss or talk about.
‘‘Globally studies show that roadkill can be one of the leading causes of fatalities for any species but within Africa we have very little information to guide us on how much biodiversity we are losing. That is what is so important about this study, it is the first of its kind for Botswana,’’ said Dr Adams.
The Wildlife Roadkill Collisions study which was first to be launched in Botswana at Chobe District last year July, aims to assess the severity of wildlife roadkill collisions throughout the country, to identify potential roadkill “hotspots” and to determine what species are the most common fatalities.
In addition, the objective of the study is also to explore the methodology of using a citizen science approach to collecting this data.
“The study began in the Chobe district, the stronghold of Botswana wildlife but after the study’s inception in July 2024, we quickly began to receive reports across the country,” she said.
Dr Adams stated that the project is now currently receiving reports on their various platforms from all districts of Botswana. She noted that the whole focus is to increase safety on the roads while also reducing the number of wildlife fatalities.
Dr Adams further indicated that at this stage they are still a trying to determine the specific hotspots for wildlife road kill/accidents, indicating that this will only become clearer with more reports through time.
“We rely on citizen science, as in the community to report this roadkill to us. Every report helps us develop solutions to this complex conservation issue,” she said.
