Conservation and ecological monitoring programmes often estimate animal densities over time, but in wooded and forested areas practical techniques are still poorly developed. Here I have examined five simple methods of deriving densities of large and medium-sized mammals using line transects driven through miombo woodland habitat in Africa. These methods calculated area by dividing the number of individuals seen by (i) an average of each species’ sighting distances, (ii) a fixed 200 m belt width, (iii) the area visible from