Prey Preferences of the African Wild Dog Lycaon Pictus (Canidae: Carnivora): Ecological Requirements for Conservation

Hayward, Matt W.; O’Brien, John; Hofmeyr, Markus; Kerley, Graham I. H.

doi:10.1644/05-mamm-a-304r2.1

Cited by 138 publications

(121 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…The rarity of sighting livestock depredation incidences by males Maasai is attributed to the abundant wild prey species reported to be found in the area (Grzimek & Grzimek, 1960;Thirgood et al, 2004) and also because previous studies have found no difference in terms of species diversity and density of both ungulates and carnivores between the SNP and its surrounding areas (Campbell & Borner, 1995;Maddox, 2003). Wild dogs have been found to prefer to prey on wild prey species rather than livestock wherever wild prey species are more abundant (Hayward, O'Brien, Hofmeyr, & Kerley, 2006;Rasmussen, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Lyamuya¹,

Masenga²,

Fyumagwa³

et al. 2016

ENRR

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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.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Lyamuya¹,

Masenga²,

Fyumagwa³

et al. 2016

ENRR

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“…Wild dogs and most of the other carnivores, except lions, preyed more frequently on sheep and goats than on cattle. This is because wild dogs, as well as leopards and both species of hyaenas, prefer medium-sized prey, within a bimodal body mass range of 16-32 kg to 120-140 kg (Estes & Goddard, 1967;Hayward et al, 2006;Woodroffe et al, 2007). They also prefer abundant prey species that have a relatively low probability of injuring the attacking predator (Hayward et al, 2006).…”

Section: Incidences Of Attack By Wild Dogs and Other Carnivoresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Human–carnivore conflict over livestock in the eastern part of the Serengeti ecosystem, with a particular focus on the African wild dogLycaon pictus

Lyamuya

Masenga

Fyumagwa

2014

Oryx

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During 2007-2009 we conducted a survey of attacks by wild carnivores on the livestock of the Maasai and Sonjo tribes in the eastern Serengeti ecosystem of northern Tanzania. Local enumerators systematically recorded incidents of carnivore predation on livestock and their data were quantified by us, with the aid of District Game Officers or trusted local people. The annual rate of attack by African wild dogs Lycaon pictus was significantly higher (1.42 animals per 1,000 livestock) in the Sonjo tribal area than in the Maasai tribal area (0.72 animals per 1,000 livestock). In the Maasai tribal area there was a significant amount of predation by leopards Panthera pardus and spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta. In both tribal areas sheep Ovis aries and goats Capra aegagrus hircus were subject to predation more frequently than cattle. Attacks on livestock by wild dogs occurred most frequently in the afternoon and evening, whereas other carnivores generally attacked livestock at night. Sheep and goats were most frequently attacked by most carnivores during the long rainy season. Cattle Bos primigenius were most frequently attacked by wild dogs and leopards during the long dry season and by lions Panthera leo during the long rainy season, whereas spotted hyaenas killed cattle most frequently during the short rainy season.

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“…Kruuk (1972) found a strong correlation between dietary composition from faecal analysis and direct observations in spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta), although the relationship was less clear for brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) because of the numerous very small items they eat, such as insects (Mills & Mills 1978). The strong rank-order correlation between methods found in this study suggests that scat analysis can disentangle the relative importance of various prey in the wild dog diet which, in southern Africa, is comprised mainly of medium-sized ungulates (Hayward et al 2006). For some individual prey species, however, the differences between the two methods were pronounced: duiker and steenbok were more than twice as common among scats than direct observations, and scrub hares were detected once among scats but not among kills.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 62%

“…Studies of food habits underpin research into many aspects of carnivore biology, including the role that large carnivores play in ecosystems, the effects of predation on community stability (Prugh 2005), the relative selection pressures predators exert on prey species (Husseman et al 2003), range-wide prey preferences (Hayward et al 2006), niche overlap among sympatric carnivores (Breuer 2005), seasonal variation in dietary composition (Begg et al 2003), and the incidence of livestock predation (Marker et al 2003;Woodroffe et al 2005).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Potential Sources of Sampling Bias When Quantifying the Diet of the African Wild Dog Through Scat Analysis

Davies‐Mostert

Kent²,

Macdonald³

2010

South African Journal of Wildlife Research

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To develop guidelines for the collection of independent field samples of scats for the quantification of wild dog (Lycaon pictus) diet we determined the passage rates of different wild dog prey items from feeding trials on a captive pack held at Marakele National Park, Limpopo Province. The minimum time to first detection was 5.5 hours after feeding (S.E. ± 1.52, n = 5) and prey items remained in the gut for an average of 79.4 hours (S.E. ± 6.00, n = 3). Differential passage rates of prey species were not pronounced. Observed passage rates were used to devise a sampling protocol for scats collected during a field study where scats were separated by a minimum period of 120 hours to ensure independence of samples. Comparison of the percentage occurrence of prey species in field-collected scats with the percentage occurrence from direct observations of kills illustrated the tendency for small prey to be underrepresented in the latter. However, the strong correlation between percentage occurrences in diet as determined by the two methods (r s = 0.85, P < 0.01, 13 d.f.) suggests that both methods can reliably determine the relative importance of prey in the diets of obligate carnivores such as wild dogs. The determination of maximum passage rates and subsequent guidelines for collection of independent faecal samples in the field could be a valuable tool for reducing inherent biases in carnivore diet studies.

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Prey Preferences of the African Wild Dog Lycaon Pictus (Canidae: Carnivora): Ecological Requirements for Conservation

Cited by 138 publications

References 43 publications

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

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

Human–carnivore conflict over livestock in the eastern part of the Serengeti ecosystem, with a particular focus on the African wild dogLycaon pictus

Reducing Potential Sources of Sampling Bias When Quantifying the Diet of the African Wild Dog Through Scat Analysis

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