The reintroduction of large carnivores to the Eastern Cape, South Africa: an assessment

Abstract

Recently, conservation estate in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province has increased 10-fold resulting in large predators being increasingly reintroduced to restore ecological integrity and maximize tourism. We describe the reintroductions of large carnivores (>10 kg) that have occurred in the Eastern Cape and use various criteria to assess their success. Lion Panthera leo reintroduction has been highly successful with a population of 56 currently extant in the region and problems of overpopulation arising. The African wild dog Lycaon pictus population has increased to 24 from a founder population of 11. Preliminary results for spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta also indicate success. Wild populations of leopards Panthera pardus exist on several reserves and have been supplemented by translocated individuals, although deaths of known individuals have occurred and no estimate of reproduction is available. Cheetah Acinonyx jubatus reintroduction has also been less successful with 36 individuals reintroduced and 23 cubs being born but only 41 individuals surviving in 2005. Criteria for assessing the success of reintroductions of species that naturally occur in low densities, such as top predators, generally have limited value. Carrying capacity for large predators is unknown and continued monitoring and intensive management will be necessary in enclosed, and possibly all, conservation areas in the Eastern Cape to ensure conservation success.

Is Australia ready for assisted colonization? Policy changes required to facilitate translocations under climate change.

“…The only detailed definition available is that of CALM (1995), which defined "successful translocation" as "one that provides a self-perpetuating population with at least 90% of the genetic diversity of the source population, without expensive, nonroutine management" (p. 1). Success criteria are often constrained by a short-term view of the translocation, lack of consideration of the spatial dynamics of species undergoing large movements or occupying confined sites (Hayward et al 2007) and limited monitoring, especially in relation to the generation time of the translocated organism (Breitenmoser et al 2001;Macdonald 2009). The progression of climate change increases the challenge of determining success criteria and highlights the importance of ongoing monitoring of translocations.…”

Practical Considerations for the Reintroduction of Large, Terrestrial,Mammalian Predators Based on Reintroductions to South Africa's Eastern Cape Province

“…Since the advent of democracy in South Africa, uneconomical pastoralism in marginal lands has given way to game farming and ecotourism ventures leading to a massive increase in estate managed for conservation [8]. Wildlife has been reintroduced to these areas and this has culminated in the reintroduction of large predators [9].…”

“…This should be part of a continuous feedback loop with the results of the documented evaluation leading to alterations to the existing reintroduction programme via an adaptive management strategy [10]. We selected a five-yearly reporting regime, based on expert recommendations [10], but this short-time period for the initial assessment enforced limitations in our ability to measure the success of the reintroductions [9]. Based on the only assess- [9].…”

“…We selected a five-yearly reporting regime, based on expert recommendations [10], but this short-time period for the initial assessment enforced limitations in our ability to measure the success of the reintroductions [9]. Based on the only assess- [9]. Spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta have only been present in the Eastern Cape for two years but their numbers have increased to 13 through the birth of two cubs [9].…”

Genetic monitoring to evaluate reintroduction attempts of a highly endangered rodent

“…Together with limitations in the number of individuals available for reintroduction (Van Houtan et al 2009;Brekke et al 2011;Tracy et al 2011) it seems almost inevitable that reintroductions initially result in small populations, with a poor genetic status (Spielman et al 2004;Tracy et al 2011;Pacioni et al 2013). Despite these disadvantages, reintroduction has become an important and frequently applied strategy for the conservation of a broad variety of mammals, ranging from small mammals (Ottewell et al 2014;McCleery et al 2014) till large carnivores (Hayward et al 2007). Unfortunately, the overall success of reintroductions is low (Fischer and Lindenmayer 2000;Tenhumberg et al 2004;Armstrong and Seddon 2008) and several authors (Robert 2009;Weeks et al 2011) have stressed the need of giving attention to the genetic adaptive potential of reintroduced populations (Carlson et al 2014;Jamieson 2015) as a low genetic adaptive potential may hamper a successful recovery of the species (Madsen et al 1999;Westemeier et al 1998;Carlson et al 2014;Whiteley et al 2015).…”