A Historical Perspective of the Maasai - African Wild Dog Conflict in the Serengeti Ecosystem

Abstract

This study discusses the conflict between Maasai pastoralists and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) over livestock before and after the Maasai were evicted from the Serengeti National Park (SNP) in 1959. We surveyed 181 randomly selected households from six villages in the eastern Serengeti ecosystem. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to acquire the required information from the respondents. We found that males had a greater awareness of local wild dog presence and livestock-derived conflict than females, and reported more frequently to have chased and killed wild dogs that attacked their livestock. Moreover, the conflict existed before 1959, decreased during the 1990s, but increased from 2000 onwards. This increase is attributed to the growth in human, livestock and wild dog populations in the area. This study recommends that to foster their coexistence, the continued escalation in livestock numbers needs to cease while simultaneously protecting the region's wild prey populations.

Livestock depredation by wild carnivores in the Eastern Serengeti Ecosystem, Tanzania

“…The LGCA lies between 1°40′S and 2°50′S and 35°10′E and 35°55′E, covering a total area of about 4,500 km 2 in the Maasai land (Lyamuya et al, 2014a). On the northern side, it borders Narok County (Kenya), on the western side it borders Serengeti National Park (SNP), and on the southern side it boarders the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA).…”

“…On the northern side, it borders Narok County (Kenya), on the western side it borders Serengeti National Park (SNP), and on the southern side it boarders the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). The area includes diverse vegetation types, ranging from forests, woodlands, wooded grasslands, shrub lands, and grasslands (Lyamuya et al, 2016a). Administratively, the area is under control of the District Council, and the District Game Officer (DGO) manages tourism hunting in the LGCA.…”

“…The Maasai people are pastoralists, whereas the Sonjo people are agro-pastoralists (Lyamuya et al, 2014a;Maddox, 2003), where both tribes keep cattle, sheep and goats. An increase in the human population has reduced the available grazing space and resulted in the increasing livestock population grazing on a smaller piece of land results in land and environmental degradation (Lyamuya et al, 2014a). The Maasai people live close to the park boundary, while the Sonjo people live slightly further away (Lyamuya et al, 2016b).…”

“…Livestock depredation was mainly caused by spotted hyenas, followed by leopards. Livestock depredation by leopards increased during the dry season (Lyamuya et al, 2014a), and this might be due to the fact that livestock are taken into thick bushes and forested areas while searching for green pastures at this time of the year, which are preferred habitats for leopards. The frequency of livestock depredation by African wild dog was minimal and different from previous findings, in which the Sonjo experienced more livestock depredation (Lyamuya et al, 2016b).…”

“…The use of domestic dogs can help to deter predators from attacking livestock (Gehring et al, 2010;Spira, 2014). However, in pastoral communities in Eastern Serengeti, dogs are inadequate at performing this task (Lyamuya et al, 2014a), probably because most of them are in poor condition from starvation and lack of health care. The use of a single method to guard livestock is not effective compared to the use of multiple techniques (Ed and John, 2001).…”