South African ungulates, or hooved mammals, react differently to different species of predators. Experiments by a research team have demonstrated that the behavioural responses of ungulates to large predators can shape ecosystem structure and function. Most such studies have concentrated on the impacts of either just one large carnivore, or all as a whole, rather…
The predation of livestock by carnivores, and the retaliatory killing of carnivores as a result, is a major global conservation challenge. Such human-wildlife conflicts are a key driver of large carnivore declines and the costs of coexistence are often disproportionately borne by rural communities in the global south. While current approaches tend to focus on…
New research published this month indicates that lion populations in Africa may be lower than current estimates suggest. The research, a collaboration involving University of Queensland and Griffith University, published in Frontiers in Ecology & Evolution,and Ecological Solutions and Evidence, found that current lion counting methods for research/conservation purposes may be overestimating lion numbers and densities. Lead author…
Throughout their range leopards are in rapid decline, having disappeared from North Africa, much of the Middle East and Asia. Declines have been so severe that the species is now considered vulnerable to extinction. No comprehensive estimates of the number of leopards remaining in the wild exist. In southern Africa, 62% of leopard distribution falls…
Cecil the lion is dead, killed illegally in Zimbabwe by Walter Palmer, an American dentist and recreational big-game hunter who paid about $55,000 for the privilege. The details of Cecil’s killing are disturbing — and they’re important for understanding why this has become such a controversy. The majestic lion was lured out of a national…