Using spoor counts to analyse the effect of small stock farming in Namibia on caracal density in the neighbouring Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

dc.contributor.authorMelville, H.I.A.S.
dc.contributor.authorBothma, Jacobus du P.
dc.date.accessioned2007-05-14T06:53:17Z
dc.date.available2007-05-14T06:53:17Z
dc.date.issued2006
dc.description.abstractA spoor count was done to determine whether caracal spoor densities in the vicinity of the border of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park differed from those in the interior of the Park. The objective was to compare caracal densities close to the agricultural land with those deeper in a national park. Two long-distance transects, one along the Namibian border and one diverging from the Namibian border into the interior of the Park, were surveyed on a monthly basis. Spoor density, discrete track set distances and orientation of spoor to the road were recorded and analysed to establish use patterns for three distinct zones in the Park. The hypothesis tested was that increased spoor counts along the border should result from an attraction to the adjacent agricultural (cattle and sheep production) land. It is shown that caracals avoid the areas near the Namibian border during the hot season but increased their utilization in this region in the cold season. This implies that under conditions of low prey availability (cold season) caracals may move to the border and cross onto agricultural land to prey on small livestock, there.en
dc.format.extent394488 bytes
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.citationMelville, HIAS & Bothma, JduP 2006. ‘Using spoor counts to analyse the effect of small stock farming in Namibia on caracal density in the neighbouring Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park’, Journal of Arid Environments, vol. 64, issue 3, pp.436-447 [http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/01401963 ]en
dc.identifier.issn0140-1963
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/2371
dc.language.isoenen
dc.publisherElsevieren
dc.rightsElsevieren
dc.subjectKalaharien
dc.subjectNamibiaen
dc.subjectSpoor-countsen
dc.subject.lcshCaracal -- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Botswana-South Africa)
dc.subject.lcshCaracal -- Effect of predation on -- Livestock -- Namibia
dc.titleUsing spoor counts to analyse the effect of small stock farming in Namibia on caracal density in the neighbouring Kgalagadi Transfrontier Parken
dc.typePostprint Articleen

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