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User fees charged by Tanzania’s Game Reserves (GR) and Wildlife Management Areas (WMAs) have not changed since 2008. Although previous research has been done on visitors’ willingness-to-pay to enter national parks in Tanzania, none has been conducted on GRs and WMAs. This article assesses the entrance fees in GRs and WMAs, by comparing them with equivalent fees charged in Tanzania (at national parks and the Ngorongoro Crater) and also with regional protected areas in Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Based on 28 semi-structured interviews with key stakeholder institutions working on tourism and conservation and more than 50 online survey responses from Tanzanian tourism operators, the research reviews local opinion and issues relating to adjusting current entrance fees. The article considers that while one objective for generating revenue from entrance fees is for conservation management, it is difficult to establish appropriate fees where there are gaps in knowledge about existing levels of visitation, tourism revenue and associated management costs. Conservation implications: This article has implications for protected area management practices, as it provides information on processes by which managers can review and revise entrance fee values.

The Southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is a threatened species, central to the tourism appeal of private game reserves in South Africa. Privately owned reserves in South Africa tend to be smaller than government run reserves such as Kruger National Park. Because of their relatively small size and the often heterogeneous nature of the landscape private game reserve managers benefit from detailed knowledge of white rhinoceros terrain selection preferences, which can be assessed from their ranging behaviours. We collected adult and sub-adult white rhinoceros distribution data over a 15 month period, calculating individual range size using kernel density estimation analysis within a GIS. From this, terrain selectivity was calculated using 50% and 95% kernels to extract terrain composition values. Jacob's correction of the Ivlev's selectivity index was subsequently applied to the terrain composition of each individual to identify trends in selectivity. Results reveal that adult males hold exclusive territories considerably smaller than those found in previous work conducted in \"open\" or large reserves. Similarly, results for the size of male versus female territories were also not in keeping with those from previous field studies, with males, rather than females, having the larger territory requirement. Terrain selection for both genders and age classes (adult and sub-adult) showed a strong preference for open grassland and avoidance of hill slope and riparian terrains. This research reveals white rhinoceros terrain selection preferences and how they influence range requirements in small, closed reserves. We conclude that this knowledge will be valuable in future white rhinoceros conservation management in small private game reserves, particularly in decisions surrounding removal of surplus individuals or augmentation of existing populations, calculation of reserve carrying capacity and future private reserve acquisition.

Tanzania holds most of the remaining large populations of African lions (Panthera leo) and has extensive areas of leopard habitat (Panthera pardus), and both species are subjected to sizable harvests by sport hunters. As a first step toward establishing sustainable management strategies, we analyzed harvest trends for lions and leopards across Tanzania's 300,000 km 2 of hunting blocks. We summarize lion population trends in protected areas where lion abundance has been directly measured and data on the frequency of lion attacks on humans in high-conflict agricultural areas. We place these findings in context of the rapidly growing human population in rural Tanzania and the concomitant effects of habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict, and cultural practices. Lion harvests declined by 50% across Tanzania between 1996 and 2008, and hunting areas with the highest initial harvests suffered the steepest declines. Although each part of the country is subject to some form of anthropogenic impact from local people, the intensity of trophy hunting was the only significant factor in a statistical analysis of lion harvest trends. Although leopard harvests were more stable, regions outside the Selous Game Reserve with the highest initial leopard harvests again showed the steepest declines. Our quantitative analyses suggest that annual hunting quotas be limited to 0.5 lions and 1.0 leopard/1000 km 2 of hunting area, except hunting blocks in the Selous Game Reserve, where harvests should be limited to 1.0 lion and 3.0 leopards/1000 km 2 . Tanzania mantiene la mayoría de las poblaciones remanentes de leones Africanos (Panthera leo) y tiene extensas áreas de hábitat de leopardo (Panthera pardus), y ambas especies son sujetas a cosechas considerables por cazadores deportivos. Como un primer paso hacia el establecimiento de estrategias de manejo sustentable, analizamos las tendencias de cosecha de leones y leopardos en los 300,000 km 2 de bloques de cacería de Tanzania. Sintetizamos las tendencias poblacionales de leones en áreas protegidas donde la abundancia de leones ha sido medida directamente, así como datos sobre la frecuencia de ataques de leones sobre humanos en áreas agrícolas altamente conflictivas. Ubicamos estos resultados en el contexto de la población humana en rápido crecimiento en Tanzania rural y los efectos concomitantes de la pérdida de hábitat, el conflicto humanos-vida silvestre y las prácticas culturales. Las cosechas de leones han declinado 50% en Tanzania entre 1996 y 2008, y las áreas de cacería con las cosechas iniciales más altas sufrieron las declinaciones más pronunciadas. Aunque cada parte del país está sujeto a alguna forma de impacto antropogénico por habitantes locales, la intensidad de la cacería deportiva fue el único factor significativo en el análisis estadístico de las tendencias poblacionales de leones. Aunque las cosechas de leopardos fueron más estables, regiones fuera de la Reserva de Caza Selous con las cosechas iniciales de leopardos más altas también mostraron las declinaciones más pronunciadas. Nuestros análisis cuantitativos sugieren que las cuotas anuales de cacería se limiten a 0.5 leones y 1.0 leopardo/1000 km 2 de área de cacería, excepto los bloques de cacería en la Reserva de Caza Selous, donde las cosechas deben limitarse a 1.0 león y 3.0 leopardos/1000 km 2 .

In recent years, numerous studies have examined the effect of host sex and age on the structure of parasite communities in several host taxa under various environmental conditions and in different geographic regions. However, the influence of such factors on the structure of host-parasite networks has received less attention, and remarkably few studies have been carried out on large terrestrial mammals. In this study, we investigated the effects of host age and sex on the parasite infra- and component communities of nyalas (Tragelaphus angasii) and on the structure of individual-based nyala-endoparasite networks. We also aimed to evaluate to what extent these effects vary spatially and if they are mediated by conservation management. Based on a data set of internal macroparasites of 74 nyalas from three game reserves in KwaZulu-Natal province, we found that host age strongly influenced parasite community structure as well as the structure of parasite-nyala networks, whereas host sex played a minor role. However, the effects of both host sex and age were mediated by environmental conditions and thus led to different patterns at the three localities. Our findings highlight that host-parasite communities from different localities should not be pooled when conducting host-parasite network and community studies as this may bias results and mask patterns that are typical for a given locality.

This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of neutralising antibodies to two genetically distant lyssaviruses, classical rabies virus (RABV) and Mokola virus (MOKV), the latter being one of the three rabies-related viruses encountered in South Africa, in 160 banked serum samples originating from lions in private and provincial game reserves adjacent to the Mnisi communal area (n = 20) in Mpumalanga and in the greater Kruger National Park (KNP) (n = 140) of South Africa. The KNP lion serum samples were collected between 1995 and 2000, and the rest much later, between 2010 and 2012. The serum samples were tested for neutralising antibodies to RABV and MOKV using the fluorescent antibody virus neutralisation test. Lion sera collected between 1995 and 2000 (n = 140) had a 2.1% and 0.7% prevalence of RABV and MOKV neutralising antibodies, respectively, whereas sera collected between 2010 and 2012 (n = 20) had prevalence values of 65.0% and 36.8%, respectively. Based on these findings, it can be concluded that lions from KNP have been exposed to both RABV and MOKV at low frequencies (≤ 2.0%) between 1995 and 2000, while the sample sizes of the lions from other game reserves were too small to make a valid conclusion. Conservation implications: These data suggest that lions, like other wild carnivores, are constantly and naturally exposed to viral pathogens, including lyssaviruses, in their natural habitat. These exposures present a risk of population decline of the endangered lion species, exacerbated by intra-group transmission and disruption of predator–prey dynamics, destabilising ecosystems, including the viability of other endangered wildlife species. Other implications include increased human–lion conflict influencing existing conservation efforts because of heightened fear of lions and the potential for co-infection and viral mutation because of concomitant rabies and/or other virus infections complicating disease prevention and control efforts in lion populations.

Most ecosystems have multiple predator species that not only compete for shared prey, but also pose direct threats to each other. These intraguild interactions are key drivers of carnivore community structure, with ecosystem‐wide cascading effects. Yet, behavioral mechanisms for coexistence of multiple carnivore species remain poorly understood. The challenges of studying large, free‐ranging carnivores have resulted in mainly coarse‐scale examination of behavioral strategies without information about all interacting competitors. We overcame some of these challenges by examining the concurrent fine‐scale movement decisions of almost all individuals of four large mammalian carnivore species in a closed terrestrial system. We found that the intensity of intraguild interactions did not follow a simple hierarchical allometric pattern, because spatial and behavioral tactics of subordinate species changed with threat and resource levels across seasons. Lions (Panthera leo) were generally unrestricted and anchored themselves in areas rich in not only their principal prey, but also, during periods of resource limitation (dry season), rich in the main prey for other carnivores. Because of this, the greatest cost (potential intraguild predation) for subordinate carnivores was spatially coupled with the highest potential benefit of resource acquisition (prey‐rich areas), especially in the dry season. Leopard (P. pardus) and cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) overlapped with the home range of lions but minimized their risk using fine‐scaled avoidance behaviors and restricted resource acquisition tactics. The cost of intraguild competition was most apparent for cheetahs, especially during the wet season, as areas with energetically rewarding large prey (wildebeest) were avoided when they overlapped highly with the activity areas of lions. Contrary to expectation, the smallest species (African wild dog, Lycaon pictus) did not avoid only lions, but also used multiple tactics to minimize encountering all other competitors. Intraguild competition thus forced wild dogs into areas with the lowest resource availability year round. Coexistence of multiple carnivore species has typically been explained by dietary niche separation, but our multi‐scaled movement results suggest that differences in resource acquisition may instead be a consequence of avoiding intraguild competition. We generate a more realistic representation of hierarchical behavioral interactions that may ultimately drive spatially explicit trophic structures of multi‐predator communities.

Introduction In the recent decades, there has been growing interest in the contribution of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) to livelihoods, development, and poverty alleviation among the rural populace. This has been prompted by the fact that communities living adjacent to forest reserves rely to a great extent on the NTFPs for their livelihoods, and therefore any effort to conserve such resources should as a prerequisite understand how the host communities interact with them. Methods Multistage sampling technique was used for the study. A representative sample of 400 households was used to explore the utilization of NTFPs and their contribution to households’ income in communities proximate to Falgore Game Reserve (FGR) in Kano State, Nigeria. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze and summarize the data collected. Results The findings reveal that communities proximate to FGR mostly rely on the reserve for firewood, medicinal herbs, fodder, and fruit nuts for household use and sales. Income from NTFPs accounts for 20–60% of the total income of most (68%) of the sampled households. The utilization of NTFPs was significantly influenced by age, sex, household size, main occupation, distance to forest and market. Conclusions The findings suggest that NTFPs play an important role in supporting livelihoods, and therefore provide an important safety net for households throughout the year particularly during periods of hardship occasioned by drought. It is suggested that stakeholders should prioritize technical and financial support programs on agricultural value addition and handcrafts that would promote off-farm income generating activities, in addition, provision of alternative domestic cooking energy such as biogas in communities proximate to FGR in order to reduce pressure relating to fuelwood gathering from the forest, this will help to improve forest resources quality.

The cheetah Acinonyx jubatus has suffered considerable range contractions in recent decades. Despite the importance of up-to-date information on distribution to guide conservation, such information is lacking for large areas within the species’ remaining potential range. In Tanzania, the largest tract of potential cheetah habitat without such data is the Selous–Nyerere ecosystem. Although the cheetah is considered possibly extant in this landscape, the last confirmed sighting was in the late 1990s. During 2020–2022, we carried out sign-based (spoor) and camera-trap surveys across Selous Game Reserve and Nyerere National Park. We did not record any evidence of cheetah presence, and opportunistic enquiries with tourism operators and protected area management staff did not provide any evidence of current or recent presence. Our findings suggest that current cheetah presence is unlikely, and that Selous–Nyerere should not be treated as potential contemporary cheetah range. We discuss the possibility that Selous–Nyerere may have never hosted a resident cheetah population, and was either occasionally occupied by dispersers from other populations or represented the edge of populations that spanned areas now treated as corridors.