Research

As vast and diverse as Ongava itself, the Ongava Research Centre’s field of study is guided by the way wildlife species inhabit, interact, and behave in their natural environments.

Why, for instance, do some animals turn back from roads, rivers, and boundaries they could easily walk across? How do tens of millions of wetland birds asses when to move to new breeding grounds?

Why do herds of zebra react so differently to lion and spotted hyena on the hunt? Why do certain animals slake their thirst at communal watering holes, while others drink from overflows in muddy pools?

Gathering vital data and sharing the answers, the Ongava Research Centre is making a wealth of difference to the world’s understanding of the wild.

Unravelling the ways and wonders of the wild at the Ongava Research Centre

“Finding answers for what we should know, but don’t know.” That’s the challenge that drives and inspires the global team of researchers and scientists based at the Ongava Research Centre.

Conducted together with Namibian and international scientists and visiting students, the research focuses on understanding animal habits and habitats, the impact of climate change, and the connection between humans and the natural environment.

The more gaps of knowledge that the centre’s dedicated researchers can fill, the more we will be able to preserve and maintain the integrity of our precious wild spaces.

As the Ongava Research Centre’s mission statement puts it, “We know more about the fascinating workings and the fragility of the natural world than ever before, and we use that information as best we can to conserve the world for all its living constituents and their offspring.”