Putting African Wild Dog at the Scenter of Human-Wildlife Conflict
Humans and wildlife have often found themselves in competition and conflict with each other. Whether due to a human population growth, or as a direct result of climate change, human-wildlife conflict has become on the African continent in particular, more acute in recent years.
Large mammals and predators including elephant, lion and African wild dog — also known as painted dogs — often cause the most damage to property, livestock and livelihoods. To tackle the ever-growing problem, the conservation community is constantly looking to develop and implement different solutions.
A team of experts recently carried out an experiment that explored modifying the movements and behaviours of African wild dogs, using translocated conspecific scent.
As reported in a newly published paper, there is an urgent need to address a lack of verified methods for keeping humans and wildlife safely apart, particularly in the case of the African wild dog.
The adoption of strategies, including the imitation of interactions with their own species or the creation of areas they avoid, to alter how animals move and travel, shows great promise as a method to manage wildlife effectively.
In the paper entitled ‘Experimental modification of African wild dog movement and behaviour using translocated conspecific scent’, the authors argue that the targeted use of translocated scent at certain times of year to manage specific behaviours — such as den-site selection or settlement of dispersers — could be an effective, non-lethal deterrence strategy for the African wild dog. The paper also suggests that the potential exists for the solution to be used for the management of other territorial-based species.
The study, carried out with Tusk partner organisation Botswana Predator Conservation (an initiative of Wild Entrust), aimed to investigate whether the movements and behaviours of six African wild dogs, each belonging to distinct yet adjacent packs, could be influenced by mimicking natural marking sites using translocated wild dog scent. Each dog was equipped with a GPS collar set to a 3-hour resolution to facilitate precise tracking.
The findings indicated that translocated wild dog scent marks (urine and faeces) successfully reduced the ranging movements of one pack. Researchers also used translocated scent to prevent a pack from moving into a human-dominated area where conflict may occur — providing a ‘win’ for the experiment.
The experiment focused on territorial behaviour without direct conservation implications, however the observed changes in space use and movement behaviour are also more widely relevant for conservationists, and demonstrate an alternative solution to protect, conserve and support apex predators such as the African wild dog.
Dan Bucknell, Chief Operations Officer of Tusk, said, “Finding space in which both people and wildlife can live is, today, the ultimate conservation challenge. There is no single solution to prevent human-wildlife conflict; measures need to be developed, combined and adapted according to the species and local context. Tusk works to accelerate the impact of African-driven conservation and welcomes any insights and experiments — such as this one with the African wild dog — that help to ensure that people and wildlife can both thrive within the same landscape. Tusk supports many African wild dog initiatives, and we are pleased that one of our key partner organisations, Botswana Predator Conversation, has been able to help bring solutions such as these to the forefront of human-wildlife conflict conversations”.
*More information about the Experimental modification of African wild dog movement and behavior using translocated conspecific scent report can be found here.