The diet and presence of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) on private land in the Waterberg region, South Africa

dc.contributor.authorRamnanan, Rivonia
dc.contributor.authorSwanepoel, Lourens Hendrik
dc.contributor.authorSomers, Michael J.
dc.contributor.emaillourens.swanepoel@up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-04-01T07:59:52Z
dc.date.available2014-04-01T07:59:52Z
dc.date.issued2013-04
dc.description.abstractAfrican wild dog (Lycaon pictus) populations and their geographic distributions have been greatly reduced due to direct human persecution and habitat reduction; however, remnant groups still manage to persist on private reserves and farmland. Farmland, especially game farming areas, can potentially be suitable for wild dog conservation. However, little is known about them in these areas. To increase our understanding regarding the presence and general ecology of wild dogs on private land we used a camera trapping picture database initially used to census leopards (Panthera pardus) to report on wild dog presence on private farmland and reserves within the Waterberg Biosphere, South Africa. We identified nine different wild dogs from the camera trap images and all wild dog signs were restricted to Lapalala. We further supplemented the data set with opportunistically collected scats to report on wild dog prey use. Only three species could be identified in the scats, namely bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus), impala (Aepyceros melampus) and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), with bushbuck the most important prey species. Our results show that some wild dogs still persist on private land in the Waterberg, confirming that private land can play an important role in wild dog conservation. We suggest that conservation efforts focussing on mitigation actions to improve local tolerance towards wild dogs would be the most efficient action to secure a viable wild dog population.en_US
dc.description.librarianam2013en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipFunding for the initial camera trapping project was received from IFS grant nr. D/4984-1, Wild Foundation grant no. 2008-011, Wilson Foundation and the University of Pretoria. L.H.S. was supported by National Research Foundation (NRF) grant no. 74819. R.R. and M.J.S. were supported by the University of Pretoria and M.J.S. also by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence Centre for Invasion Biology.en_US
dc.description.urihttp://www.sawma.co.za/en_US
dc.identifier.citationRamnanan, R, Swanepoel, LH & Somers, MJ 2013, 'The diet and presence of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) on private land in the Waterberg region, South Africa', South African Journal of Wildlife Research, vol. 43, no. 1, pp. 68-73.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0379-4369
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/37231
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSouthern African Wildlife Management Associationen_US
dc.rightsSouthern African Wildlife Management Associationen_US
dc.subjectNon-invasive surveyen_US
dc.subjectLarge carnivoresen_US
dc.subjectWildlife monitoringen_US
dc.subjectCamera trappingen_US
dc.subjectScat analysisen_US
dc.subjectAfrican wild dog (Lycaon pictus)en_US
dc.titleThe diet and presence of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) on private land in the Waterberg region, South Africaen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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