Large Carnivore Research Project

Big cats and other African predators are some of the most admired creatures on earth. Yet the very things that make them popular also put them in direct conflict with humans. Because of their vast hunting range and lethal prowess, they are rapidly disappearing from the face of the earth.

AWF knows that better understanding carnivores and their interactions with humans is the key to these animals’ future. Since 2002, AWF’s Large Carnivore Research Project has undertaken research aimed at ensuring the continued survival of large predators in the Kazungula Heartland.

The main goal of the Large Carnivore Research Project is to gain an understanding of predators in the Heartland – their populations, their behaviors, their movements, and their interactions with people in order to develop appropriate conservation actions.

The project studies a variety of carnivorous species including African wild dog, lion, spotted hyena, leopard, and jackal, but focuses primarily on lions and spotted hyena. The size and abundance of lions and hyenas mean that these animals have a larger impact on the landscape than other species, including greater potential for conflict with humans.

Conflict with humans is in fact the biggest threat to the large carnivores. Because of livestock predation, the most common human reaction to carnivores is killing them. This has resulted in the near extinction of wild dog throughout Africa and a precipitous drop in all predator numbers across the continent, including lions. The loss and fragmentation of habitat due to agriculture and livestock activities is an additional and ever-growing threat. Expanding human populations are putting carnivores and humans into even more conflict. The challenges for the future will be not only to conserve sufficient space (and habitat connectivity) for carnivores but also to find ways to minimize human-wildlife conflict.

In northeastern Botswana and the Caprivi region of Namibia, AWF’s Gosiame Neo-Mahupeleng is studying the large carnivores and their impact on the human settlement across the Chobe River through participatory surveys with local communities, radio telemetry and large landscape surveys of human population and distribution.

The project has collected data on carnivore and prey populations, human-wildlife conflict, and has attached GPS/radio collars in order to collect data on movement patterns. The project team is also gathering important information on the economic impact of predators in the region.

The first phase of the Large Carnivore Research Project focused on large landscape carnivore distribution and census surveys of the entire Chobe District in Botswana and the Caprivi region of Namibia, to produce a large carnivore inventory. Results indicated that large carnivore distribution is determined by the availability of surface water and human activity. It was also found that carnivore performance varies across species, based on their distribution and population estimates.

The conservation status of large carnivores in Chobe was assessed as stable and secure, this owing primarily to comparatively low human population and large protected areas, such as Chobe National Park, six forest reserves and wildlife management areas. Comparing the two landscapes, Caprivi Region had a smaller carnivore population, both in terms of distribution and population estimates. Carnivore activity in the Caprivi is restricted to only protected areas.

The second phase of the Large Carnivore Research Project focused on understanding human-carnivore conflict, such as the movement patterns of large carnivores and cattle, variation in carnivore diet between settlements areas and settlement-free areas, and the role of livestock husbandry (kraal design, herding, etc.). As a result, a Chobe Enclave Human Carnivore Conflict Mitigation Strategy will be drafted. Major mitigation measures coming out of the strategy include: emphasis on effective herding at day and kraaling at night, application of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) for herding and guarding, and a return to traditional communal livestock management.

AWF believes a reasonable understanding of the dynamics of human-carnivore conflict is available from these two phases. The next stage of the project intends to focus on implementation of the conflict-mitigation strategy and conflict monitoring. Activities currently lined up for this phase include: introduction of livestock guarding dogs to the Chobe Enclave, construction of experimental kraals, and the enhancement of conflict monitoring systems by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks.

The project’s progress has benefitted from the effective participation of the Chobe Enclave community and other stakeholders.