Wildlife Management
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This digital collection includes presentations given at the 9th International Wildlife Ranching Symposium held in 2016 for the symposium theme: Wildlife Management.
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Item Open Access Beef Industry(Colorado State University. Libraries, 1974-03-20) DonItem Open Access Tet Ansanm(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014-02-25) McGreevy, JohnItem Open Access Program of the 9th international wildlife ranching symposium: wildlife - the key to prosperity for rural communities(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherAbstracts of parallel sessions are included. Symposium includes 4 Plenary sessions, and parallel sessions covering Wildlife Management; Sustainable Use of Wildlife; and IUCN 2nd African Buffalo Symposium.Item Open Access Endangered bontebok and small game survival: a quest of palaeontology, climate change, consumptive use and biodiversity management in S.A.(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Furstenburg, Deon, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherBontebok enhancement and survival as species came into question with the US Fisheries &Wildlife Services from an attack by the US Humane Society on permits for bontebok trophy imports in October 2015. A comprehensive report that enlightens the origin, development and reasons for the genetic bottleneck of the sub-species was compiled by the author. DNA genetics provides valued insight in the bontebok's heterozygosity when linked to historic palaeontology of the southern African coast line and the climate conditions and different vegetation as now indicated from radio-isotope from dental measurement of skeletons and fossils found in the Karoo Basin and along the southern coastline. An assessment of governmental attempts of protection verses the translocation of Bontebok out of its past natural distribution range in the Western Cape to alternative more suitable habitat in the Eastern Cape and the Free State are discussed. The impact of breeding on private land and the establishment of the WRSA Bontebok Breeding Group and the newly registered Bontebok Breeders Association (GAZETTE notice 690, 10 Jun 2016) as part of the Wildlife Production Association under the Animal Improvement Act (Act 62 of 1998) of the South African Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry is highlighted against the contradictive IUCN Red data listing. A difference in number of 1,200 versus 8,000 bontebok and the application to other game species are discussed.Item Open Access The Angolan experience: bringing animals without land to a land without animals(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) van Hoven, Wouter, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherThe 27 year long civil war in Angola has devastated the national parks and wildlife populations of this country. In cooperation with the Angolan government we planned the return of many locally extinct species including elephant. All animals had to be airlifted, including elephant in family groups and giraffe plus 12 other species. The wildlife was all released into a Special Conservation Area within the Kissama national Park. The operation will be discussed, how it was planned, and the ecology behind it, the benefit to the local communities, and where it stands today. Wildlife in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been devastated during the past years of civil war. The Kiala Community Land just north of the Angola border together with private land form a natural area of 500 000 ha. We are planning with the community to fence the first 75 000 ha and reintroduce wildlife in order to start a conservation plan based on ecotourism and the sustainable use of natural resources. Can we repeat the Angola project in DRC?Item Open Access Wildlife management practices in South Africa drive creation of hybrid zones(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Benjamin-Fink, Nicole, author; Reilly, Brian, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherHistorically, wildlife translocations assisted in reestablishing species in areas of extinction and are currently employed in over 50 countries. Ironically, they may be responsible for the extinction of pure genetic lineages, thereby negatively impacting endangered, indigenous, and rare species worldwide. The need to intensely manage populations is accelerating and the use of translocation as a practice is rapidly utilized within the wildlife ranching industry. We hypothesize that black and blue wildebeest translocation practices are detrimental, likely to persist in their current form, and policies facilitate hybridization. 6,929translocated wildebeest from 275 private ranches and three provincial protected areas, across 5South African provinces, were documented over five years. We analysed dispersal patterns of two translocated species that hybridize: the endemic black wildebeest and the more common blue wildebeest, sustainability of the translocation practice (indicated by generated revenue), and links between policies and hybridization. Translocations facilitate hybridization by overlapping previously ecologically and geographically isolated species, from multiple origins. Key findings indicate that blue wildebeest males of reproductive age are primarily translocated, wildebeest are introduced to the private and commercial industry from multiple sources (1-34), generated revenue from wildebeest accounted for 20.8%, and spatial disconnectivity and separate feeding grounds are correlated with decreased hybridization. This raises concerns for ecological integrity, location of genetically pure populations, genetic swamping, and regulatory efficiency. We coin the concept of an Ecological Sustainable Network (ESN) certificate and propose transparent and accountable procedural frameworks that standardize wildlife translocation practices for wildlife managers in the game ranching industryItem Open Access The iImpact of predation losses on beef cattle in South Africa(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Badenhorst, Conrad, author; van Niekerk, Walter, author; Strydom, Dirkie, author; Jordaan, Henry, author; de Waal, HO, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherPredation losses on livestock farms and wildlife ranches in South Africa are poorly quantified. Recently predation losses on sheep and goats in five provinces were estimated at more than ZAR 1.39 thousand million annually. Predation losses were mostly ascribed to black-backed jackals Canis mesomelas and caracal Caracal caracal. In the present study predation losses for beef cattle in seven provinces were estimated at more than ZAR 383 million annually. The random sample of 1 344 beef cattle farmers ascribed predation losses mostly to black-backed jackals, followed (indifferent order of ranking for provinces) by leopard Panthera pardus, caracal, brown hyaena Parahyaena brunnea, cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and vagrant dogs Canis familiaris. Only in Limpopo Province leopards were implicated as the major predator, followed by black-backed jackals. Beef cattle farmers have fewer methods available to manage predators than small livestock farmers. Non-lethal methods used were herdsmen, electric fences, kraaling, and livestock guard animals. The lethal methods included hunting (farmers and specialist hunters), cage traps, foothold traps, and hound packs. No non-lethal or lethal method, used individually or combined with other methods, served as a magic general solution for predation on beef cattle. The total direct and indirect costs of predation varied between provinces; for South Africa it was: total cost for lethal control – ZAR 39.522 million; total cost for non-lethal control – ZAR 89.175 million; total cost of predation losses – ZAR 254.447 million. This information is now being used to inform the development of meaningful coordinated predation management strategies.Item Open Access Demography and morphometry of an important mesopredator (black-backed jackal - Canis mesomelas) in southern Africa(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) de Waal, HO, author; Combrinck, Wliie, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherPredation losses on livestock and wildlife ranches are more than ZAR 2 thousand million per year. The black-backed jackal Canis mesomelas is an important mesopredator in South Africa and Namibia and implicated for much of these losses. Despite control over decades, little is known about their demography and morphometry. Information was collected by farmers and specialist predator hunters during a period of 21 months. Time of year hunted (age relative to whelping), eruption of the permanent teeth and the wear of incisors were used to categorise 4 age groups: <0.5 years (pups), 0.5–1 years (juveniles), between 1–2 years (yearlings), and ≥2 years (adults). The 455 males and 411 females did not support the assumption that hunted (stressed) populations respond by producing more females to increase reproductive fitness of the species. Except for significantly more females in the age group 1-2 years (yearlings), their sex ratio was not skewed. Sexual dimorphism was evident with males weighing consistently more than same age females; the heaviest adult male and female weighed 12.5 kg and 11.5 kg, respectively. Growth and development of black-backed jackals occurred mostly in the first 6months of their lives, thereafter decreasing gradually. Sexual dimorphism was also displayed by morphometry and total body length, body length and tail length of males were consistently more than for females. Predation management of black-backed jackals must be informed by good knowledge of the interface between its biology and management; this information is now used to develop meaningful coordinated predation management strategies.Item Open Access Livestock or wildlife in western Ngamiland, Botswana: a case of who dares wins(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Perkins, J. S., author; Brooks, C., author; Bourquin, S., author; Bradley, J., author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherLand use planning in North-western Botswana has reached a critical juncture. Key wildlife movements from the Okavango Delta System to the drier Kalahari have almost been cut-off by linear development, settlement expansion and dryland farming, along the margins of the Okavango Panhandle and Okavango Delta. Botswana's burgeoning elephant population is expanding outwards to an unprecedented degree, damaging fences and infrastructure and causing high levels of Human Elephant Conflict. Saline groundwater and an abundance of Dichapetalum cymosum has limited livestock expansion and currently vast areas of effectively ‘empty savannah' burn every year. Mobility is the key for the persistence of all the key wild ungulate populations and when this was lost in the Kalahari System thirty five years ago more than a half million blue wildebeest and red hartebeest perished never to recover. Fenced game and livestock ranches offer no substitute to an open system in which large ungulates are able to move between the Zambezian and Kalahari floristic domains. Game ranched populations cannot meaningfully contribute to the restocking of the free ranging populations as they become water dependent and behaviourally unable to survive in the harsh Kalahari environment. A hierarchy of options exist from visionary connectivity of north-western Botswana to the broader KAZA-TFCA, to the sectoral prioritization of a heavily subsidised beef sector. It would be a tragedy if the resolution of this natural resource management conflict followed that of the Kalahari System last century, where who dared won.Item Open Access Lessons in managing wild ungulates in urbanized environments(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) van den Brink, D. Bob, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherWild ungulates in the Netherlands were for many decades almost extinct and some species even temporarily absent. In some remote areas small populations of roe deer and wild boar did survive but numbers remained low. After World War II, due to a rapid urbanisation and the construction of a dense infrastructure, survival chances for ungulates only decreased. The realization of an ecological network and stricter protection laws led since 1990 to a sharp reversal for the wild ungulates. The numbers of red, fallow, roe deer and wild boar started to increase sharply. And this increase continues. There are more wild deer now in the Netherlands than there have been since centuries. The wild boar population is now expanding strongly towards new areas and it appears impossible to put a hold on this expansion. However, this increase in numbers yielded new problems for human safety and the economy. It led to an increase of collisions with traffic, agricultural damage and effects of over grazing. Especially fallow deer and wild boar show up more often in built-up areas and become a nuisance for residents. There has been a learning process how to manage ungulate populations to avoid conflicts with humans. A search for socially and economically acceptable measures to control populations, care for animal welfare and reducing risks for both humans and animals. There are a lot of cases with different solutions to be presented.Item Open Access Rabies in kudus and eland?? Implications to the game industry in Namibia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Tubbesing, Ulf, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherItem Open Access Phylogeography and conservation genomics of the African lion (Panthera leo) at a continental and local scale based on mitochondrial and nuclear molecular markers(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Smitz, N., author; Jouvenet, O., author; Bertrand, L., author; Ligate, F., author; Ikanda, D., author; Chardonnet, P., author; Crosmary, W.-G., author; Cornélis, D., author; Gillet, F., author; Melletti, M., author; Fusari, A., author; Michaux, J., author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherThe African lion (Panthera leo) is listed as "vulnerable" by the IUCN Red List, mainly threatened by indiscriminate killing, primarily as a result of retaliatory or pre-emptive killing to protect human life and livestock, and prey base depletion. Habitat loss and conversion has led to a number of subpopulations becoming small and isolated. With the weakened connectivity between the main strongholds, genetic drift and loss of genetic diversity could affect the genetic health of the species. In the present study, we investigated the evolutionary history of the species at different scales of time and space. A total of 182 samples were used, including a larger number of 77 samples from Tanzanian protected areas. The mitochondrial cytochrome b gene was sequenced and the specimens were genotyped for 11 microsatellites and more than 9,000 SNPs. The preliminary results indicate that the lion is structured into two lineages at the continental scale (West-Central vs South-Eastern), a pattern observed within many other large African savanna species displaying large distribution ranges. Pleistocene climatic oscillations and biogeographical barriers were proposed as the main factors to have driven the lineage sorting. The first results based on microsatellites highlighted that the Tanzanian population displayed good level of genetic diversities with no signs of inbreeding. Indication of isolation-by-distance nevertheless highlighted a potential future impact of fragmentation on the population genetic health. SNPs allowed to identify 3 populations of lions in Tanzania, geographically structured. Using various molecular markers, the present work will further explore the taxonomy and the evolutionary history of the African lion for bringing insights in its conservation requirements.Item Open Access Implementation of biodiversity economy strategy in the Eastern Cape Province: the preliminary lessons learnt(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Mokotjomela, Thabiso M., author; Nombewu, Nomatile, author; Peinke, Dean M., author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherConservation of biodiversity has become a priority matter due to its excellent boost to socioeconomic development through ecotourism. The Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency is responsible for the management of the provincial protected area network in South Africa. The Protected Area Expansion Strategy for the Agency is currently looking to improve biodiversity conservation using different mechanisms such as the Game Industry Transformation Strategy. The study elucidates how Game Industry Transformation Initiative as part of the national biodiversity economy strategy has a potential to promote biodiversity conservation whilst also addressing the socio-economic issues in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. An invitation for Expression of Interest for Game Farming Transformation Initiative - GFTI (REP No: 03/15/16) was published widely on media over a period of one month as per South African government protocol. A total of 20 (N) applications were received comprising 90% of the targeted previously disadvantaged individuals (PDIs), and 10% were the institutions supporting the initiative. An estimated total area greater than 5000 hectares may benefit protection for biodiversity through GFTI. Out of the total PDIs (n = 18), 44% had landownership with verifiable title deeds, 12%relied on communal land while 44% relied on land leased from the government. There were significantly few participants (22%) with full capacity (i.e. game infrastructure) to roll out the incubation phase of the initiative within one year. A few lessons learnt include: 1. land ownership will remain a major challenge in the future; 2. infrastructural capital is limiting factor; and 3. a few people were interested thereby suggesting a need for more campaign for wildlife economy in the PDIs in South Africa.Item Open Access Farming with the small 5: welcome to the world of unique mini antelope species!(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) le Roux, Arnaud, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherThe main objective for a Small Antelope Breeding Industry (SABI) is to promote the conservation of all the small antelopes in their natural habitats in southern Africa. One of the biggest threats to small antelope species is habitat loss and fragmentation. While captive breeding may contribute towards achieving the goals of the SABI, there is also a risk that providing captive breeding as an option will result in more land transformation and habitat loss based upon the perception that animals on land suitable for development can simply be removed and put into a captive breeding facility. This may ultimately work against the objectives of small antelope conservation, especially considering that the success of rehabilitation of captive bred animals into the wild has not been well tested. Captive breeding must therefore only be seen as a management tool to ultimately support the return of animals into natural habitat, and must not be seen as a conservation tool in isolation to conserving small antelope species in their natural habitats. Source animals are from (1) a population that is ‘doomed' i.e. population is under imminent threat of extinction due to land use change or poaching, and where there are no options for natural movement of animals to contribute to a larger metapopulation, (2) a population at or above maximum productivity carrying capacity (i.e. at or above 75% of ecological carrying capacity) or a level at which Provincial conservation agencies are prepared to grant a capture permit, or (3) animals that are injured or imprinted and are hence non-releasable. The purpose is to ensure that there are no extra negative impacts on wild populations; it is undesirable to remove animals from wild populations where these populations are below carrying capacity, or where options exist to translocated animals to other areas of natural habitat. In all cases status of populations (doomed populations, populations above maximum productivity carrying capacity, and non-releasable animals) is to be assessed by an authorized representative.Item Open Access Institutions, governance, and the economic performance of protected areas in southern Africa(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Chidakel, Alex, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherThough wildlife enjoys an economic comparative advantage in dryland areas of southern Africa, public and private investment in this land use varies significantly. This variation exists both between countries with different institutional regimes for wildlife, and between land ownership categories within countries. From an institutional economic perspective, allocation of resources to wildlife-based land uses, and value generated inconsequence, is hypothesized to be in relation to the degree to which rights to own wildlife and responsibility for management are devolved to the scale at which wildlife is produced. Within and between country variation in tenurial and management arrangements therefore presents an opportunity to test predicted relationships with economic efficiency and to explore the implications of institutions on the equity of value distribution. Economic impact analyses, which measure local value in terms of production, income, jobs, and value added, are becoming increasingly common of national parks, though their application to non-public protected areas (PAs) is rare. In this study, impact analysis is applied to both sets of PAs through an ongoing cross-sectional comparison of the economic value of public, private, and communal protected areas of the Greater Kruger Area of South Africa, and of the southern Luangwa Valley in Zambia. It's hypothesized that the value of PAs to which resources are allocated by the state is greater than that of PAs on private and communal land where institutions for wildlife are centralized (Zambia), and vice versa where institutions are devolved (South Africa). Only results for the Luangwa system are here described.Item Open Access Cawston Game Ranch, Zimbabwe: facts and figures(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Booth, Vernon R., author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherCawston Game Ranch, located in Matabeleland Province in Zimbabwe, has operated as a trophy hunting destination since its inception in 1987. The ranch is situated in a semi-arid region with limited arable soils and subject to high rainfall variability. The ranch is surrounded by resettlement and subsistence farmers and their families. Vegetation is dominated by Colophospermum mopane – Acacia species on basalt soils. There are no perennial river systems requiring the maintenance of an extensive artificial game water supply system strategically located across the ranch. The 128 km2 property is surrounded by a 2.4 m high, 13 strand game fence. A mixture of grazers and mixed feeders make up the 17 species of ungulates with large predators limited to leopard and brown hyena. There are no buffalo, lion or elephant. Approximately 9,000 animals have been harvested over a 20-yearperiod. Rifle and bow trophy hunting and cropping are main source of revenue together with irregular live sales of impala, giraffe, sable, wildebeest, kudu and warthog. The founder populations have been monitored annually using robust road strip count surveys since 1997. These data have been analysed using the programme DISTANCE (Buckland, S.T., Anderson, D.R. Burnham, K.P. and Laake, J.L. 1993) to monitor changes in population estimates. A relationship using an abundance index for different species to estimate population numbers has been developed that provides game ranch managers with a simple tool to track population changes and hence establish sustainable quota offtakes without necessarily having to use complex and expensive survey techniques.Item Open Access Creating voluntary payment programs effective program design and ranchers' willingness to conserve Florida panther habitat(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Pienaar, Elizabeth F., author; Kreye, Melissa M., author; Soto, José R., author; Adams, Damian C., author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherLandowner resistance to Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations is a key challenge to endangered species protection and recovery. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) strategies have been promoted as an effective market-based strategy for conserving imperiled species and offsetting ESA regulatory pressure on private landowners. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recently proposed that a mix of PES and regulatory assurances be implemented in Florida to encourage cattlemen to engage in Florida panther recovery efforts. To identify cattlemen's preferences for the proposed programs we conducted a mail-based survey employing a choice experiment typically used in marketing research (i.e., best-worst scaling). We found that the utility associated with an incentive program depends on both the type and level of incentive offered and contract features that impact personal autonomy. Our findings suggest that voluntary conservation programs are most likely to enroll politically conservative landowners if these programs (1) provide per-acre payments or tax reductions, (2) are of shorter duration, (3) are based on norms of reciprocity, and (4) do not require overly intrusive or restrictive levels of monitoring to ensure program compliance.Item Open Access Diseases of special importance to the wildlife industry in Namibia(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Tubbesing, Ulf, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherItem Open Access Wildlife Estates Label: European landowner's organization(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Kostopoulos, Konstantin, author; van den Brink, Bob, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherSmall and large estates all over Europe represent major partners in the conservation of biodiversity; they provide space, shelter and living conditions for some of our most iconic species. From the running white-tailed deer of Finland to flights of migrating birds in Spain, estates often provide room for such animals to thrive. The Wildlife Estates project aims to establish a network of exemplary estates. These estates/territories will showcase the simple principles of good management and conservation of wildlife estates all over Europe. After 10 years of experience, more than 150estates in 17 countries and close to 1.000.000 ha labelled, the Wildlife Estates (WE) Label has perfected its method of creating biodiversity, which in turn generates economic, social and ecological stability. Our objective is simple. Use the land to its fullest potential, in a respectful manner, so as to create long term benefits. Apart from a highly beneficial exchange of experience, the initiative has established simple but precise principles for the good territorial management and conservation of 'wildlife' territories throughout Europe, divided up according to the different biogeographical regions of the European Union. The WE label has been developed to recognize and admit good and exemplary management of territories. It creates a system which ensures and demonstrates that the management and the use of natural resources on relevant estates comply with biodiversity and nature conservation principles and aims to be flexible and reproducible. This is why the WE Label is vital; to combine careful management practice with conservation – a private commitment to working for the public good. All those who commit to our principles do so on a voluntary basis, not because their hand is forced by regulation, but because they have a healthy respect for the maintenance of biodiversity. In many cases, this is not only good for nature, but a diverse and healthy estate can provide even more benefits like increased pollination, especially when the aims of the WE Label are combined with those of our Pollinator Network initiative.Item Open Access The implementation of modern genetic improvement methods in wildlife(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016-09) Neser, Frederick, author; Fair, Mike, author; van Wyk, Japie, author; Lubout, Paul, author; Josling, Charné, author; de Waal, HO, author; International Wildlife Ranching Symposium, publisherIn recent times the economic value of wildlife has extended beyond merely hunting and eco-tourism. The demand for exotic and alternative meat sources worldwide has resulted in a shift on emphasis placed on the improvement of production and reproduction traits in the wildlife sector. This trend is in line with the current genetic improvement of commercial farm animals. However, the over emphasis placed on single trait selection, like horn length and colour, without considering the genetic correlations that exist between all possible traits, could have detrimental effect on the important traits of fertility and adaptation. Unfortunately these traits are normally difficult to measure, lowly heritable and negatively correlated with production. To overcome these obstacles it is necessary to have proper phenotypic and genomic data to implement modern genetic evaluation methodologies. To avoid mistakes made in the traditional livestock industry, the defining of sustainable and balanced selection goals is of paramount importance. Apart from the benefits of genetic improvement, conservation and diversity can also be maintained and improved, while inbreeding can be monitored and controlled.