 Reference Base  An aerial survey of rhino and elephant in Chobe National ... |
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| Location: |
Africa - Southern Africa - Botswana |
| Subject: |
Management |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
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The coordinates were recorded for every rhino and elephant carcass seen by either of the two aircraft. Communications between the two aircraft reduced the chances of double counting carcasses. The carcasses were categorised as:
1 'Old': white scattered and bleached bones.
2. 'Fresh': skin covering the skeleton. With a closer inspection from the air, the age was more precisely estimated in either weeks or months depending upon: the presence of scavengers (vultures, jackals and spotted hyenas); signs of blood or body fluids around the carcass; the degree of bloat and the open patch around the carcass through trampling and the concentration of body fluids. Where possible, the presence or absence of ivory, or horns in the case of rhinos, was also noted.
A carcass ration, calculated as a percentage of the combined total number of carcasses and the alive animals counted per strata was calculated. As no correction factor for the under-counting of elephant carcasses was estimated, the three times correction suggested by Dublin & Douglas-Hamilton (1987) was used.
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