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Fig. 2.—Dorsal, ventral, and lateral views of skull and lateral view of mandible of an adult (.1 year of age) Vulpes corsac of unknown sex collected in Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve, Dalanjargal soum, Dornogobi aimag (45.723uN,... more
Fig. 2.—Dorsal, ventral, and lateral views of skull and lateral view of mandible of an adult (.1 year of age) Vulpes corsac of unknown sex collected in Ikh Nartiin Chuluu Nature Reserve, Dalanjargal soum, Dornogobi aimag (45.723uN, 108.645uE) by J. Murdoch. Maximum length of skull is 116 mm; maximum width is 67 mm. Skull deposited in the mammal collection, Natural History Museum of Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. Photograph by L. Distelhorst and J. Murdoch, National University of Mongolia, used with permission.
This chapter describes the Canid Action Plan, the result of deliberations of the Canid Specialist Group (CSG), one of more than 120 groups of specialists with a taxonomic focus on conservation under the aegis of the Species Survival... more
This chapter describes the Canid Action Plan, the result of deliberations of the Canid Specialist Group (CSG), one of more than 120 groups of specialists with a taxonomic focus on conservation under the aegis of the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the IUCN—the World Conservation Union. The plan includes contributions from more than ninety specialists and has been reviewed by a further eighty. Two interesting topics are explored on the basis of the priorities submitted by these specialists: first, we can gain a sense of the types of knowledge that are judged still to be lacking from the canid conservationist's armory; and, second, we can learn something of the preoccupations and thought processes of the contributing specialists (and perhaps some strengths and weaknesses of the action planning process). Although some proposed projects encompass several topics and some blend into actions, most can readily be assigned to one of ten research themes; these themes are discussed.
The Ethiopian wolf is one of many species endemic to the highlands of Ethiopia but with only about 400 adults remaining, it is also the most endangered canid in the world. The main threats to this creature are loss of habitat to... more
The Ethiopian wolf is one of many species endemic to the highlands of Ethiopia but with only about 400 adults remaining, it is also the most endangered canid in the world. The main threats to this creature are loss of habitat to subsistence farming and livestock over-grazing, human development with all its subsidiary effects whereby human activity encroaches on the wolf's territory. Added to this, the small size of the remaining population has also brought with it problems of inbreeding, leading to a loss of genetic diversity, disease and hybridisation. In the face of this alarming situation, this action plan emphasises the necessity of leading immediate action on three fronts and provides a detailed strategy for the conservation and management of the remaining Ethiopian wolf populations.
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Location of African wolf and Ethiopian wolf in respect to the buffer and core zone of the study area, Guassa mountain
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Fig. 1.—Adult Vulpes corsac, Xinjiang Province of the People's Republic of China. Photograph by X. Eichaker, used with permission.
Impact of the number of individuals of each wolf species present on the outcome of interactions.;Estimates, standard errors (SE) and P-values from a linear mixed effects model with Shannon diversity index (H) as the response variable,... more
Impact of the number of individuals of each wolf species present on the outcome of interactions.;Estimates, standard errors (SE) and P-values from a linear mixed effects model with Shannon diversity index (H) as the response variable, Grids as the random effect and habitat (buffer zone or core area) as the fixed effect.;Estimates of mole rat abundance in the buffer zone
The supplementary material contains details on the genetic analysis procedure, tables with details on genetic sequences used in the analyses, and additional phylogenies built with Neighbourhood-joining; This file contains the two unique... more
The supplementary material contains details on the genetic analysis procedure, tables with details on genetic sequences used in the analyses, and additional phylogenies built with Neighbourhood-joining; This file contains the two unique Cytochrome b haplotypes for Himalayan wolf and the one unque haplotype for domestic dog found in Humla Nepal.; This file contains the three unique D-loop haplotypes for Himalayan wolf and the one unique haplotype for domestic dog found in Humla Nepal. It also contains two Grey wolf haplotypes found in scats from Mongolia that were in the authors collection.
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Wolves in the Himalayan region form a monophyletic lineage distinct from the present-day Holarctic grey wolf <i>Canis lupus</i> spp. (Linnaeus 1758) found across Eurasia and North America. Here, we analyse phylogenetic... more
Wolves in the Himalayan region form a monophyletic lineage distinct from the present-day Holarctic grey wolf <i>Canis lupus</i> spp. (Linnaeus 1758) found across Eurasia and North America. Here, we analyse phylogenetic relationships and the geographic distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes of the contemporary Himalayan wolf (proposed in previous studies as <i>Canis himalayensis</i>) found in Central Asia. We combine genetic data from a living Himalayan wolf population collected in northwestern Nepal in this study with already published genetic data, and confirm the Himalayan wolf lineage based on mitochondrial genomic data (508 bp cytochrome <i>b</i> and 242 bp D-loop), and X- and Y-linked zinc-finger protein gene (ZFX and ZFY) sequences. We then compare the genetic profile of the Himalayan wolf lineage found in northwestern Nepal with canid reference sequences from around the globe with maximum likelihood and Bayesian phylogeny building methods to demonstrate that the Himalayan wolf forms a distinct monophyletic clade supported by posterior probabilities/bootstrap for D-loop of greater than 0.92/85 and cytochrome <i>b</i> greater than 0.99/93. The Himalayan wolf shows a unique Y-chromosome (ZFY) haplotype, and shares an X-chromosome haplotype (ZFX) with the newly postulated African wolf. Our results imply that the Himalayan wolf distribution range extends from the Himalayan range north across the Tibetan Plateau up to the Qinghai Lakes region in Qinghai Province in the People's Republic of China. Based on its phylogenetic distinction and its older age of divergence relative to the Holarctic grey wolf, the Himalayan wolf merits formal classification as a distinct taxon of special conservation concern.
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1Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice 37005, Czech Republic 2Rangeland Sciences Department, Gansu Agricultural University, 730070, Lanzhou, China 3Department of Biology and Institute of... more
1Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, České Budějovice 37005, Czech Republic 2Rangeland Sciences Department, Gansu Agricultural University, 730070, Lanzhou, China 3Department of Biology and Institute of Mountain Research & Development, Mekelle University, Mekelle, Ethiopia 4Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Zoology, University of Oxford, The Recanati-Kaplan Centre, Tubney house, Tubney OX13 5QL, UK
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African wolves (AWs) are sympatric with endangered Ethiopian wolves (EWs) in parts of their range. Scat analyses have suggested a dietary overlap between AWs and EWs, raising the potential for exploitative competition, and a possible... more
African wolves (AWs) are sympatric with endangered Ethiopian wolves (EWs) in parts of their range. Scat analyses have suggested a dietary overlap between AWs and EWs, raising the potential for exploitative competition, and a possible conservation threat to EWs. However, in contrast to that of the well-studied EW, the foraging ecology of AWs remains poorly characterized. Accordingly, we studied the foraging ecology of radio-collared AWs (<i>n</i> = 11 individuals) at two localities with varying levels of anthropogenic disturbance in the Ethiopian Highlands, the Guassa-Menz Community Conservation Area (GMCCA) and Borena-Saynt National Park (BSNP), accumulating 845 h of focal observation across 2856 feeding events. We also monitored rodent abundance and rodent trapping activity by local farmers who experience conflict with AWs. The AW diet consisted largely of rodents (22.0%), insects (24.8%), and goats and sheep (24.3%). Of the total rodents captured by farmers using local traps during peak barley production (July to November) in GMCCA, averaging 24.7 ± 8.5 rodents /hectare/day, 81% (<i>N</i> = 3009) were scavenged by AWs. Further, of all the rodents consumed by AWs, most (74%) were carcasses. These results reveal complex interactions between AWs and local farmers, and highlight the scavenging niche occupied by AWs in anthropogenically altered landscapes in contrast to the active hunting exhibited by EWs in more intact habitats. While AWs cause economic damage to local farmers through livestock predation, they appear to play an important role in scavenging pest rodents among farmlands, a pattern of behaviour which likely mitigates direct and indirect competition with EWs. We suggest two routes to promote the coexistence of AWs and EWs in the Ethiopian highlands: local education efforts highlighting the complex role AWs play in highland ecosystems to reduce their persecution, and enforced protection of intact habitats to preserve habitat preferred by EWs.
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It is time to acknowledge and overcome conservation's deep-seated systemic racism, which has historically marginalized Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) communities and continues to do so. We describe how the mutually... more
It is time to acknowledge and overcome conservation's deep-seated systemic racism, which has historically marginalized Black, Indigenous and people of colour (BIPOC) communities and continues to do so. We describe how the mutually reinforcing ‘twin spheres’ of conservation science and conservation practice perpetuate this systemic racism. We trace how institutional structures in conservation science (e.g. degree programmes, support and advancement opportunities, course syllabuses) can systematically produce conservation graduates with partial and problematic conceptions of conservation's history and contemporary purposes. Many of these graduates go on to work in conservation practice, reproducing conservation's colonial history by contributing to programmes based on outmoded conservation models that disproportionately harm rural BIPOC communities and further restrict access and inclusion for BIPOC conservationists. We provide practical, actionable proposals for breaking ...
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Ethiopia is renowned for its cultural and biological diversity and covers an important share of lion habitat in Africa, providing connectivity between East and Central Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of lions... more
Ethiopia is renowned for its cultural and biological diversity and covers an important share of lion habitat in Africa, providing connectivity between East and Central Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of lions and human–lion conflict in several protected areas of Ethiopia and to present an overview on lion distribution nationally. We used call-ups and semi-structured interviews with 809 randomly selected pastoralists to investigate human–lion conflict and pastoralist perceptions towards lions in five priority sites and collected further anecdotal information for all other known or possible lion range. We had chance encounters with six lions, but we observed no lion responses to the call-ups. We recorded 145 spotted hyaena and 23 jackal responses at, respectively, 25 and 13 of the 46 call-up stations. Overall, respondents viewed lions as dangerous carnivores, but nonetheless responded that lions should be present regionally, preferably in restricted areas. ...
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Research Interests: Geography, Conservation Biology, Social and Cultural Anthropology, Environmental History, Ecology, and 13 moreHuman-wildlife conflicts, Wildlife Conservation, Medicine, Interdisciplinary Studies, Biological Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Interdisciplinary research, Predators, Conservation Management, Human Wildlife Conflict, Nature and Landscape Conservation, Manejo y conservación de la fauna silvestre, and Investigación Interdisciplinaria
Pale foxes ( Vulpes pallida ) have a widespread distribution across the Saharan-Sahel in northern Africa, but little is known about their ecology and natural history. Here, we provide the 1st ecological information on the species. We... more
Pale foxes ( Vulpes pallida ) have a widespread distribution across the Saharan-Sahel in northern Africa, but little is known about their ecology and natural history. Here, we provide the 1st ecological information on the species. We captured and radio-collared 10 pale foxes in the Termit & Tin Toumma National Nature and Cultural Reserve of east Niger. The adult body mass (1.20 ± SD 0.18kg, n = 6) was about half of what was previously reported, confirming this species as one of the smallest canids in the world. Body measurements were relatively similar between sexes, suggesting little if any sexual dimorphism. Mean ± SD home range size ( n = 6) was 6.79±3.58 km 2 using 100% minimum convex polygon and 5.62±3.11 km 2 using 95% fixed kernel density estimator. Overlap between adjacent pale fox ranges was generally low (mean overlap index = 0.11±0.22), with nearly exclusive core areas (mean overlap index = 0.02±0.06), suggesting pale foxes are territorial. Overall, the spatial ecology of...
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Ethiopian wolves,Canis simensis, are an endangered carnivore endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. Although previous studies have focused on aspects of Ethiopian wolf biology, including diet, territoriality, reproduction and infectious... more
Ethiopian wolves,Canis simensis, are an endangered carnivore endemic to the Ethiopian highlands. Although previous studies have focused on aspects of Ethiopian wolf biology, including diet, territoriality, reproduction and infectious diseases such as rabies, little is known of their helminth parasites. In the current study, faecal samples were collected from 94 wild Ethiopian wolves in the Bale Mountains of southern Ethiopia, between August 2008 and February 2010, and were screened for the presence of helminth eggs using a semi-quantitative volumetric dilution method with microscopy. We found that 66 of the 94 faecal samples (70.2%) contained eggs from at least one group of helminths, includingCapillaria,Toxocara,Trichuris, ancylostomatids,Hymenolepisand taeniids. Eggs ofCapillariasp. were found most commonly, followed byTrichurissp., ancylostomatid species andToxocaraspecies. Three samples containedHymenolepissp. eggs, which were likely artefacts from ingested prey species. Four sa...
Research Interests: Zoology, Biology, Ethiopia, Endangered Species, Helminthology, and 10 moreAnimals, Canis, Wolves, Ecosystem, Feces, Nematoda, Cestode infections, Helminths, Taenia, and hymenolepis
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Fig. 3.—Geographic distribution of the Vulpes corsac. The dashed lines define the distribution boundary between 1, V. c. corsac, 2, V. c. kalmykorum, and 3, V. c. turkmenicus. Map adapted from Poyarkov and Ovsyanikov (2004a) and Heptner... more
Fig. 3.—Geographic distribution of the Vulpes corsac. The dashed lines define the distribution boundary between 1, V. c. corsac, 2, V. c. kalmykorum, and 3, V. c. turkmenicus. Map adapted from Poyarkov and Ovsyanikov (2004a) and Heptner et al. (1998).
Figure S1: Difit amidst crops on farmland near GMCCA. The tip of the rope is tied to the barley (stem with seed). As the rodent feeds on the barley seed, the rope eventually breaks and the rock that is released kills the rodent.; Table... more
Figure S1: Difit amidst crops on farmland near GMCCA. The tip of the rope is tied to the barley (stem with seed). As the rodent feeds on the barley seed, the rope eventually breaks and the rock that is released kills the rodent.; Table S1: Diet of African wolves (total attempts and proportion that are successful recorded during tracking of 11 collared AWs at GMCCA and BSNP) based on focal follows (sus = successful, unsuc = unsuccessful, sc = scavenging).; Table S2: Area of farmland assessed and rodents captured by difit. From 25 selected farmlands each day, five farmlands assessed, recording area and number of rodents captured. Finally average area and average rodents from five farmlands was taken each day.; Table S3: The differences of the frequency of food items between GMCCA and BSNP (food items as response variable, localities as fixed effect and individual collared animals as random samples).
ABSTRACT- We recorded 18 observations of Gambian mongooses (Murzgos gambianus), including a group of over 40, in south-eastern Senegal. The following paper contains some data on the behaviour, group size and time of activity of this... more
ABSTRACT- We recorded 18 observations of Gambian mongooses (Murzgos gambianus), including a group of over 40, in south-eastern Senegal. The following paper contains some data on the behaviour, group size and time of activity of this scarcely studied species. Key words: social mongooses, Mungos garnbiarzus, group size, social carnivore.
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Rodents are important biological indicators of the Afroalpine ecosystem. We studied how livestock grazing influenced rodent species richness and abundance among three plant community types (grassland, shrubland and mixed meadow) managed... more
Rodents are important biological indicators of the Afroalpine ecosystem. We studied how livestock grazing influenced rodent species richness and abundance among three plant community types (grassland, shrubland and mixed meadow) managed with or without grazing at Borena Sayint National Park. We used Sherman live traps and the Capture-Mark-Recapture method to estimate rodent population density. Then, we identified microhabitat factors influencing rodent density and factors impacted by livestock grazing. In total, 2311 individual small mammals were captured in a total of 4500 trap nights. Of these, 57.6% were trapped in areas of ungrazed land use. Lophuromy flavopunctatus, Arvicanthis abyssinicus and Stenocephalemys griseicauda were the rodent species whereas Crocidura flavescens and Crocidura fumosa were the shrew species captured in the area. The presence of Tachyoryctes splendens and Otomys typus were also evidenced indirectly. The total catch and relative abundance were highest fo...
The conservation of rare and endangered carnivores in human dominated landscapes is particularly challenging when predators are perceived as a threat to livestock. This study verifies whether the human perception of Ethiopian wolves as... more
The conservation of rare and endangered carnivores in human dominated landscapes is particularly challenging when predators are perceived as a threat to livestock. This study verifies whether the human perception of Ethiopian wolves as predators of livestock accurately reflects the actual damage done by this specialist predator of highland rodents. With that purpose, we quantified the contributions of prey species, including livestock, to the diet of Ethiopian wolves by analysing 118 scats. We then compared them to the reported livestock losses and attitudes in 300 households surrounding wolf habitat in the highlands of South Wollo in north Ethiopia. We found 10 prey species, totalling 222 prey occurrences in the study sample. The most common prey were diurnal rodents, with 79.2% of all prey occurrences. Only 5.4% were livestock (sheep) remains, a result similar to that obtained in other wolf populations. The proportion of households reportedly affected by Ethiopian wolf predation w...
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Abstract Throughout their range, jaguars (Panthera onca) are persecuted for killing livestock, posing a widespread and serious threat to their survival. Human-jaguar conflict occurs across a very large variety of geographic, agronomic and... more
Abstract Throughout their range, jaguars (Panthera onca) are persecuted for killing livestock, posing a widespread and serious threat to their survival. Human-jaguar conflict occurs across a very large variety of geographic, agronomic and socio-economic contexts and across heterogeneous communities. We conducted seventeen case studies across seven countries in central and south America to search for patterns in socio-economic predictors of human-jaguar conflict that could help up-scale management of this range-wide jaguar conservation challenge. Our study revealed that within and across case studies there were considerable differences in farmers' education levels, economic dependence on livestock, personal experience with livestock losses, as well as tolerance of and attitudes and social norms towards jaguars. Among this diversity, we sought common predictors of tolerance of jaguars, but found that no quantifiable single contextual factor could be used to predict how farmers perceive jaguars and deal with depredation. While patterns did exist within individual case studies, none of these were consistent across a majority of cases. We conclude that observations of patterns in human-wildlife conflict are valid only for informing action at a local scale, and even if a small number of case studies appear to show similar patterns this does not make the observation universally true. It is important to remember not to generalise from case studies. Nevertheless, although each case is likely to require individual solutions, insights from aggregate or wide-range studies can provide insights into the range of possible scenarios, adding breadth of information to depth of local knowledge.
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We use comparable 2005 and 2018 population data to assess threats driving the decline of lion Panthera leo populations, and review information on threats structured by problem tree and root cause analysis. We define 11 threats and rank... more
We use comparable 2005 and 2018 population data to assess threats driving the decline of lion Panthera leo populations, and review information on threats structured by problem tree and root cause analysis. We define 11 threats and rank their severity and prevalence. Two threats emerged as affecting both the number of lion populations and numbers within them: livestock depredation leading to retaliatory killing of lions, and bushmeat poaching leading to prey depletion. Our data do not allow determination of whether any specific threat drives declines faster than others. Of 20 local extirpations, most were associated with armed conflicts as a driver of proximate threats. We discuss the prevalence and severity of proximate threats and their drivers, to identify priorities for more effective conservation of lions, other carnivores and their prey.
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Throughout its range in Latin America, the jaguar Panthera onca is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and by conflict as a result of coexistence with people. This Near Threatened species is a top predator, and is often... more
Throughout its range in Latin America, the jaguar Panthera onca is threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, and by conflict as a result of coexistence with people. This Near Threatened species is a top predator, and is often illegally hunted. Understanding people's attitudes and perceptions and the factors that could influence them is crucial for the conservation of this species. In this study we assess how knowledge, attitudes and perceptions among people in northern Argentina regarding jaguars vary depending on their level of education, age and occupation. We interviewed 810 people living in and around 10 protected areas in northern Argentina. Positive perceptions and attitudes towards the jaguar were associated with economic benefits that people may receive from the species’ presence, such as income from tourism. Unexpectedly, higher levels of formal education were not associated with more positive attitudes and perceptions. Negative attitudes and perceptions towards the...