The rehabilitation of orphaned animals is commonly practiced but rarely scientifically documented. The behavioural development before release (e.g. regarding hunting skills) is particularly important for ensuring animals are self-sustaining after release. We document the rehabilitation and release of three confiscated cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) cubs and one leopard (Panthera pardus) cub, which were taken from the wild in Botswana. The animals were raised with minimal human contact and the development of their hunting skills was observed and assisted by limited pre-release training. After release, all animals were monitored and data showed they successfully hunted, with behavioural patterns similar to wild conspecifics. All established stable home ranges at the release site. Home ranges of the cheetahs ranged from 44 to 121 km 2 , travelling primarily during the early morning and evening, ranging from 4.5 to 9.4 km/day. While the leopard survived and probably reproduced within a stable home range (449 km 2 ), all three cheetahs were shot within 7 months of release. Therefore, although orphaned large felids can successfully hunt after release using appropriate rehabilitation techniques, they face the same human-carnivore conflicts of their wild counterparts. Our study demonstrates the indispensable but commonly neglected need for post-release monitoring in wildlife rehabilitation.

Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) movements should be considered when developing management strategies for long-term survival and coexistence with humans. Although work has been done in Namibia, South Africa and Tanzania little data on the home range and territory size of cheetah in Botswana has been published. This study aimed to estimate male and female home range sizes and daily movement on farmland and a game reserve in Botswana.

Accurate estimates of predator densities are important for the conservation management of large predator populations. Predator densities outside of protected areas are often understudied and management decisions are based on assumptions of predator numbers. This study conducted three spoor surveys on commercial farmland in Botswana to estimate large predator densities. Brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) were found to occur evenly across both cattle and game farms at higher densities than previously assumed. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and leopards (Panthera pardus) were more commonly located on game ranches, at or below population density assumptions. This study demonstrated the importance but difficulties of conducting predator surveys on farmland, where study animals are often at risk of persecution by landowners, due to the perceived or real threat predators may pose to livestock and stocked game.

Knowledge of the abundance of animal populations is essential for their management and conservation. Determining reliable measures of abundance is, however, difficult, especially with wide-ranging species such as cheetah Acinonyx jubatus. This study generated a correction factor to calculate true cheetah density from spoor survey data and subsequently tested its accuracy using the following season's data. Data were collected from October 2005 to December 2006 on a known population of wild, free-ranging cheetah in the Jwana Game Reserve, Botswana. The cheetahs in the area were captured, tagged and photographed. The reserve was divided into twelve 9 km transects covering all vegetation types and prey densities. The total sampling distance was 8226 km, with a spoor density of 2.32 individual cheetah spoor per 100 km 2 . To determine a precise and accurate spoor density, it was necessary to sample for a longer period during the dry season (April-September) than during the wet season (October-March). This difference may be due to cheetah behavioural changes with seasonal variations in habitat and prey. The true density was 5.23 cheetahs per 100 km 2 ranging from 3.33 to 7.78 at the low and high points of the population, respectively. A positive linear correlation between spoor and true density was observed. This relationship differed in the wet and dry season and required refinement with the following season's data. Correction factors may be viable, but require further testing taking the behavioural responses to seasonal, habitat and prey variations into consideration.

Fescue toxicosis is a common syndrome of poor growth and reproductive performance of beef cattle grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue infected with Lolium arundinaceum Schreb. Together with decreased feed intake, decreased growth rates and tissue necrosis due to vasoconstriction, depressed circulating serum prolactin concentrations are typically observed in cattle afflicted with fescue toxicosis. Polymorphisms within the XK, Kell blood group complex subunit-related family, member 4 (XKR4) gene located on BTA14 have been previously reported to be associated with rump fat thickness, residual feed intake, average daily feed intake and average daily gain in cattle. Associations also have been reported between XKR4 genotype and effectiveness of the dopamine antagonist iloperidone as a treatment of schizophrenia in humans. Domperidone, a related dopamine antagonist, mediates effects of fescue toxicosis on livestock, including restoring depressed concentrations of prolactin. A mixed-breed population of 592 beef cattle grazing endophyte-infected tall fescue was used to examine the association between XKR4 genotype and circulating prolactin concentrations. The SNP rs42646708 was significantly (P = 0.0002) associated with serum prolactin concentrations and explained 2.45% of the phenotypic variation. Effect of genotype at the SNP was tested across five breeds, with significant associations within both Angus (P = 0.0275) and Simmental (P = 0.0224) breeds. These results suggest XKR4 may play a role in mediating the negative effects of fescue toxicosis, and polymorphisms within this gene may be useful markers for selection for genetic resistance to the debilitating effects of endophyte-infected tall fescue.

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Human–predator conflict is one of the biggest threats to large carnivore species worldwide. Its intensity is closely linked to farmer's attitudes and perceptions of predators. As a result, farmers' estimates of the number of livestock or game‐stock animals killed by predators are often formed based on the perceived number of predators present and their perceivably favoured prey species. This study aims to examine the prey preferences of cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus in relation to farmers' perceptions and the relative contribution of livestock and game‐stock to the cheetahs' diet. Cheetahs' prey preferences were determined through the cross‐sectional analysis of prey hair, found in cheetah scat. Cheetahs were found to predominantly prey on free‐ranging abundant game species, primarily kudu Tragelaphus strepsiceros. Game ranchers overestimated the prominence of game‐stock to the cheetahs' diet, especially springbok Antidorcas marsupialis. Potential reasons for these discrepancies and the importance of abundant natural prey as a potential human–predator coexistence strategy are discussed.

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