Conservation biology of cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus (Schreber 1775) and African wild dogs Lycaon pictus (Temminck 1820) in South Africa

Abstract

Large carnivores play a key role in regulating terrestrial ecosystems and their removal can cause effects that cascade through the lower trophic levels. Despite this, the geographic range and density of most large carnivore species are declining globally due to anthropogenic factors. Large carnivores are particularly difficult to conserve because they often come into conflict with humans, have large ranges, normally occur at low densities and are not confined to protected areas. This is particularly true for Vulnerable cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus and Endangered African wild dogs Lycaon pictus that are two of the widest ranging carnivores and are threatened by killing due to conflict, habitat fragmentation and snaring. Wild dogs are further susceptible to being killed on roads and cheetahs are often traded into captivity. Conservation planning for cheetahs and wild dogs in South Africa is hampered by a lack of information on suitable habitat for conservation action and connectivity between these habitats. Ecological niche models show that there are 21 410km2 of suitable habitat for both species in South Africa, both inside and outside of their current distribution ranges. Key areas are identified for conflict mitigation work, reintroduction projects and range expansion. With the exception of the Kruger National Park, the current protected area network is inefficient in conserving cheetah and wild dog habitat. To supply relevant information for conservation action, the range use of cheetahs outside of protected areas was investigated. Male home ranges ranged from 121.5 km2 to 607 km2 while females ranged from 14.7 km2 to 703.3 km2. Cheetahs utilised several ranches and mean home ranges sizes were larger than mean ranch size. This provides valuable and relevant information on cheetahs and aids conservation practitioners in mitigating human-cheetah conflict on South African farmland. The Kruger National Park is a stronghold for cheetah and wild dog conservation in South Africa thus monitoring the status of these populations is important. Tourist photographic surveys were used to obtain data for photographic-based capture-recapture analysis for open populations. Results show that 412 (329-495; SE 41.95) cheetahs and 151 (144-157; SE 3.21) wild dogs occur in the Kruger National Park. Cheetah capture probabilities were affected by time (number of entries) and sex, whereas wild dog capture probabilities were affected by the region of the park. The cheetah population of Kruger appears to be healthy, while the wild dog population size and density are of concern. Because cheetahs and wild dogs have been extirpated from most of South Africa, reintroduction programmes have resulted in cheetahs and wild dogs being introduced into fenced reserves. These are fragmented from each other and populations need to be managed to ensure demographic and genetic integrity. The survival of cheetahs introduced into reserves from the free roaming population was examined using data from 29 reserves and 189 cheetahs: 92 adults: 59 males and 33 females, plus 94 cubs born on the reserves. The Kaplan-Meier (product limit) estimator with staggered entry (Pollock et al. 1989) was used and the mean annual survivorship for all cheetahs, including cubs born, was 82.8%. The final survivorship value for all adult cheetahs was 0.23 and for cubs was 0.04. Cubs had significantly higher survival on reserves where other competing predators were absent. The median survival time was 38 months for adult males and more than 53 months for adult females. Cheetah and wild dog conservation needs to be addressed in three key geographically areas due to the different challenges and management interventions required: 1) free roaming populations outside of protected areas, 2) the Kruger National Park and 3) reintroduced populations in fenced reserves. Each area provides unique opportunities and challenges for conservation of these species.