Movement Choices of Persecuted Caracals on Farmlands in South Africa

Teichman, Kristine J.; Cristescu, Bogdan; Crevier, L.; O’Riain, M. Justin; Hodges, Karen E.

doi:10.1016/j.rama.2023.02.004

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 63 publications

(88 reference statements)

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“…Space use dropped to 0.38 for properties that had reported to use lethal control, but was 0.79 for properties that had not. This suggests a spatial risk-avoidance strategy in areas with greater human pressure, similar to other carnivore populations 13 , 16 , 43 . Even where direct human pressure might be comparatively lower, large carnivores have demonstrated spatial risk-avoidance strategies, as with wolves in Europe 16 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Leopard density and determinants of space use in a farming landscape in South Africa

J.E.T.,

P.A.,

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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Protected areas are traditionally the foundation of conservation strategy, but land not formally protected is of particular importance for the conservation of large carnivores because of their typically wide-ranging nature. In South Africa, leopard (Panthera pardus) population decreases are thought to be occurring in areas of human development and intense negative interactions, but research is biased towards protected areas, with quantitative information on population sizes and trends in non-protected areas severely lacking. Using Spatially Explicit Capture-Recapture and occupancy techniques including 10 environmental and anthropogenic covariates, we analysed camera trap data from commercial farmland in South Africa where negative human-wildlife interactions are reported to be high. Our findings demonstrate that leopards persist at a moderate density (2.21 /100 km2) and exhibit signs of avoidance from areas where lethal control measures are implemented. This suggests leopards have the potential to navigate mixed mosaic landscapes effectively, enhancing their chances of long-term survival and coexistence with humans. Mixed mosaics of agriculture that include crops, game and livestock farming should be encouraged and, providing lethal control is not ubiquitous in the landscape, chains of safer spaces should permit vital landscape connectivity. However, continuing to promote non-lethal mitigation techniques remains vital.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

Leopard density and determinants of space use in a farming landscape in South Africa

J.E.T.,

P.A.,

et al. 2024

Sci Rep

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“…While we cumulatively know much about baseline cheetah ecology (Caro, 1994;Durant et al, 2007;Marker et al, 2018b), information on cheetah movement ecology is sparse. Insights from movement analysis of carnivores hold the potential to inform human-wildlife conflict mitigation and bolster critical ecosystem services by maintaining carnivores on the landscape (Odden et al, 2014;Van der Weyde et al, 2017;Loveridge et al, 2022;Teichman et al, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rewilding landscapes with apex predators: cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) movements reveal the importance of environmental and individual contexts

Dimbleby,

Cristescu,

Bandyopadhyay

et al. 2024

Front. Conserv. Sci.

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Rewilding landscapes through species or population restoration is an increasingly applied practice in biological conservation. There is expanding interest in wildlife release projects for apex predator population augmentation or reintroductions in historical ranges. Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are an IUCN Vulnerable-listed species with a declining global population facing major threats, which in southern Africa primarily include lethal persecution on livestock farms and bush encroachment transforming open habitats to woody areas. We used GPS radiocollars to monitor ten adult cheetahs from 2007 – 2018 in the Central Plateau of Namibia encompassing an area restored as an open savanna field (13.7 km2) located in a matrix of woodland savanna affected by bush encroachment. We generated a set of a priori hypotheses that tested the effects of various factors on cheetah movements indexed by step length. We compared cheetah movement metrics based on their history as wild, rehabilitated, and/or translocated individuals. Day/night activity, habitat type, and habitat edges were significant predictors of cheetah movement. Wild resident cheetahs displayed significantly longer steps than the other cheetah classes, possibly suggesting increased territorial behaviour in response to the presence of introduced cheetahs. Some cheetahs temporally segregated by moving extensively during daytime, but most individuals were primarily active during crepuscular periods. Small prey remained constant across time, whereas large prey declined over the study period. Cheetahs appeared to adjust behaviourally by increasing movements in years when large prey were scarce. Cheetahs appeared to be ecologically adaptable and behaviourally flexible in response to varying prey populations and when translocated to new environments, specifically at the interface between bush-encroached woodland and open savanna. Environmental settings and animal history need to be carefully considered in rewilding and ecosystem restoration, and monitoring of released and resident individuals, if present, is important to understand ecological dynamics at release sites.

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Movement Choices of Persecuted Caracals on Farmlands in South Africa

Cited by 2 publications

References 63 publications

Leopard density and determinants of space use in a farming landscape in South Africa

Leopard density and determinants of space use in a farming landscape in South Africa

Rewilding landscapes with apex predators: cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) movements reveal the importance of environmental and individual contexts

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