Seasonal selection of key resources by cattle in a mixed savannah-wetland ecosystem increases the potential for conflict with lions

Abstract

In Africa's pastoral conservation landscapes, apex predators frequently kill livestock. Retaliatory persecution such as poisoning threatens predators, but also non-target biota. Several factors influence conflict severity, including livestock husbandry, overlap in seasonal habitat use, and the degree to which livestock perceive and are able to respond to a landscape of fear. We investigated these factors by GPS-tracking 42 Tswana beef cattle (Bos taurus) from 29 herds in 2017 and six lions (Panthera leo) from different prides (May 2016-Dec. 2017) in the northern Okavango Delta, Botswana, where cattle depredation significantly impacts the livelihoods of rural agropastoralists. Cattle exhibited seasonal habitat selection patterns similar to wild ungulates in the region. They preferred woodland habitats, with more digestible grasses, during the wet season. During the dry season, they preferred wetland habitats with reliable forage and water availability. Cattle also preferred areas close to human settlements, but the necessity to forage in wetlands during the dry season exposed them to significant depredation risk, especially > 4 km from settlements. Lions killed most cattle in wetlands during the late dry season but the intensity of recent lion presence (previous 14 days) only had a weak negative effect on cattle habitat selection patterns. Cattle used rangelands according to nutritional requirements, irrelevant of the associated predation risk, suggesting that socio-ecologically acceptable conflict solutions cannot rely on the exclusion of livestock from seasonal wetlands. Curbing depredation by lions will best be achieved by a combination of resource-and predation-cognisant seasonal herding strategies with adequate livestock protection. Understanding the ecological constraints that intensify conflict is pertinent to any livestock production landscape with predator presence. It is also a central prerequisite for future land use planning and devolution of legal, controlled resource access rights through policy. Coexistence strategies must account for the strong reliance of people, their livestock, and wildlife on shared key resources. This is particularly important in large trans-frontier conservation areas where the successful merging of biodiversity conservation and rural development is a strategic goal. Omission will foster resentment and resistance to coexistence with apex predators, particularly if livestock productivity and human livelihoods are negatively affected.

Lions Panthera leo Prefer Killing Certain Cattle Bos taurus Types

“…They are also less likely to cause injuries to attacking lions, and so may be the easiest of targets and increasingly preferred by lions, especially during panicked herd stampedes resulting from enclosure attacks when, contrary to predation on free-ranging herds, lions exhibited a clear preference for inexperienced calves. Weise et al [6] demonstrated that cattle in the study area do not exhibit a pronounced fear in response to lion presence and predation. Instead, cattle utilise different habitat types according to their seasonal resource needs, mimicking the resource utilisation patterns of buffalo [53], thereby increasing predation risk significantly [6].…”

“…Weise et al [6] demonstrated that cattle in the study area do not exhibit a pronounced fear in response to lion presence and predation. Instead, cattle utilise different habitat types according to their seasonal resource needs, mimicking the resource utilisation patterns of buffalo [53], thereby increasing predation risk significantly [6].…”

“…Lions then switch their preference to readily available cattle, exacerbating conflict [7]. In the northern Okavango Delta, conflict peaks during low-flood months between September and February when lions have unrestricted access to communal grazing pastures and cattle move farthest into core lion habitat following the availability of critical resources such as grass and water during the late dry season [6,27].…”

“…Along the Delta's periphery, livestock are predominantly free-ranging across unrestricted communal pastures that include a diverse mix of dry savannah woodlands and wetland habitats [22]. This ecosystem mosaic provides critical functional heterogeneity of seasonal habitats for wild and domestic herbivores [6,23]. The Delta also supports one of the last strongholds of free-ranging lions [24,25] and forms part of the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.…”

“…Cattle management in the area is highly variable but generally characterised by minimal day-time herding (<10%) and irregular night-time confinement (~40%) in predator-proof enclosures [13]. In the northern Okavango Delta, Tswana beef cattle (a Sanga breed) exhibit strong seasonal habitat selection patterns, preferring woodland habitats (with more digestible grasses) during the wet season and wetland habitats (with more reliable forage and water availability) during the dry season [6]. Lions frequently kill unguarded cattle, resulting in annual compensation claims of approximately 40,400 USD, or about 320 USD per livestock owner, an estimated 4.7% of the annual agropastoral household income in this area [13,27].…”