No abstract

Social integration is an important factor when reintroducing group-living species, but examples of the formation of social groups before reintroduction are largely lacking. African wild dogs Lycaon pictus are endangered, and reintroductions have become a routine part of range expansion in South Africa. Wild dogs form packs that are essential to their reproduction and survival, and artificial pack formation is often required before reintroduction. We examined the proximate (i.e. social integration) and ultimate (i.e. reproduction) success of 43 artificial pack formation attempts in the South African managed metapopulation, between 1995 and 2018. The top (and dominant) model for proximate success included an interaction between total group size and an initial separation fence. Larger groups took longer to integrate, irrespective of initial separation, whereas smaller groups brought together immediately integrated faster than those that were initially separated. The top models for ultimate success included an interaction between the proportion of males and number of days spent in the pre-release enclosure, the total number of days in the enclosure and an interaction between the proportion of captive-sourced individuals and the total number of days in the enclosure. Ultimate success increased when packs spent less time in the enclosure, especially if those packs had a low proportion of males (i.e. female biased) or included >25% captive-sourced individuals. Neither the size of the artificially created pack nor the season in which the pack was released affected ultimate success. The success of social integration and reproductive success of artificially formed packs in this study was higher than for natural pack formations. We provide guidelines for optimizing future artificial pack formation in wild dogs for reintroduction success. Our results serve as an example of the practical importance of social behavior in successfully implementing conservation measures for group-living species.

Carnivores that persist outside of protected areas are often deemed to have highly adaptable and generalist foraging strategies. Using data from three GPS-collared female leopards (Panthera pardus) and over an eight-month period, we attempted to establish whether leopards in a mountainous landscape display preferential behaviour (i.e. specialist) or not (i.e. generalist). We investigated whether female leopards used habitats in accordance with availability for both hunting and regular activities, and whether female leopards demonstrated preference for a particular prey species. Finally, we assessed tree caching behaviour and discuss leopard spatial dynamics in the context of superior competitors, such as lions (Panthera leo). Female leopards demonstrated selection for certain prey species. Mixed closed woodland (greatest vegetation density; lowest prey density) and tall open woodland (greatest vegetation biomass; high prey density) were preferred over other habitats. Female leopards on Welgevonden cached significantly larger prey species in trees. Our results suggest that female leopards in this landscape are selecting habitats -enabling the exploitation of certain ecological features -that balance energy expenditure against the likelihood of capturing prey in an attempt to maximize efficiency, whilst reducing inter-specific competition. We suggest that female leopards are limited in their foraging ability as a result of interference competition by superior species like lions, which in turn, affects their choice of prey. These findings highlight the potential importance of numerous ecological, spatio-temporal, and anthropogenic factors that influence leopard behaviour, and therefore have significant implications for leopard persistence and conservation.