- as Botswana recorded 824 poaching incidents between 2020 and 2024
Botswana recorded 824 poaching incidents between 2020 and 2024, with elephant killings rising sharply towards the end of the five-year period, according to data contained in Statistics Botswana’s Selected Environmental Indicators 2024 report.
The figures released recently, show that poaching incidents declined from a high of 199 cases in 2020 to 113 in 2022, before increasing again to 181 cases in 2024.
The most significant change was recorded in elephant poaching, which remained in single digits for most of the period before increasing substantially in the final two years.
Elephant poaching rose from zero recorded incidents in 2022 to 11 in 2023, before almost tripling to 33 incidents in 2024.
The increase was largely concentrated in Ngamiland, which recorded 42 of the 49 elephant poaching incidents documented nationally during the five-year period. This represents about 86 percent of all recorded elephant poaching cases.
Ngamiland, which is home to the Okavango Delta and a large concentration of Botswana’s elephant population, also recorded the majority of poaching incidents involving buffalo, giraffe and bushbuck.
The concentration of several species in the district points to increasing pressure on wildlife within the Okavango ecosystem, particularly during the latter part of the reporting period.
Central District recorded the highest overall number of poaching incidents, with 278 cases, accounting for roughly a third of the national total. However, the district’s incidents were largely spread across species such as kudu, impala and duiker.
Kudu was the most frequently poached species nationally, with 130 incidents recorded between 2020 and 2024. More than half of these cases occurred in Central District.
Gemsbok recorded 90 incidents, while impala accounted for 79 cases during the same period.
Poaching of gemsbok and eland was heavily concentrated in the Kalahari region. Kgalagadi District accounted for 72 of the 90 gemsbok incidents, or about 80 percent of the national total, as well as the majority of recorded eland cases.
Pangolin poaching, meanwhile, was more geographically dispersed. Southern District recorded 29 incidents, while Central District recorded 21. The distribution differs from the more habitat-specific patterns observed for species such as elephants and gemsbok.
The data also recorded isolated spikes involving some species.
Bushbuck, for example, recorded no incidents in four of the five years but registered 13 cases in 2023. Bell’s Hinge-Back Tortoise similarly recorded nine incidents in 2022, with no cases recorded in the other four years.
The figures provide a five-year picture of Botswana’s poaching patterns, showing both widespread bushmeat-related pressure on common species and more concentrated threats involving high-value or trafficked wildlife.
According to the Statistics Botswana data, the sharp rise in elephant poaching in Ngamiland stands out as one of the most significant changes in the country’s recorded wildlife crime during the period under review.
To date efforts have been made to receive comment from Maun Police and Department of Wildlife & National Parks Maun but they are yet to comment.
