Abstract:
Increasing human population growth has led to elevated levels of human-carnivore
conflict. However, some carnivore populations have adapted to urban environments
and the resources they supply. Such associations may influence carnivore ecology,
behaviour and life-history. Pockets of urbanisation sometimes occur within protected
areas, so that anthropogenic influences on carnivore biology are not necessarily
confined to unprotected areas. In this study we evaluated associations between human
infrastructure and related activity and space use of spotted hyaenas within one of the
largest protected areas in South Africa, the Kruger National Park. Home range size was
smaller for the dominant female of a clan living in close proximity to humans than
that of the dominant female of a clan without direct access to human infrastructure.
The home range including human infrastructure was also used less evenly during the
night, presumably when the animals were active. Within this home range, a village
area was preferred during the night, when the least modified areas within the village
were preferred and administration and highly modified areas were avoided. During the
day, however, there were no preference or avoidance of the village area, but all habitats
except unmodified habitats within the village area were avoided.Wesuggest that human
infrastructure and associated activity influenced hyaena space use, primarily through
alterations in the spatial distribution of food. However, these effects may have been
indirectly caused by habitat modification that generated favourable hunting habitat
rather than a direct effect caused by access to human food such as garbage. Because
of the often pivotal effects of apex predators in terrestrial ecosystems, we encourage
further work aimed to quantify how human presence influences large carnivores and
associated ecosystem processes within protected areas.
