The value of social media wildlife sightings for elusive species monitoring : a population assessment of servals in a South African urban nature reserve

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Authors

Smith, Kyle
Somers, Michael J.

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

Data sourced from social media platforms is an underutilised resource for wildlife research, especially in studying enigmatic species. This study evaluates the potential of such data to provide population and behavioural insights into an elusive species, the serval (Leptailurus serval), from Rietvlei Nature Reserve, an urban protected area in South Africa. We collected 153 visitor sightings of servals within the reserve from different online platforms spanning from June 2011 to August 2024, from which we identified 30 different individual servals, including three long-term residents. Analysis of these sightings revealed a stable serval population with evidence of reproduction within the reserve and migration through a permeable border fence. Behavioural information from the sightings, such as prey captured and habitat use, align with existing knowledge of serval ecology. Even though data sourced from passive contributions by the public generally falls short in terms of data quality and detail, this study demonstrates that a well-supported social media community can be a valuable source of behavioural and basic population data of elusive species in a specific protected area. This approach allows for cost-effective wildlife research that is beneficial to both wildlife management and the formulation of conservation strategies.

Description

DATA AVAILABILITY : The data collected for this study is publicly available in Figshare with the identifier https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.27901164.v1.

Keywords

Urban ecology, Population ecology, iEcology, Felidae, Carnivore ecology, Citizen science, SDG-15: Life on land

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-15:Life on land

Citation

Smith, K., Somers, M.J. The value of social media wildlife sightings for elusive species monitoring: a population assessment of servals in a South African urban nature reserve. Urban Ecosystems 28, 83 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-025-01698-3.