Annual Report 2015

Compiled by Dominik Bauer & Kristina Kesch

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Content

Background & Mission Statement .................................................... 1

The team .............................................................................................. 2

Project Overview ................................................................................ 4

Summary of Activities ........................................................................ 5

Spoor count survey ......................................................................................... 5

Spoor count maps ........................................................................................... 6

Movement data & collaring ............................................................................ 9

Preliminary results ........................................................................................ 10

Sex- and age-specific movement maps ......................................................... 11

Human-wildlife conflict mitigation .............................................................. 14

Problem animal movement maps .................................................................. 15

Outreach ............................................................................................ 17

Outlook .............................................................................................. 18

Corridor work extension ............................................................................... 18

The Lion Guardian Programme .................................................................... 19

Livestock predation in dependency of seasonal long-distance herbivore

migrations within the Kavango-Zambezi TFCA .......................................... 20

Acknowledgements ........................................................................... 21

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Corridor Survey Area

Background & Mission Statement

Fragmentation of natural habitat and isolation of populations is one of the biggest challenges

faced by conservationists in modern times. It is a particularly damaging process for wild

species that range widely such as carnivores, preventing genetic flow between animal

populations and increasing the risk of inbreeding. Dr. Andrew Loveridge from the Wildlife

Conservation Research Unit of the University of Oxford has been running a research and

conservation project on lions in Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park for fourteen years.

Research outcomes suggest that lions (and in particular young dispersing males) travel great

distances in their search for new territories. Satellite data from collared individuals show that

lions from the Hwange region frequently range far into Botswana, possibly moving between

protected areas. To investigate these movements the Botswana Lion Corridor Project

(BLCP) was established. Our aim is to investigate the areas between Hwange National Park

in Zimbabwe and Chobe National Park, Makgadikgadi/Nxai Pans National Parks and the

Okavango Delta in Botswana and to evaluate whether they can be used as wildlife corridors

by lions (see Fig 1).

Fig 1: The protected areas surrounding the “corridor survey area”

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The Team

Dr. Andrew Loveridge

Andrew Loveridge is one of the world’s best

published lion researchers and the Director of

the second longest running lion research

project worldwide, the Hwange Big Cat

Project, which the Botswana Lion Corridor

Project is part of. He is the co-editor of “The

Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids” and

has written and published a large number of

peer-reviewed papers and book chapters on the behavioural ecology and conservation of

African jackals and lions (including co-authoring one of the case study chapters in “The

Biology and Conservation of Wild Canids”). He is a member of the IUCN/SSC Canid

Specialist Group and African Lion Working Group and recently contributed to the IUCN

working paper on the impact of trophy hunting of African lions. In addition he co-edited three

volumes of proceedings from a series of Lion Conservation Research workshops (2001, 2002,

2005).

Dominik Bauer

After working on leopard population dynamics

in South Africa’s Soutpansberg mountains in

2007/2008 Dominik followed up with a MSc at

University of Hohenheim studying temporal

and spatial variations in lion densities in

Botswana’s Khutse Game Reserve and the

southern parts of the Central Kalahari. He then

joined the Makgadikgadi Fence and Lion

Research project as a field assistant, which focused on the effectiveness of game fencing in

solving human-wildlife conflict in central Botswana. Dominik joined the WildCRU in March

2013 and is now running the Botswana Lion Corridor Project under Dr. Andrew Loveridge.

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Dr. Kristina Kesch

Kristina followed her interest in animal

behaviour and conservation and studied

biology with a focus on conservation, ecology

and behavioural ecology at the German

Universities of Giessen and Hamburg. In 2007

she completed her studies and obtained an MSc

on the Behavioural and Ecological Flexibility

of Collared Lemurs (Eulemur collaris) in the

Littoral Rainforest of Madagascar, for which she was awarded a scholarship from the German

Academic Exchange Service. In 2009 she moved to Botswana for her PhD with a focus on the

effectiveness of game fences in solving the human-wildlife conflict with lions (Panthera leo)

and elephants (Loxodonta africana) along the borders of Khutse Game Reserve/Central

Kalahari Game Reserve and Makgadikgadi Pans National Park. She was awarded a

scholarship from the German Protestant Study Foundation for this PhD. Together with

Dominik she is now running the Botswana Lion Corridor Project.

Thocho Simon Mboma

Simon was born in the small village of Tobere

east of the Okavango Panhandle. He grew up in

the wilderness while attending to his families

cattle and learned how to read the signs of the

bush. As a skilled tracker he has several years of

experience working in the hunting industry and

with conservation projects. Simon is a key

member of our team and without him we would

not be able to follow the lions.

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Project Overview

To asses carnivore occupancy in the corridor area, the Botswana Lion Corridor Project has

undertaken 12 carnivore population surveys (using spoor transect surveys) across northern

and northeastern Botswana covering more than 3400 km since 2013. Additionally, in order to

understand lion movement and population connectivity within the Kavango Zambezi

Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TFCA) a total of 22 lions have been fitted with GPS

satellite collars across the study area over the last two and a half years. To date, more than

120 adult and sub-adult lions have been recorded in 16 concessions, national parks and forest

reserves. First analysis of the GPS and spoor data reveals that the marginal areas linking up

Nxai Pan NP, the Okavango Delta and Chobe NP in Botswana and Hwange NP in Zimbabwe

are not only used as corridors by dispersing males but in fact host a permanent lion

population. This population might represent the geographically largest intact lion population

in Africa, ranging from the eastern Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe to the western parts

of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. Due to its importance to the conservation of African

lions as one of the main lion strongholds left in Africa it is therefore worthy of appropriate

protection.

Lions have been shown to turn to livestock during times of low natural prey availability in

other areas of Botswana which fuels conflicts between farmers and wildlife. The Botswana

Lion Corridor Project and Elephants Without Borders have started a collaboration which aims

to understand the connection between zebras, lions and human-lion conflict in northern

Botswana and to achieve protection of migration corridors in northern Botswana and

Namibia. 2015 has also seen the first steps in developing a human-wildlife conflict mitigation

programme in the Chobe Enclave and around Khumaga village along the western boundary of

the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park which will follow a lion guardian scheme successfully

implemented along the borders of Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. Furthermore, we are

planning to expand our corridor work to the northwest and southwest of Botswana in order to

determine the levels of landscape connectivity for lions between the Okavango Delta and

Kaudum National Park in Namibia, and between Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Central

Kalahari Game Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park.

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Summary of Activities

Spoor count survey

The spoor count survey has been finalized and is currently being analysed. Over the course of

the last three dry seasons a total of 3401.8 km of spoor transects in 12 concessions and forest

reserves were conducted covering an area of more than 25,000 km2 (see Tab.1).

Tab.1: Spoor frequency and spoor density for lions and leopards as well as distances covered per concession.

Using Funston’s lion equation for lions and general carnivore equation for leopards,

population estimates for the entire study area were calculated. With 1.914 individuals/100

km2 for lions and 1.776 individuals/100 km2 for leopards the total estimates for the 25.659

km2 study area result in 491 adult lions and 455 adult leopards. Despite having collected

spoor data on wild dogs and spotted hyena as well, there is currently no equation that

describes the relationship between spoor frequency and actual densities satisfactorily. The

spoor count analysis is ongoing and over the coming months spoor data as well as collar data

will be analysed jointly using occupancy modelling. Fig. 2, 3 & 4 show the spoor encounters

for lion, leopard and wild dog & cheetah throughout the study area (hatch pattern).

Area

Distance covered (in km)

Number lion

spoor

spoor frequency

(km/sp)

spoor density

(sp/ 100 km)

Number leop

spoor

spoor frequency

(km/sp)

spoor density

(sp/ 100 km)

CT/1 493.2 17 29.01 3.45 18 27.40 3.65 CT/2 331.1 23 14.40 6.95 14 23.65 4.23 CT/3 309.0 17 18.18 5.50 24 12.88 7.77 CT/4 155.7 21 7.41 13.49 26 5.99 16.70 CT/5 115.8 5 23.16 4.32 18 6.43 15.54 Kazuma FR 117.9 33 3.57 27.99 13 9.07 11.03 Maikaelelo FR 161.0 7 23.00 4.35 9 17.89 5.59 Sibuyu FR 351.0 33 10.64 9.40 21 16.71 5.98 NG/34 266.4 16 16.65 6.01 20 13.32 7.51 NG/41 289.2 12 24.10 4.15 16 18.08 5.53 NG/42 324.2 12 27.02 3.70 12 27.02 3.70 NG/43 487.3 8 60.91 1.64 13 37.49 2.67 total 3401.8 204 16.68 6.00 204 16.68 6.00

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Suspected lion hotspots

Fig 2: Location of spoor and lion “hotspots” (based on spoor density, direct observation and satellite collar data)

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Fig 3: Location of leopard spoor throughout the study area

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Fig 4: Location of wild dog and cheetah spoor throughout the study area

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Movement data & collaring

Throughout 2015 a total of 10 lions were immobilized by qualified veterinarians. Two collars

were taken off (F1 & F3), three collars were changed due to low battery (M1, M2 & M7) and

five new lions were collared (two as part of the corridor work/zebra-lion study – F8 & F9)

and three as part of a human-lion conflict mitigation programme/zebra-lion study – CHM1,

CEM1 & CEF1). A total of 17 lions are currently collared and are closely monitored (see

Tab.2)

Tab.2: All lions currently collared by BLCP (yellow –collars will be taken off shortly, red – animal deceased, green – animal was collared in Zimbabwe)

Name ID code

Pride name location Sex Age (yrs)

Sediba M1 Nxai Pan pride Nxai Pan NP M 8-9 Noka M2 Mogothlo pride NG/41 - NG/43 M 3 George M3 CT3 pride CT/3 M 6-7 Tsala F2 CT2 north pride CT/2 F 3 Louis M5 Nogathsaa pride Nogathsaa - Kazuma M 3 Annie F5 Mogothlo pride NG/41 - NG/43 F 4-5 Mokusi M6 disperser Currently Sibuyu FR M 4 Morena M7 CT1 pride CT/1 M 8 Kwatale F7 NG/43 west pride NG/43 F 4-5 Gape M8 disperser Currently CH/11 M 3 Pijo Hw1 Disperser from Zimbabwe Currently Sibuyu FR M 4 Mathata M9 CH/12 pride CH/12 M 7 Motsameko F8 Nxai Pan pride Nxai Pan NP F 6-7 Siya F9 Mababe Depression pride Mababe Depression F 5 Larry CHM1 Lesoma pride Lesoma Valley M 3 Muchenje CEF1 Muchenje/western pride Muchenje/Chobe F 4-5 Kachikau CEM1 unknown Chobe Enclave M 5

In May 2015, a total of three lions were collared in Nxai Pan National Park and the Mababe

Depression. M1 (one of the two dominant Nxai Pan males) had lost his collar (presumably

during a fight with another male) and while re-collaring him, the team took the opportunity to

fit F8 (a female from the same pride) with a GPS satellite collar. On the same darting exercise

our team managed to collar F9, a female in the Mababe Depression. She is part of a pride of 6

(two males and four females), which roams the open grasslands of the Depression.

Furthermore, M2 was located in the south of NG/43 tracking his VHF signal from the air after

his collar had stopped transmitting a satellite signal. He was fitted with a new SAT/VHF

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collar and has since moved an astounding 150 km south to the edge of the Central Kalahari

Game Reserve, where he was killed by a farmer on the Hainaveld Farms.

In June 2015, F1 was located in CT/3 and her collar was taken off as it was running low on

battery and had provided sufficient data for the study. Shortly afterwards, F7 was

anaesthetised and her collar taken off by colleagues in Chobe National Park.

In August 2015, the team managed to change a faulty collar on M7 in the north of CT/1.

Collaring for the corridor study has come to an end and collars will be taken off throughout

2016 (marked yellow in Tab.2).

Preliminary results

Despite not yet having formally analysed the data, a preliminary analysis of the GPS and

spoor data reveals that instead of dealing with source populations and corridor areas the study

population may represent one of the geographically largest intact lion populations in Africa

(see Fig. 6, 7 & 8). Detailed results are expected to be published in peer-reviewed papers

towards then end of 2016.

Fig 5: M2 – “Noka” caught on a camera trap in the south of NG/43 (photo courtesy of Lindsey Rich)

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Human-wildlife conflict mitigation

As part of the Botswana Lion Corridor Project’s commitment to conserve lions across

northern Botswana, a wildlife-mitigation project (Lion Guardians, please find details on the

programme below) had been in preparation and a decision was made together with the

Department of Wildlife and National Parks and with official endorsement from the KAZA

Secretariat to go ahead in the Chobe District. Between the end of August and November three

lions were collared in close proximity to human settlements or cattleposts:

CHM1 – a young male of approximately three years was collared two kilometers north of

Lesoma village on the 31st of August. Being a young male he was a likely candidate to prey

on livestock in the nearby village. Within several weeks he moved into Chobe National Park

and from there across the Chobe River into Namibia (Fig. 9), where he was killed shortly

after. An effort is currently underway to retrieve the collar.

Two days later CEF1 – a female of approximately 4-5 years was collared just north of

Muchenje village. She has since moved into Chobe National Park confirming our suspicion

that she is part of the “western pride” which is suspected to leave the safety of the park to prey

on livestock in the community area. In mid-September 2015 and at the end of January 2016

CEF1 moved 15 km south spending several days around the village of Kavimba before

returning to the safety of the park (Fig. 10). Now that part of her natural movement has been

identified, management implications and mitigation strategies can be discussed.

In November, the BLCP team fitted a collar on a male that was found accompanied by his

coalition partner just west of Kachikau. CEM1 has since roamed across most of the Chobe

Enclave however, staying relatively clear of the cattle area to the east (see Fig. 11).

Through daily monitoring of currently 15 satellite collars on lions, BLCP is in a unique

position to monitor potential problem animals/prides and we are therefore updating the

DWNP regularly with positions and movement behaviour of suspected problem animals. This

further puts us into the unique position to be able to plan conflict mitigation measures across

the study area. In support of the Lion Guardian Programme and as discussed with the

Department of Wildlife and National Parks, at least one collar will be fitted on each pride or

male coalition in the Chobe Enclave and along the Boteti River. Movement of lions will be

monitored on a daily basis and if necessary information will be relayed to the community

officers/lion guardians on the ground who can then act accordingly.

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Fig 9: The movement of male CHM1 – “Larry” between 31.08.2015 and his death in early November

Fig 10: The movement of female CEF1 – “Muchenje” in relation to the cattle posts

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Fig 11: The movement of male CEM1 – “Kachikau” in relation to the cattle posts

Fig 12: CEM1 – “Kachikau” and his coalition partner prior collaring

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Outreach

In April 2015, the BLCP team received an invitation from the KAZA Secretariat and Peace

Parks Foundation to attend a workshop on conservation strategies for the Kavango Zambezi

Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA) in Kasane. Strategies for the Kwando Wildlife

Dispersal Area (WDA) and the Hwange-Kazuma-Chobe WDA were discussed with

stakeholders from the respective Governments, NGOs, funding bodies and local communities.

The workshop focussed on the topics of tourism, nature conservation, human-wildlife

conflict, anti-poaching and community involvement within KAZA and the two WDAs. Since

the ban of trophy hunting in Botswana in 2014, many former hunting concessions are not

being utilized and there is an urgent need to decide what will happen to these large wildlife

areas. As the study area of the Botswana Lion Corridor Project includes very remote wildlife

areas within KAZA and BLCP is the only research project operating in many of these areas,

the results of our work and our general knowledge of these areas often provide the only

available baseline data.

In October, the BLCP team attended the KAZA Large Carnivore Workshop hosted by the

Parks and Wildlife Management Authority Zimbabwe and WWF Namibia in Hwange

National Park, Zimbabwe. Our Programme Director Dr. Andrew Loveridge was invited to

present some of our research results at this workshop. The workshop which hosted

stakeholders from all five member countries addressed a number of issues concerning large

carnivore conservation across KAZA including wildlife policies, research and threats.

Together with other colleagues we agreed to form the Hwange-Chobe Working Group as part

of the KAZA Large Carnivore Conservation Coalition.

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Outlook

Corridor work extension

In 2015, we completed data collection for our corridor study in northeastern Botswana and

were able to show that Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe is connected with Botswana’s

Chobe National Park, the Okavango Delta and Nxai/Makgadikgadi Pans National Parks

through what might be one of the largest intact lion populations left in Africa (see blue circle

in figure 13). Despite single incidences of collared lions moving from Namibia to Botswana

or from the Makgadikgadi area to the Central Kalahari there is reason to doubt a further

connection of this population to the west and southwest due to anthropogenic ribbon

development along major tar roads and high densities of livestock. Therefore, we will expand

our corridor work in 2016 in order to investigate the degree of connectivity between the lion

population of northern Botswana and Kaudum National Park in Namibia to the west and

Central Kalahari Game Reserve and Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park to the southwest.

Fig 13: Map of northern Botswana showing the established connectivity of its lion population (blue circle) and planned connectivity work corridors (yellow arrows)

Namibia

Botswana

Zimbabwe

Angola Zambia

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The Lion Guardian Programme

A high proportion of African households around protected areas are adversely affected by

livestock predation by large predators, particularly lions. Annual household losses in

Zimbabwe average USD 550, representing significant loss for already impoverished people.

Livestock predation routinely results in retaliatory killing of already globally threatened

predators which causes population declines and measureable impacts to biodiversity and

ecosystem function in protected areas. Large predators are also economically valuable and

attract significant revenue to host countries through tourism; frequently the largest and most

viable local revenue generator.

In 2012, the Hwange Lion Research Project initiated the ‘Long-Shields Lion Guardian’

programme in two villages around Hwange National Park in Zimbabwe. This involved

recruiting ‘Lion guardians’ in the local community to act as ambassadors for conservation, to

help people with livestock protection and to actively deter lions from entering the communal

land where people and livestock live. The programme has been a huge success and we have

seen lion depredation incidents decline by over 50% along with retaliatory killing of lions. We

have also trialled the use of mobile communal bomas (corrals) as a means to encourage better

livestock protection and also to facilitate fertilisation of fallow crop fields with livestock

manure. This has met with great success and we have been able to show significant increases

in crop yields on boma sites. Besides increased livestock protection, the scheme has large

potential to greatly improve food security for villagers in an agriculturally marginal.

Given the already significant success of the concept, we plan to roll out and expand the Lion

Guardian programme to the Chobe Enclave and the area west of the Boteti River in Botswana.

Both areas are bordering protected areas and are experiencing high numbers of livestock

losses to lions. We propose to recruit and train ‘lion guardians’ from the local communities

and fit each pride and male coalition in the Chobe Enclave and along the western Boteti with

one satellite collar. Thus, movement can be closely monitored, an ‘early warning system’ can

be established if lions leave the park and reasons for livestock raiding can be understood more

clearly. The collars will mostly be deployed outside tourist areas or on “problem lions” which

will limit exposure of collars to photographic tourists. Furthermore, we propose to introduce

the mobile boma system in order to improve livestock protection and food security in these

areas.

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Livestock predation in dependency of seasonal long-distance herbivore

migrations within the Kavango-Zambezi TFCA

During the course of the study we received several reports on seemingly seasonal livestock

predation incidences by lions within the study area. At the same time, three of BLCP’s

satellite-collared lions undertook short and seemingly purposeful excursions outside their

natural home ranges. After careful investigation it became apparent that these excursions

happened at times when zebras might have moved through neighbouring areas. Historically,

Botswana had a number of different migration routes for zebra, wildebeest, springbok,

buffalo, elephant and other species, especially around the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and

the Chobe area. Today, many of these migrations have ceased, mostly due to human

development such as agriculture and fencing.

However, zebra and wildebeest still migrate on several different routes in northern Botswana.

As part of their work on large herbivore migrations across northern Botswana, the NGO

Elephants Without Borders has collared a number of migratory zebra within several migration

routes, which will highlight the exact route of the migratory animals and the timing of the

migrations over a time span of two years. Besides having already three male, four female and

four young male lions fitted with GPS satellite collars within zebra migration routes (as part

of the corridor study), BLCP suggests the collaring of additional lions in 2016 within the

migration routes. In a collaborative effort with Elephants Without Borders we will investigate

whether lions within these migration corridors shift their home ranges seasonally depending

on the timing of the migration and location of migratory prey species. We will further

determine to what degree the lions’ diet changes depending on the presence or absence of

migratory species. Furthermore, the study will investigate if lions with home ranges close to

human settlements and cattle posts show a seasonal shift of diet towards livestock and

develop a seasonal conflict model which will be able to calculate conflict levels in a scenario

where the migrations would cease. We will further calculate the seasonal and regional off-

take of lions through retaliatory killing as a result of human-lion conflict with and without an

open migration route.

The overall goal of this study is to map the greater corridor areas, which may include lion

prides adjacent to zebra migration corridors that are influenced by the annual migrations.

With the result of this study we are hoping to prove the importance of these migration routes

to herbivores, lions and humans and advise the Governments of Botswana and Namibia on the

installation and formal protection of these important wildlife corridors.

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Acknowledgements

The Botswana Lion Corridor Project would like to thank the Ministry of Wildlife and

Tourism and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks for their support and permission

to undertake this research. We thank our primary donors, Robertson Foundation, SAVE

Wildlife Conservation Fund, Recanati-Kaplan Foundation, SATIB Trust, for their continued

support. Further thanks go to all the concession owners for letting us access their properties.