This species inhabits open lowland and upland plains with grass and light thornbush, sandy open shrub veld and semi-desert in the arid and semi-arid Namib and Karoo biomes. Recent satellite telemetry and stable isotope data (Shaw 2013, Shaw and Ryan 2015) support earlier work (Allan 1994) that shows Ludwig’s Bustard to be nomadic and a partial migrant, moving to the western winter-rainfall part of its range in winter. In Namibia it is most common in the Namib Desert (west) in winter (May to October) and inland on the escarpment (east) in summer (November to April) (Allan 1994). The breeding season varies across its range, mostly spanning from July-February and can be up to May in Namibia (Collett 1982, Herholdt 1988, Lawson 1993, Allan 1994), with the species nesting on bare ground with a clutch of 2-3 eggs (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Jenkins and Smallie 2009). Chick-rearing is conducted solely by females (Jenkins and Smallie 2009). The diet includes invertebrates, some small vertebrates and vegetable matter, including the berries of Lycium oxycladum. There is strong evidence that the species undergoes movement with rains in pursuit of Orthoptera hatchlings, though vegetation remains important (Allan 1994). Flocks of up to 70 individuals have been recorded (Bridgeford 1988, del Hoyo et al. 1996).

Neotis ludwigii has a large range centred on the dry biomes of the Karoo and Namib in southern Africa, being found in the extreme south-west of Angola, western Namibia and in much of South Africa (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Anderson 2000), and extending into southwesternmost Botswana. Most of the population resides in South Africa and largely overlaps with the Nama Karoo and Succulent Karoo Biomes (Evans 2023), with some regular movements into winter rainfall areas and returning east in summer (Colyn et al. 2020), but movements can be unpredictable and nomadic. Non-breeding birds occasionally visit Lesotho (Pretorius and Rose 2025). The range is contracting, with a 4.5% reduction in the area of occupancy (AOO) modelled from the Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP2) pentad data between 2015 and 2023 (Lee 2024). 

Conservation Actions Underway
Rates of collision have been assessed for the different types of power line present within the range (Shaw et al. 2018). Ongoing monitoring of collision mortality is essential for the assessment of impacts and to inform mitigation. GPS tracking of individuals is ongoing to understand the movement ecology of the species (Shaw et al. 2013, Pretorius et al. 2022). The habitat use of the species has been investigated, including assessing the proportion of the population within protected areas  (Evans 2023). Monitoring of the species through the CAR survey and SABAP2 continues with further developments in analysis (Lee 2024). In Namibia, NamPower and other utility organisations are working to implement effective mitigation measures (A. Scott and M. Scott in litt. 2010). The species is listed as Endangered in Namibia (Scott et al. 2015), and in South Africa, Lesotho and Eswatini (Shaw 2015, Pretorius and Rose 2025).
A collaboration initiated in 2024 by Bustards Without Borders aims to create a multi-species action plan for bustards that will include conservation action plans for southern African species including Ludwig's Bustard (Pretorious and Rose 2025).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Finding and implementing effective mitigation for bustards is the most important action (Pretorius and Rose 2025). Mitigation measures to address power line collision mortality are being researched by the Endangered Wildlife Trust and Eskom in South Africa.
All new infrastructure (power lines, wind turbines) should be sited and mitigated appropriately, and dangerous sections of line should be retrofitted with appropriate mitigation. Implement the national protected area expansion strategy, which could increase suitable habitat within protected areas from 9% to 24% (Evans 2023). Because bird diverters are largely ineffective for bustards (Shaw et al. 2021) however, routing and design takes on even greater significance for minimising collisions (Silva et al. 2023). Routing of new lines should aim to cluster lines together in corridors, where visibility of a few lines close together, and close to roads if possible, is more likely to cause bustards to avoid them all.
Continue population monitoring and try to expand coverage of transect routes for the CAR. Proactive power line mitigation should be undertaken despite the lack of an effective mitigation measure where areas of line are identified as high risk in collision risk models (Pretorius and Rose 2025). Identify and protect lekking sites, including burying adjacent power lines (Pretorius and Rose 2025).
Continue to raise awareness to stop hunting and to encourage the public to report mortality from power lines, etc.
Research to learn more about key life history parameters for this long-lived bird is also crucial to facilitate more accurate assessment of the impacts of unnatural mortality, and to create a population viability assessment (Pretorius and Rose 2025).
The impact of wind turbine collisions and of solar photovoltaic developments should be formally researched to add to current evidence from post-construction monitoring (Pretorius and Rose 2025).
Extend research currently underway in South Africa to Namibia (J. Shaw in litt. 2012), and repeat census in 5-10 years (J. Shaw in litt. 2016).