Abstract
We synthesize data on the ecology of large carnivores in the Tarangire Ecosystem (TE). Despite anthropogenic pressures, all large carnivore species (lions Panthera leo, spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta, striped hyena Hyena hyena, leopard Panthera pardus, cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, and wild dog Lycaon pictus) have persisted in this fragmented ecosystem consisting of multiple protected areas among a matrix of village lands. The focal species were widely distributed across land-use gradients. While the comparatively abundant spotted hyena permanently occupied village lands, other species only sporadically used these human-dominated areas. Across species, carnivores used village lands more frequently during the rainy season, possibly following seasonal shifts in the movement of prey species. These processes can increase human-carnivore interactions, expanding the potential for conflict. In some areas, leopards, lions, and striped hyenas reached high densities, whereas cheetahs and wild dogs occurred patchily and at low densities. Our review suggests that the existence of diverse protected areas contribute to the persistence of the large carnivore community. The persistence of lions, cheetahs, and wild dogs appears dependent on human-induced mortality and prey depletion. Conserving large carnivores in TE requires the application of interventions that reduce human-induced mortality while simultaneously conserving the spatio-temporal distributions of prey species.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Abade L, Cusack J, Moll RJ et al (2020) The relative effects of prey availability, anthropogenic pressure and environmental variables on lion (Panthera leo) site use in Tanzania’s Ruaha landscape during the dry season. J Zool 310:135–144. https://doi.org/10.1111/jzo.12731
Alam MS, Khan JA (2015) Food habits of striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) in a semi-arid conservation area of India. J Arid Land 7:860–866. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-015-0007-2
Albert C, Luque GM, Courchamp F (2018) The twenty most charismatic species. PLoS One 13:e0199149. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0199149
Arbieu U, Grünewald C, Martín-López B et al (2017) Mismatches between supply and demand in wildlife tourism: insights for assessing cultural ecosystem services. Ecol Indic 78:282–291. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2017.03.035
Atkins JL, Long RA, Pansu J et al (2019) Cascading impacts of large-carnivore extirpation in an African ecosystem. Science (80-) 364:173–177. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aau3561
Baldus R, Cauldwell A (2004) Tourist hunting and its role in development of wildlife management areas in Tanzania. In: Proceedings of the 6th international game ranching symposium. International Foundation for the Conservation of Wildlife, Paris
Barea-Azcón JM, Virgós E, Ballesteros-Duperón E et al (2007) Surveying carnivores at large spatial scales: a comparison of four broad-applied methods. Biodivers Conserv 16:1213–1230. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-006-9114-x
Bauer H, Dickman A, Chapron G et al (2020) Threat analysis for more effective lion conservation. Oryx 56(1):108–115. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605320000253
Beattie K, Olson ER, Kissui B et al (2020) Predicting livestock depredation risk by African lions (Panthera leo) in a multi-use area of northern Tanzania. Eur J Wildl Res 66:11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-019-1348-5
Beck JM, Moll RJ, Kissui BM, Montgomery RA (2021) Do pastoralist cattle fear African lions? Oikos 130:422–430. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.07965
Bencin H, Kioko J, Kiffner C (2016) Local people’s perceptions of wildlife species in two distinct landscapes of Northern Tanzania. J Nat Conserv 34:82–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2016.09.004
Bond ML, Bradley CM, Kiffner C et al (2017) A multi-method approach to delineate and validate migratory corridors. Landsc Ecol 32:1705–1721. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10980-017-0537-4
Boydston EE, Kapheim KM, Watts HE et al (2003) Altered behaviour in spotted hyenas associated with increased human activity. Anim Conserv 6:207–219. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1367943003003263
Carbone C, Gittleman JL (2002) A common rule for the scaling of carnivore density. Science (80-) 295:2273–2276
Caro TM, Stoner CJ (2003) The potential for interspecific competition among African carnivores. Biol Conserv 110:67–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-3207(02)00177-5
Carter NH, Linnell JDC (2016) Co-adaptation is key to coexisting with large carnivores. Trends Ecol Evol 31:575–578. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2016.05.006
Caughley G (1994) Directions in conservation biology. J Anim Ecol 63:215–244. https://doi.org/10.2307/5542
Chaka SNM, Kissui BM, Gray S, Montgomery RA (2020) Predicting the fine-scale factors that correlate with multiple carnivore depredation of livestock in their enclosures. Afr J Ecol. https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12789
Courchamp F, Jaric I, Albert C et al (2018) The paradoxical extinction of the most charismatic animals. PLoS Biol 16. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.2003997
Creel S, Schuette P, Christianson D (2014) Effects of predation risk on group size, vigilance, and foraging behavior in an African ungulate community. Behav Ecol 25:773–784. https://doi.org/10.1093/beheco/aru050
Darnell AM, Graf JA, Somers MJ et al (2014) Space use of African wild dogs in relation to other large carnivores. PLoS One 9:e98846. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0098846
Dröge E, Creel S, Becker MS et al (2020) Assessing the performance of index calibration survey methods to monitor populations of wide-ranging low-density carnivores. Ecol Evol 10:3276–3292. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6065
Durant SM (1998) Competition refuges and coexistence: an example from Serengeti carnivores. J Anim Ecol 67:370–386. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2656.1998.00202.x
Durant SM, Bashir S, Maddox T, Laurenson MK (2007) Relating long-term studies to conservation practice: the case of the Serengeti Cheetah Project. Conserv Biol 21:602–611. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2007.00702.x
Durant SM, Craft ME, Hilborn R et al (2011) Long-term trends in carnivore abundance using distance sampling in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. J Appl Ecol 48:1490–1500. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02042.x
Eklund A, López-Bao JV, Tourani M et al (2017) Limited evidence on the effectiveness of interventions to reduce livestock predation by large carnivores. Sci Rep 7:2097. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-02323-w
Estes JA, Terborgh J, Brashares JS et al (2011) Trophic downgrading of planet earth. Science (80-) 333:301–306. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1205106
Expósito-Granados M, Castro AJ, Lozano J et al (2019) Human-carnivore relations: conflicts, tolerance and coexistence in the American West. Environ Res Lett 14. https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ab5485
Foley C, Foley L, Lobora A et al (2014) A field guide to larger mammals of Tanzania. Princeton University, Princeton
Foley C, Hassanali M, Baran P et al (2018a) An assessment of mammal diversity and abundance in Makame Wildlife Management Area (WMA) by camera trap survey
Foley C, Hassanali M, Baran P et al (2018b) An assessment of the distribution and abundance of large carnivores in the Tarangire-West Kilimanjaro ecosystem using spoor counts
Ford AT, Goheen JR (2015) Trophic cascades by large carnivores: a case for strong inference and mechanism. Trends Ecol Evol 30:725–735. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2015.09.012
Gaynor KM, Hojnowski CE, Carter NH, Brashares JS (2018) The influence of human disturbance on wildlife nocturnality. Science (80-) 360:1232–1235. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aar7121
Gese EM (2001) Monitoring of terrestrial carnivore populations. In: Gittleman JL, Funk SM, MacDonald DW, Wayne RK (eds) Carnivore conservation. Cambridge University Press & The Zoological Society of London, Cambridge, pp 372–396
Haswell PM, Kusak J, Hayward MW (2017) Large carnivore impacts are context-dependent. Food Webs 12:3–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fooweb.2016.02.005
Hayward MW, Slotow R (2009) Temporal partitioning of activity in large African carnivores: tests of multiple hypotheses. S Afr J Wildl Res 39:109–125
Hayward MW, Henschel P, O’Brien J et al (2006) Prey preferences of the leopard (Panthera pardus). J Zool 270:298–313. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2006.00139.x
Hayward MW, O’Brien J, Kerley GIH (2007) Carrying capacity of large African predators: predictions and tests. Biol Conserv 139:219–229. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.06.018
Hazzah L, Bath A, Dolrenry S et al (2017) From attitudes to actions: predictors of lion killing by Maasai warriors. PLoS One 12:e0170796. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0170796
Henschel P, Petracca LS, Hunter LTB et al (2016) Determinants of distribution patterns and management needs in a critically endangered lion Panthera leo population. Front Ecol Evol 4:1–14. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2016.00110
Hofer H, East ML (1993) The commuting system of Serengeti spotted hyaenas: how a predator copes with migratory prey. I. Social organization. Anim Behav 46:547–557. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1993.1222
Hoffmann CF, Montgomery RA (2021) Implications of taxonomic bias for human-carnivore conflict mitigation. Oikos. in press
Hopcraft JGC, Sinclair ARE, Packer C (2005) Planning for success: Serengeti lions seek prey accessibility rather than abundance. J Anim Ecol 74:559–566. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2656.2005.00955.x
Hopcraft JGC, Olff H, Sinclair ARE (2010) Herbivores, resources and risks: alternating regulation along primary environmental gradients in savannas. Trends Ecol Evol 25:119–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2009.08.001
Ikanda D, Packer C (2008) Ritual vs. retaliatory killing of African lions in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania. Endanger Species Res 6:67–74. https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00120
Jacobsen KS, Dickman AJ, Macdonald DW et al (2020) The importance of tangible and intangible factors in human-carnivore coexistence. Conserv Biol. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13678
Kansky R, Kidd M, Fischer J (2021) Does money “buy” tolerance toward damage-causing wildlife ? Conserv Sci Pract 262. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.262
Karanth KU, Gopalaswamy AM, Kumar NS et al (2011) Monitoring carnivore populations at the landscape scale: occupancy modelling of tigers from sign surveys. J Appl Ecol 48:1048–1056. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2664.2011.02002.x
Kiffner C, Wenner C, LaViolet A et al (2015) From savannah to farmland: effects of land-use on mammal communities in the Tarangire-Manyara ecosystem, Tanzania. Afr J Ecol 53:156–166. https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12160
Kiffner C, Nagar S, Kollmar C, Kioko J (2016) Wildlife species richness and densities in wildlife corridors of Northern Tanzania. J Nat Conserv 31:29–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnc.2016.02.006
Kiffner C, Rheault H, Miller E et al (2017) Long-term population dynamics in a multi-species assemblage of large herbivores in East Africa. Ecosphere 8:e02027. https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2027
Kiffner C, Arndt Z, Foky T et al (2019) Land use, REDD+ and the status of wildlife populations in Yaeda Valley, northern Tanzania. PLoS One 14:e0214823. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0214823
Kiffner C, Kioko J, Baylis J et al (2020a) Long-term persistence of wildlife populations in a pastoral area. Ecol Evol 10:10000–10016. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6658
Kiffner C, Thomas S, Speaker T et al (2020b) Community-based wildlife management area supports similar mammal species richness and densities compared to a national park. Ecol Evol 10:480–492. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5916
Kioko J, Kiffner C, Jenkins N, Collinson WJ (2015) Wildlife roadkill patterns on a major highway in northern Tanzania. Afr Zool 50:1–6
Kissui BM (2008) Livestock predation by lions, leopards, spotted hyenas, and their vulnerability to retaliatory killing in the Maasai steppe, Tanzania. Anim Conserv 11:422–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2008.00199.x
Kissui B, Kiffner C (2013) Assessment of wildlife populations in the Randilen Wildlife Management Area, Northern Tanzania. Arusha
Kissui B, Lobora A, Tosi R (2019a) Camera trap survey to assess mammalian species diversity in Burunge WMA and Kwakuchinja wildlife corridor
Kissui BM, Kiffner C, König HJ, Montgomery RA (2019b) Patterns of livestock depredation and cost-effectiveness of fortified livestock enclosures in northern Tanzania. Ecol Evol 9:11420–11433. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5644
Koziarski A, Kissui B, Kiffner C (2016) Patterns and correlates of perceived conflict between humans and large carnivores in Northern Tanzania. Biol Conserv 199:41–50
Kushnir H, Packer C (2019) Perceptions of risk from man-eating lions in southeastern Tanzania. Front Ecol Evol 7:1–7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00047
Laizer H, Thadeo MC, Kisui B (2014) Home range and movement patterns of lions (Panthera leo) in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania. Am J Res Commun 2:44–58
Lee DE, Kissui BM, Kiwango YA, Bond ML (2016) Migratory herds of wildebeests and zebras indirectly affect calf survival of giraffes. Ecol Evol 6:8402–8411. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.2561
Lichtenfeld LL, Trout C, Kisimir EL (2015) Evidence-based conservation: predator-proof bomas protect livestock and lions. Biodivers Conserv 24:483–491. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-014-0828-x
Lindsey PA, Balme GA, Booth VR, Midlane N (2012) The significance of African lions for the financial viability of trophy hunting and the maintenance of wild land. PLoS One 7:e29332. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0029332
Lozano J, Olszańska A, Morales-Reyes Z et al (2019) Human-carnivore relations: a systematic review. Biol Conserv 237:480–492
Madsen EK, Elliot NB, Mjingo EE et al (2020) Evaluating the use of local ecological knowledge (LEK) in determining habitat preference and occurrence of multiple large carnivores. Ecol Indic 118:106737. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2020.106737
Mbise FP, Jackson CR, Lyamuya R et al (2020) Do carnivore surveys match reports of carnivore presence by pastoralists? A case of the eastern Serengeti ecosystem. Glob Ecol Conserv 24:e01324. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01324
Mkonyi FJ, Estes AB, Msuha MJ et al (2017a) Local attitudes and perceptions toward large carnivores in a human-dominated landscape of northern Tanzania. Hum Dimens Wildl 22:314–330. https://doi.org/10.1080/10871209.2017.1323356
Mkonyi FJ, Estes AB, Msuha MJ et al (2017b) Socio-economic correlates and management implications of livestock depredation by large carnivores in the Tarangire ecosystem, northern Tanzania. Int J Biodivers Sci Ecosyst Serv Manag 13:248–263. https://doi.org/10.1080/21513732.2017.1339734
Mkonyi FJ, Estes AB, Lichtenfeld LL, Durant SM (2018) Large carnivore distribution in relationship to environmental and anthropogenic factors in a multiple-use landscape of Northern Tanzania. Afr J Ecol 56:1–12. https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12528
Moll RJ, Killion AK, Montgomery RA et al (2016) Spatial patterns of African ungulate aggregation reveal complex but limited risk effects from reintroduced carnivores. Ecology 97:1123–1134. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0707.1/suppinfo
Moll RJ, Redilla KM, Mudumba T et al (2017) The many faces of fear: a synthesis of the methodological variation in characterizing predation risk. J Anim Ecol 86:749–765. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12680
Montgomery RA, Moll RJ, Say-Sallaz E et al (2019) A tendency to simplify complex systems. Biol Conserv 233:1–11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.02.001
Morrison TA, Link WA, Newmark WD et al (2016) Tarangire revisited: consequences of declining connectivity in a tropical ungulate population. Biol Conserv 197:53–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.02.034
Msoffe FU, Said MY, Ogutu JO et al (2011) Spatial correlates of land-use changes in the Maasai-steppe of Tanzania: implications for conservation and environmental planning. Int J Biodivers Conserv 3:280–290
Msuha MJ, Carbone C, Pettorelli N, Durant SM (2012) Conserving biodiversity in a changing world: land use change and species richness in northern Tanzania. Biodivers Conserv 21:2747–2759. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0331-1
Mwangi A, Goheen JR, Otieno TO et al (2019) Human- and risk-mediated browsing pressure by sympatric antelope in an African savanna. Biol Conserv 232:59–65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.01.028
Newsome TM, Ripple WJ (2015) Carnivore coexistence: trophic cascades. Science (80-) 347:383. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.347.6220.383-a
Ogada MO, Woodroffe R, Oguge NO, Frank LG (2003) Limiting depredation by African carnivores: the role of livestock husbandry. Conserv Biol 17:1521–1530. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.2003.00061.x
Parchizadeh J, Shilling F, Gatta M et al (2018) Roads threaten Asiatic cheetahs in Iran. Curr Biol 28:R1141–R1142. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2018.09.005
R Core Team (2016) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna
Riggio J, Jacobson A, Dollar L et al (2013) The size of savannah Africa: a lion’s (Panthera leo) view. Biodivers Conserv 22:17–35. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-012-0381-4
Ripple WJ, Estes JA, Beschta RL et al (2014) Status and ecological effects of the world’s largest carnivores. Science (80-) 343:1241484. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1241484
Rowcliffe JM, Kays R, Kranstauber B et al (2014) Quantifying levels of animal activity using camera trap data. Methods Ecol Evol 5:1170–1179. https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210x.12278
Steinbeiser CM, Kioko J, Maresi A et al (2019) Relative abundance and activity patterns explain method-related differences in mammalian species richness estimates. J Mammal 100:192–201. https://doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyy175
Thorn M, Green M, Bateman PW et al (2010) Comparative efficacy of sign surveys, spotlighting and audio playbacks in a landscape-scale carnivore survey. S Afr J Wildl Res 40:77–86. https://doi.org/10.3957/056.040.0113
Vinks MA, Creel S, Schuette P et al (2021) Response of lion demography and dynamics to the loss of preferred larger prey. Ecol Appl:e2298. https://doi.org/10.1002/eap.2298
Winterbach CW, Ferreira SM, Funston PJ, Somers MJ (2016) Simplified large African carnivore density estimators from track indices. PeerJ 4:e2662. https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.2662
Woodroffe R, Ginsberg JH (1998) Edge effects and the extinction of populations inside protected areas. Science (80-) 280:2126–2128. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5372.2126
Acknowledgments
We thank Tanzania People & Wildlife for providing data on large carnivore presence in the eastern part of the ecosystem (Tarangire communal lands and Loibor Siret) and all our colleagues who helped with collecting the different datasets. All research that we reviewed and summarized here has been carried out with TAWIRI and COSTECH permits; permit numbers can be found in the original sources.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Kiffner, C., Foley, C.A.H., Foley, L.S., Montgomery, R.A., Kissui, B.M. (2022). Large Carnivores in the Tarangire Ecosystem. In: Kiffner, C., Bond, M.L., Lee, D.E. (eds) Tarangire: Human-Wildlife Coexistence in a Fragmented Ecosystem. Ecological Studies, vol 243. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93604-4_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-93604-4_11
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-93603-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-93604-4
eBook Packages: Biomedical and Life SciencesBiomedical and Life Sciences (R0)