Pastoral Herd Management, Drought Coping Strategies, and Cattle Mobility in Southern Kenya

Butt, Bilal; Shortridge, Ashton; WinklerPrins, Antoinette M. G. A.

doi:10.1080/00045600802685895

Cited by 109 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 55 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Other herbivores attracted to areas close to water and to the short and nutritious grass swards maintained by hippos exert additional impacts on vegetation structure and basal cover in the piosphere gradients originating from rivers (Butt et al 2009;Ogutu et al 2010). Piosphere gradients were not clearly discernible in the pastoral ranches, possibly due to the intense and homogenizing effects of livestock grazing ( Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hippopotamus and livestock grazing: influences on riparian vegetation and facilitation of other herbivores in the Mara Region of Kenya

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Riparian savanna habitats grazed by hippopotamus or livestock experience seasonal ecological stresses through the depletion of herbaceous vegetation, and are often points of contacts and conflicts between herbivores, humans and their livestock. We investigated how hippopotamus and livestock grazing influence vegetation structure and cover and facilitate other wild herbivores in the Mara region of Kenya. We used 5 km-long transects, each with 13 plots measuring 10 9 10 m 2 , and which radiate from rivers in the Masai Mara National Reserve and adjoining community pastoral ranches. For each plot, we measured the height and visually estimated the percent cover of grasses, forbs, shrubs and bare ground, herbivore abundance and species richness. Our results showed that grass height was shortest closest to rivers in both landscapes, increased with increasing distance from rivers in the reserve, but was uniformly short in the pastoral ranches. Shifting mosaics of short grass lawns interspersed with patches of medium to tall grasses occurred within 2.5 km of the rivers in the reserve in areas grazed habitually by hippos. Hence, hippo grazing enhanced the structural heterogeneity of vegetation but livestock grazing had a homogenizing effect in the pastoral ranches. The distribution of biomass and the species richness of other ungulates with distance from rivers followed a quadratic pattern in the reserve, suggesting that hippopotamus grazing attracted more herbivores to the vegetation patches at intermediate distances from rivers in the reserve. However, the distribution of biomass and the species richness of other ungulates followed a linear pattern in the pastoral ranches, implying that herbivores avoided areas grazed heavily by livestock in the pastoral ranches, especially near rivers.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hippopotamus and livestock grazing: influences on riparian vegetation and facilitation of other herbivores in the Mara Region of Kenya

et al. 2011

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…However, if that person is wealthy, has alternative sources of income and/or engages in social reciprocity with their family and community, then they could actually be less vulnerable than other people (Naughton-Treves & Treves, 2005). Having adequate coping strategies is therefore a key part of reducing vulnerability, and these tactics are integral to traditional communities who regularly face environmental hazards (Butt, Shortridge & WinklerPrins, 2009). …”

Section: Perceptions Of Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

Complexities of conflict: the importance of considering social factors for effectively resolving human–wildlife conflict

Dickman

2010

Animal Conservation

1,176

961

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Human-wildlife conflict is one of the most critical threats facing many wildlife species today, and the topic is receiving increasing attention from conservation biologists. Direct wildlife damage is commonly cited as the main driver of conflict, and many tools exist for reducing such damage. However, significant conflict often remains even after damage has been reduced, suggesting that conflict requires novel, comprehensive approaches for long-term resolution. Although most mitigation studies investigate only the technical aspects of conflict reduction, peoples' attitudes towards wildlife are complex, with social factors as diverse as religious affiliation, ethnicity and cultural beliefs all shaping conflict intensity. Moreover, human-wildlife conflicts are often manifestations of underlying human-human conflicts, such as between authorities and local people, or between people of different cultural backgrounds. Despite evidence that social factors can be more important in driving conflict than wildlife damage incurred, they are often ignored in conflict studies. Developing a broader awareness of conflict drivers will advance understanding of the patterns and underlying processes behind this critical conservation issue. In this paper, I review a wide variety of case studies to show how social factors strongly influence perceptions of human-wildlife conflict, and highlight how mitigation approaches should become increasingly innovative and interdisciplinary in order to enable people to move from conflict towards coexistence.

show abstract

“…While the seasonal movement between different grazing areas can be considered as relatively large scale, just as important for the Aru nomads are so-called micro-mobility (that can be defined as the daily scale movements of livestock, see Butt et al 2009). Consequently, the Aru nomads move their herds (but not necessarily campsites) quite frequently within different seasonal grazing areas, and sometimes even cross into another seasonal grazing area if necessary.…”

Section: Responding To Environmental Stochasticitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Climate change, risk management and the end ofNomadicpastoralism

Næss

2013

International Journal of Sustainable Development & World Ec

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pastoral Herd Management, Drought Coping Strategies, and Cattle Mobility in Southern Kenya

Cited by 109 publications

References 55 publications

Hippopotamus and livestock grazing: influences on riparian vegetation and facilitation of other herbivores in the Mara Region of Kenya

Hippopotamus and livestock grazing: influences on riparian vegetation and facilitation of other herbivores in the Mara Region of Kenya

Complexities of conflict: the importance of considering social factors for effectively resolving human–wildlife conflict

Climate change, risk management and the end ofNomadicpastoralism

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About