Trophy Hunting Versus Ecotourism as a Conservation Model? Assessing the Impacts on Ungulate Behaviour and Demographics in the Ruaha-Rungwa Ecosystem, Central Tanzania

Trophy hunting may influence wildlife populations in many ways, but these effects have received little consideration in many of Africa’s protected areas. We assessed the effects of trophy hunting on group size, behaviour, flight initiation distance, sex ratio and calf recruitment rate in two model species, impala (Aepyceros melampus) and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros), in Rungwa Game Reserve (RGR), Tanzania. The adjoining Ruaha National Park (RNP) served as a control site, since only ecotourism is permitted. Road transects were driven and data recorded immediately upon sighting animals. Both impala and greater kudu had higher flight initiation distances, smaller group size, lower calf recruitment rates and higher levels of vigilance behaviour in RGR compared to those in RNP. Sex ratios did not differ between the two areas. The observed differences are ascribed to the direct and indirect effects of trophy hunting in RGR. Low calf recruitment rates in RGR are of concern, as this may directly compromise population growth rates. Long-term studies may therefore be required to assess how hunted populations are affected by different hunting intensities and at what point this may threaten population persistence.

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Invasion of the Forest By an African Savannah Monkey: Behavioural Adaptations

Behaviour ◽

10.1163/156853980x00258 ◽

1980 ◽

Vol 73 (3-4) ◽

pp. 238-260 ◽

Cited By ~ 28

Author(s):

Michael Kavanagh

Keyword(s):

Group Size ◽

Related Species ◽

Cercopithecus Aethiops ◽

Alarm Calls ◽

Agricultural Pests ◽

South West ◽

Vigilance Behaviour ◽

Call Repertoire ◽

Behavioural Adaptations ◽

Male Pattern

AbstractTantalus monkeys, a race of the savannah species Cercopithecus aethiops, have invaded the cultivated forest of Bakossi in south-west Cameroon during the last seventy years and become important agricultural pests. The cultivated forest is a new habitat to which they are well adapted by virtue of their eclectic diet, their habit of foraging away from tall trees, their semi-terrestriality, their flexible group size and their cryptic nature. The indigenous related species of the rainforest are less able to exploit the changed habitat, probably because they are insufficiently terrestrial or cryptic and they typically forage among the trees that provide their refuge. As a result of their conflict with the farmers whose crops they raid, the forest tantalus monkeys contrast with conspecifics in the savannah by their less predictable ranging patterns, their quieter call repertoire, a striking and consistent male pattern of vigilance behaviour and their habit of hiding from dogs rather than giving the loud alarm calls that are invariably given where canids are not associated with man.

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Individual traits influence vigilance in wild female eastern grey kangaroos

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo13025 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 61 (4) ◽

pp. 332 ◽

Cited By ~ 15

Author(s):

A. M. Edwards ◽

E. C. Best ◽

S. P. Blomberg ◽

A. W. Goldizen

Keyword(s):

Body Condition ◽

Antipredator Behaviour ◽

Social Variables ◽

Level Variation ◽

Reproductive State ◽

Wild Female ◽

Individual Level ◽

Individual Traits ◽

Vigilance Behaviour ◽

Flight Initiation

Vigilance is an essential component of antipredator behaviour and is also used to monitor conspecifics, but is traded off against feeding in herbivores. This trade-off can be influenced by variation in many environmental, social and individual traits. Our aim was to test the relationship between individual-level traits, including boldness, body condition and reproductive state, and vigilance, while controlling for environmental and social variables. Using multiple 5-min video samples of 30 foraging, individually recognisable, female eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) at Sundown National Park in Queensland, we investigated individual-level variation in the duration, intensity and target of vigilance behaviour during foraging. On separate occasions, we used flight-initiation distance tests to measure boldness in our kangaroos. Females with longer flight-initiation distances (shyer females) spent more time vigilant, providing preliminary support for studies of animal personality that have suggested that boldness may covary with vigilance. Body condition did not affect the total time spent vigilant, but females in poorer body condition spent more of their vigilance time in low-intensity vigilance. Vigilance patterns were not related to reproductive state, but varied among months and differed between mornings and afternoons, and females spent more time in high-intensity vigilance when further from cover. Even after accounting for all our variables we found that 7% of the variation in total time vigilant and 14% of the variation in vigilance intensity was explained by individual identity. This highlights the importance of individual-level variation in vigilance behaviour.

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From individual to collective vigilance in wild boar (Sus scrofa)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z92-226 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 70 (8) ◽

pp. 1632-1635 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

Pierre-Yves Quenette ◽

Jean-François Gerard

Keyword(s):

Wild Boar ◽

Group Size ◽

Sus Scrofa ◽

Functional Approach ◽

The Other ◽

Motor Variability ◽

Proximate Causation ◽

Vigilance Behaviour ◽

The Mean ◽

The Individual

Vigilance behaviour of captive wild boars at feeding points was investigated using films. Results show that individual vigilance decreased with increasing group size, especially between solitary individuals and groups of 2. Moreover, the collective vigilance was, whatever the group size, below the individual vigilance in solitary animals. The study of the motor variability of vigilance behaviour allows three types of movement to be distinguished. The mean durations of each type vary largely, but are almost constant whatever the group size. On the other hand, the relative proportions of the vigilance acts change according to group size. Although previous studies of vigilance are in keeping with the functional approach of behaviour, these data are interpreted in terms of proximate causation. A mechanism based on allelomimesis is proposed to explain the results.

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Vigilance and Grouping in the Eastern Gray Kangaroo, Macropus giganteus

Australian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1071/zo9930325 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 325 ◽

Cited By ~ 37

Author(s):

AML Colagross ◽

A Cockburn

Keyword(s):

Group Size ◽

Edge Effect ◽

Group Formation ◽

Reproductive Status ◽

Risk Of Predation ◽

Vigilance Behaviour ◽

Reproductive Females ◽

Group Sex ◽

Free Ranging ◽

Number Of Individuals

Group formation may help animals reduce their risk of predation and allow more time for activities other than vigilance against predators. Eastern grey kangaroos, Macropus giganteus, are gregarious and form open-membership groups. Vigilance behaviour of free-ranging kangaroos was observed in relation-to number of individuals within the group, sex and reproductive status of individuals, proximity to cover and position within the group. Our data support the view that kangaroos adjust their behaviour in relation to the risk of predation. Reproductive females, individuals on the periphery of the group and individuals in groups far from cover were most vigilant. Contrary to previous reports, vigilance behaviour was not influenced by group size except through the edge effect-the tendency of the proportion of individuals on the periphery of the group to decline as group size increases.

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Frequency of vigilance behaviour and group size in rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1111/j.1469-7998.1987.tb06001.x ◽

1987 ◽

Vol 212 (2) ◽

pp. 367-368 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Lynne Burnett ◽

G. R. Hosey

Keyword(s):

Group Size ◽

Oryctolagus Cuniculus ◽

Vigilance Behaviour

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Vigilance and fright behaviour in the insular Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus)

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/z11-040 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 89 (8) ◽

pp. 753-764 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

Eigil Reimers ◽

Steinar Lund ◽

Torbjørn Ergon

Keyword(s):

Human Activities ◽

Rangifer Tarandus ◽

Lower Probability ◽

Supporting Evidence ◽

Svalbard Archipelago ◽

Svalbard Reindeer ◽

Vigilance Behaviour ◽

Southern Norway ◽

Wild Reindeer ◽

Flight Initiation

The insular Svalbard reindeer ( Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus Vrolik, 1829) provide an opportunity to study vigilance behaviour in the absence of predators and parasitizing insects. We measured vigilance and fright and flight response during summer 2006 in the Svalbard archipelago; in four areas on Nordenskiöld Land on the island Spitzbergen and in one area on the island Edgeøya. Vigilance was higher in reindeer on Edgeøya than in the four Spitzbergen areas. Males were less vigilant than lactating and barren females and vigilance decreased with increasing group size. The relaxed vigilance behaviour in Svalbard reindeer compared with wild reindeer in southern Norway demonstrates a vigilance threshold in the absence of traditional predators of Rangifer Hamilton Smith, 1827. Alert, flight initiation, and escape distances were all shorter in Adventdalen, with Longyearbyen and its considerably higher amounts of human activities and infrastructure than in the other study areas, supporting evidence of habituation towards humans. There were no systematic vigilance or differences in fright and flight responses between reindeer in Colesdalen, Reindalen, and Sassendalen, indicating that a combination of low level of human activities including hunting, recreation, and scientific activities affected the animals differently. Lower probability of assessing before fleeing in Edgeøya (63% vs. 94% in the Nordenskiöld Land areas), along with their higher vigilance, may indicate more frequent interactions with polar bears ( Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774) in Edgeøya.

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Factors Affecting Group Size and Vigilance Behaviour of Maasai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) on the Serengeti-Ngorongoro Ecosystem, Tanzania

East African Journal of Environment and Natural Resources ◽

10.37284/eajenr.2.1.133 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2 (1) ◽

pp. 14-23

Author(s):

Wilfred N Marealle ◽

Tomas Holmern ◽

Eivin Røskaft

Keyword(s):

Group Size ◽

Negative Relationship ◽

Adult Males ◽

Wet Season ◽

Giraffa Camelopardalis ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Illegal Hunting ◽

Vigilance Behaviour ◽

Illegal Activities ◽

Riverine Habitats

This study investigated the factors affecting different group sizes of Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) in the Serengeti-Ngorongoro ecosystem. The study was motivated to test the following hypotheses: 1) in a given group, the sex ratio of males to females with calves is related to group size; 2) group size affects vigilance behaviour; 3) illegal hunting influences group size and vigilance behaviour; and 4) group size differs in different habitats, being larger in woodlands during the wet season and in riverine habitats during the dry season. A negative relationship between the ratio of the proportion of adult males to females with calves and group size was observed, whereas the proportion of females and calves increased with group size. The proportion of vigilant individuals decreased with an increase in group size. Habitat, risk of illegal hunting and proportion of calves in the group was found to be significant contributors to an increase in vigilance behaviour. However, the results do not support the hypotheses that seasonality and habitat preference affect group sizes of the Maasai giraffes. Emphasis should be put on anti-poaching efforts on males and nursery groups, especially in areas with a high risk of illegal activities.

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Evaluating How the Group Size of Domestic, Invasive Dogs Affect Coastal Wildlife Responses: The Case of Flight-Initiation Distance (FID) of Birds on Southern Australian Beaches

Impacts of Invasive Species on Coastal Environments - Coastal Research Library ◽

10.1007/978-3-319-91382-7_12 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 413-424

Author(s):

S. Guinness ◽

W. F. Van Dongen ◽

P.-J. Guay ◽

R. W. Robinson ◽

M. A. Weston

Keyword(s):

Group Size ◽

Flight Initiation Distance ◽

Flight Initiation

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Trophy Hunting and Possible Source-Sink Dynamics in Protected Areas: Insights from Trophy Size and Offtake Patterns in Southeast Zimbabwe

International Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1155/2019/1313927 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2019 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Augustine Jeke ◽

Admire Chanyandura ◽

Victor K. Muposhi ◽

Daphine Madhlamoto ◽

Edson Gandiwa

Keyword(s):

Protected Area ◽

Good Practice ◽

Management Strategies ◽

African Elephant ◽

Harvest Management ◽

Trophy Hunting ◽

Minimum Score ◽

Cape Buffalo ◽

Greater Kudu ◽

Over Time

Developing harvest management strategies in designated hunting areas requires systematic and robust monitoring. We assessed the trophy size, quota utilization, and distribution of kill sites of African elephant, Cape buffalo, greater kudu, and leopard for the period 2007-2014 in Malapati Safari Area, southeast Zimbabwe. Trophy sizes for African elephant significantly increased over time albeit being below the expected minimum Safari Club International (SCI) score. Cape buffalo trophy sizes declined significantly over time but were not different from the SCI minimum score. However, greater kudu trophy sizes were higher than the SCI minimum score despite being constant over time. Leopard trophy sizes were higher than the SCI minimum score and increased with time. Quota utilization for African elephant and Cape buffalo increased while that of greater kudu and leopard did not change between 2007 and 2014. Some kill sites, in particular, for the African elephant and Cape buffalo, were within the buffer area with the state protected area, i.e., Gonarezhou National Park. Increased hunting pressure likely leads to poor trophy quality and hunting within the protected buffer areas. In contrast, effective adherence to hunting ethics and scientifically and conservatively set quotas largely does not compromise the trophy quality of harvested species. The observed trophy size patterns and kill sites distribution suggest the possible existence of source and sink dynamics of trophy species occurring in a protected area complex within the Zimbabwe’s component of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. To ensure sustainable trophy hunting in the study area and similar ecosystems the following are recommended: (i) scientifically robust, adaptable, and participatory quota setting process, (ii) enhanced adherence to good practice in terms of ethical hunting conduct, and (iii) development of a robust hunting monitoring system covering all elements of hunting for adaptive wildlife management.

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