Factors affecting lynx predation on sheep in the French Jura

Abstract

Summary 1.In regions where sheep are kept in fenced pastures and do not graze unattended in carnivore habitats, sheep losses vary greatly between sites and livestock farms. To assess the factors that may predispose farms to lynx predation in the French Jura, we compared sheep availability and environmental characteristics between pastures with and without attacks in a 1800-km 2 study area. Nine lynx were radio-tracked in the same area for a total of 21 lynx years to estimate individual killing rates on sheep and to identify possible habitual livestock killers. 2. Depending on individual and year, lynx predation rate on sheep within lynx home ranges varied between 0 and 12·4 attacks 100 days -1. Predation rate on sheep was not related to sheep abundance nor sheep dispersion in lynx home ranges. Two individuals became habitual sheep killers during, respectively, their third and fourth year of monitoring. Other lynx that had access to the same flocks were only occasional sheep killers. No obvious causal factor (e.g. sex, reproductive status, physical debilitation) explained the differential individual propensity for lynx to kill livestock. 3. We found no difference in sheep availability between pastures with and without attacks, but strong differences in their environmental characteristics. In only 5·1% of 98 pastures > 250 m from a forest were sheep attacked by lynx. In 228 pastures adjacent or connected to forests by cover, 39·1% sustained attacks on sheep by lynx (P < 0·01). For these latter pastures, logistic regression showed a positive effect of their proximity to major forested areas (P < 0·01), absence of human dwellings (P < 0·01), local abundance of roe deer (P = 0·01) and the presence of attacked pastures in their vicinity (P = 0·03). 4. These results suggests that lynx damage locally can be explained by a predictable set of habitat features that expose sheep on some pastures to risk, and by an unpredictable event, i.e. an individual developing regular predation on sheep. 5. In grazing systems like the Jura, where unattended sheep are distributed patchily and individual problem lynx may appear, removing lynx or lowering density without differentiating individuals will be insufficient to limit conflicts. Selective removals could temporarily reduce predation but the site effect implies that durable management can arise only through improved shepherding. This might include guard dogs in the few local sites at risk and providing shelter for sheep at night when attacks are on the increase.

Lethal control of African lions (Panthera leo): local and regional population impacts

“…Like other studies of human-wildlife conflict (e.g. Stahl et al, 2002;Sitati et al, 2003;Treves et al, 2004;Woodroffe et al, 2005), we found that livestock predation by lions was patchily distributed. One ranch within the study area experienced chronic livestock losses; four lions were collared on this property, but 10 (five collared, five uncollared) were shot there in the course of the study -more than on any other property (range 1-4).…”

Do attacks by jaguars Panthera onca and pumas Puma concolor (Carnivora: Felidae) on livestock correlate with species richness and relative abundance of wild prey?

“…For example, snow leopard (Uncia uncia) in the Himalayas (Bagchi & Mishra, 2006) and wolf (Canis lupus) in Southern Europe (Meriggi & Lobari, 1996) showed an inverse relationship between the abundance and richness of wild prey and occurrence or frequency of attacks to domestic ungulates. On the other hand, European lynx (Lynx lynx) in Norway (Odden, Herfindal, Linnell, & Andersen, 2008) and France (Stahl, Vandel, Herrenschmidt, & Migot, 2001;Stahl et al, 2002) showed that attacks on sheep match with areas with high abundance of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus). Focusing on jaguar and puma, Polisar et al (2003) and Cavalcanti and Gese (2010) showed that these big cats selected wild prey even when cattle were available at the Llanos of Venezuela and Pantanal of Brazil, respectively.…”

Sheep farming and large carnivores: What are the factors influencing claimed losses?

“…However, other factors like percentage of forest in the pastures, slaughter weights of the lambs and a measure of spring plant phenology also influenced both claims and carcasses found. As we could expect from the habitat preferences of the different predator species, municipalities with a high percentage of forest in the summer pastures claimed more losses due to lynx (a forest-dwelling animal) and less losses due to eagles and wolverines, which are associated with open alpine-tundra habitats (Stahl et al 2002, May et al 2008. High losses of lambs and ewes claimed as being due to wolverines were also associated with low slaughter weights of the lambs, suggesting that sheep were more vulnerable to predation by wolverines when feeding conditions were poor and lamb body growth was moderate.…”