It appears that Namibia enjoyed wetter conditions two centuries ago than it does today. Hippo tusks have been found in the Kuiseb and Swakop rivers and, in 1925, local people remembered hippo in both these rivers when they retained water throughout the year and the vegetation was more luxuriant (Shortridge 1934). There may even have been hippo in the Windhoek area when there were large areas of permanent open water in the 19th century (Mike Griffin pers.comm.).

The present aridity of Namibia limits the potential distribution of hippo to the large perennial rivers all of which are located on the boundaries of the country. Only in the Caprivi is the annual rainfall sufficiently high to support significant numbers of hippo and, inevitably, this places them in competition with humans, agriculture and domestic livestock.

The Cunene River and Northern Namibia

The area north of Etosha probably had more wildlife than Etosha 80 years ago and hippo occurred in the wetter habitats of the Cuvelai (Mendelsohn et al 2000). Moller (1899) encountered hippo in the Cunene and Calonga rivers. Hippo were hunted in the Cunene and Cuvelai areas in the late 19th century (von Moltke 2003).

Hippo were present above the Ruacana Falls in 1914 and 1915. A severe drought reduced the river to a succession of pools and the majority were exterminated by a party of Angolan trekkers. At this time there was an isolated herd at the Cunene mouth and two hippo below the Ruacana Falls later to be joined by several more presumably from Angola. It was unlikely that the total number of hippo on the Kunene exceeded twenty (Hahn 1925).

ount of 14 animals in 1925. He doubted that more than a dozen hippo remained between the Ruacana Falls and the Cunene Mouth. Joubert & Mostert (1975) state that the only hippo present in the Cunene were 4-6 animals in the Swartbooisdrift area below the Ruacana Falls.

Willem van Riet (pers.comm.) has canoed the Cunene on several occasions and reports "During the Kunene trip of 65, we found no hippo below Epupa Falls, but lots of crocodiles. We found very few hippo, probably 20 between Ruacana and Epupa and a fair number of hippo above Ruacana. During a similar trip in the 1990s we did not see a single hippo between Ruacana and Epupa but believe there were a few left."

The Okavango River upstream from the Caprivi

Hahn (1925) observed several hippo slightly north of Kuring Kuru (Nkurenkuru).

Shortridge (1934) noted that the south bank of the river was relatively heavily populated and lacked suitable habitats for hippo except for two areas which possessed some marshy habitats near Katere at the confluence with the Cuito and a reed-fringed stretch near Sambio (Shambyu) downstream from Rundu. A few 'stray' hippo were also recorded at Nkurenkuru and Bunya and some occurred between the confluence of the Omatako and the Popa Falls.

Beytell (pers.comm.) states that in the 1980s the area around Nkurenkuru was in pristine condition with a resident hippo population of 22 animals. As the human population built up after independence they became 'problem animals'. About 15 hippo also occurred at the Cuito- Okavango confluence. An extreme example of the adaptability of hippos was the appearance of hippo in the Aa mountains near Tsumkwe in 1974-75 during a period of good rains.

Caprivi

Hippo have always been numerous in the Caprivi. "Below the Popa Falls of the Okavango, after the river has taken its sharp bend south and begun to form the western boundary of the vast marshes of Ngamiland, hippo gradually become numerous, not only in the main stream, but among all the innumerable water-channels that intersect the impenetrable reed and papyrus swamps." (Shortridge 1934). "After the entrance of the Okavango into the 'flood district' hippo become plentiful, and one can hear them bellowing at all times of the day and night." (Wilhelm 1931). "Hippopotamus are quite numerous in the Eastern Caprivi in the Maschi [Kwando] and Zambesi Rivers" (Balme in Shortridge 1934); "They are fairly plentiful in the lower Kwando and Linyanti Swamps (Wilhelm in Shortridge 1934); "These animals are abundant in the Chobe, as also in the Zambesi, and usually congregate together in herds of from three or four to twenty members, though the old bulls are often seen alone." (Selous 1881).

Hippo were and probably still are of considerable cultural significance in the Caprivi. They were killed for the inauguration of chiefs, for their marriages and other feasts and, occasionally, for the appointment of headmen. The most prized portion of the carcase was the belly meat which was reserved for the chief (Beytell pers.comm.).

The Orange River

Shortridge (1934) quotes several sources confirming the presence of hippo in the lower Orange River in 1887, 1898 and 1900. From then onwards, their numbers dwindled to a few individuals and references from 1903 onwards seem to presage their extinction. By 1913, only a few isolated individuals survived near the river mouth and there were records of spoor at the confluence with the Fish River in 1915. A police report in 1925 notes a single hippo opposite Swartwater which disappeared in that same year, thought to have been shot by a farmer. This was apparently the last hippo on the Orange.

As part of the initiative taking place at the moment to link Ais Ais National Park in Namibia with the Richtersveld in South Africa and to include large tracts of private land under wildlife (e.g. Gondwana Canyon Park), the re-introduction of hippo to the lower Orange could have the status of a 'flagship' conservation project.