Abstract:
1. Large carnivores are a critical component of Africa’s biodiversity, and their
conservation requires a clear understanding of interactions between large
carnivores and people.
2. By reviewing existing literature, we identify 14 key factors that influence large
African carnivore conservation, including ecological (biodiversity conservation,
interspecific competition, ranging behaviour, ecological resilience, prey availability,
livestock predation, disease and population viability), socio-economic (people’s
attitudes and behaviours and human costs and benefits of coexistence with
large carnivores) and political (conservation policy development and implementation,
conservation strategies and land use zoning) factors.
3. We present these key factors in a model illustrating the levels of impact on large
African carnivore conservation.
4. We identify the key principle that underpins each factor and its implications
for both large carnivore conservation and human–carnivore conflict.
5. We provide a synthesis of the key factors and related principles in large African
carnivore conservation and highlight the importance of the site-specific and
species-specific context in conservation policy and implementation, formulated
through an interdisciplinary and adaptive approach.
