Glyn Maude

Given the current biodiversity crisis, understanding how animals move across a landscape dotted with different anthropogenic threats and the consequences of those threats for animals is paramount to devising evidence‐based conservation interventions. Vultures roam across large areas and are highly exposed to poisoning, which represents a particular...

The conversion of natural habitats to farmland is a major cause of biodiversity loss and poses the greatest extinction risk to birds worldwide. Tropical raptors are of particular concern, being relatively slow-breeding apex predators and scavengers, whose disappearance can trigger extensive cascading effects. Many of Africa’s raptors are at conside...

The rapid development of wind energy in southern Africa represents an additional threat to the already fragile populations of African vultures. The distribution of the vulnerable Cape Vulture Gyps coprotheres overlaps considerably with wind energy development areas in South Africa, creating conflicts that can hinder both vulture conservation and su...

The endangered Cape Vulture (Gyps coprotheres), a southern African endemic, breeds on precipitous cliffs in various habitats. Some colonies of this cliff-nesting species are found in the southeast (Mannyelanong Hill) and east (Tswapong Hills and adjacent complexes) of Botswana. Of six breeding sites studied in the Tswapong Hills complex from 1992 t...

Aim Assessing the distribution and persistence of species across their range is a crucial component of wildlife conservation. It demands data at adequate spatial scales and over extended periods of time, which may only be obtained through collaborative efforts, and the development of methods that integrate heterogeneous datasets. We aimed to combin...

Context: There has been limited research identifying large-scale functional connectivity of wildlife populations across sub-Saharan Africa, despite the increased focus on transboundary conservation networks. Objectives: This study set out to assess the functional connectivity of a highly mobile predator of conservation concern across the Kavango-Za...

Stock raiding lions translocated in Botswana

We studied the dietary patterns of African wild dog in Vumbura and Linyanti –Selinda regions, in northern Botswana. We estimated the densities of potential wild dog prey ungulate using Distance sampling techniques. Scat analysis and direct observations of wild dog kills were used to analyze the dietary characteristics. Pianka and Levin's indices we...

We present biometrical data assembled from a combined total of 37 complete and partially cleaned skulls and feathered heads for the two putative subspecies of Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus monachus and N. m. pileatus (which Mundy et al. (1992) credibly argue should be N. m. carunculatus). We report on mostly insignificant variation in measure...

Nationwide aerial animal censuses of Botswana between 1992 and 2012, conducted by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, have highlighted a 71% decline in the national springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis) population and a contraction of their range. The reasons for this decline remain unknown. We investigated possible drivers of this decline...

African White-backed Vultures were recently uplisted to ‘Critically Endangered’ by IUCN due to declines across their range. Poisoning is widely accepted as the major reason for these declines. Botswana supports a high number of this species (breeding pairs > c.1,200), but as yet no published information exists on their breeding success in the count...

Tracking studies are often used to inform conservation plans and actions. However, species have frequently only been tracked in one or a few localities, while space use can be remarkably flexible, especially in long‐lived species with advanced learning abilities. We assessed variability in space use in the Critically Endangered Hooded Vulture, Necr...

Reduced gene exchange between animal populations may be an indicator of the effects of anthropogenic fragmentation or it may reflect natural gradients in the landscape that can also result in population fragmentation. It can be difficult, therefore, to disentangle the role of local ecology from anthropogenic factors, creating a risk of attributing...

Aim There is a dearth of evidence that determines the genetic diversity of populations contained within present‐day protected areas compared with their historical state prior to large‐scale species declines, making inferences about a species’ conservation genetic status difficult to assess. The aim of this paper was to demonstrate the use of histor...

Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus populations have declined dramatically in recent years, but we know little about their ecology. We radio-tagged four vultures in northern Botswana to gather data on animal movement and home-range patterns. Hooded Vultures were primarily sedentary at night. Hooded Vultures moved similar distances and speeds during...

Aim There is a dearth of evidence that determines the genetic diversity of populations contained within present-day protected areas compared with their historic state prior to large-scale species declines, making inferences about a species’ conservation genetic status difficult to assess. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the use of historic...

Whilst food availability influences space use by animals, how fluctuating resources influence the location of home ranges and space use patterns is little understood. In this study, we first determined the home range of brown hyaenas (Parahyaena brunnea) living inside, and adjacent to, the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park, Botswana. We then examined...

Across Africa, many raptor species, especially vultures, are in steep decline. Botswana is regionally important for numerous raptor species including vultures, but recent population trends of raptors within this country are totally unknown. In 2015-2016 we repeated road transects for raptors across northern Botswana that were first conducted in 199...

Arid and semi-arid environments have low and unpredictable rainfall patterns resulting in limited availability of surface water for wildlife. In the Central Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) wildlife populations have lost access to natural surface water through cordon fences, livestock and human encroachment along the access routes. Artificial waterhole...

Lead (Pb) toxicity caused by the ingestion of Pb ammunition fragments in carcasses and offal is a threat to scavenging birds across the globe. African vultures are in critical decline, but research on whether Pb exposure is contributing to declines is lacking. In Africa, recreational hunting represents an important economic activity; however, Pb in...

Incidents of conflict between humans and lions are influenced by a number of factors, some of which are barriers such as fences and rivers. Conflict between carnivores and farmers led the Botswana government to construct a fence along the Boteti River between the years 2004 and 2005 to separate wildlife inside the Makgadikgadi Pans National Park (M...

Assessing the numbers and distribution of threatened species is a central challenge in conservation, often made difficult because the species of concern are rare and elusive. For some predators, this may be compounded by their being sparsely distributed over large areas. Such is the case with the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus. The IUCN Red List process...

Details of cheetah persecution data in Namibia

Overlap of cheetah distribution with the Kavango Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA)

Additional detail on presence data and distribution mapping

Public data search methodology

Known cheetah lifespans in southern Africa

Relationship of cheetah presence locations with covariates i.e., human and livestock densities

Implementation of the Leslie Matrix model

Distribution of research and crowd sourced presence observations in the study area in southern Africa

Comparison of the cheetah distribution detailed here with that published by the IUCN

Farm characteristics where cheetah persecution occurred

Cheetah metapopulation data in South Africa

Wildlife populations in semi‐arid regions require unrestricted mobility along ecological gradients and across large landscapes to enable adaptive responses to seasonal variability and patchy resources. In the Kalahari region of Botswana, herbivore populations historically depended on seasonal access to the nutrient‐rich Schwelle area in the wet sea...

The brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) is endemic to southern Africa. The largest population of this near-threatened species occurs in Botswana, but limited data were available to assess distribution and density. Our objectives were to use a stratified approach to collate available data and to collect more data to assess brown hyaena distribution an...

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are the most endangered large carnivores in southern Africa. Direct and indirect persecution by farmers causes significant conservation challenges. Farmer– wild dog conflict in Botswana commonly occurs as a result of cattle and stocked game depredation by wild dogs, affecting farmer livelihood and causing economic...

The blue wildebeest (Connochaetes taurinus) population in semi-arid savannah regions face intense spatial and temporal environmental variability over the annual cycle. The population in the Kalahari has lost critical seasonal ranges outside the protected areas due to human induced landscape changes. The population is faced with sparse and patchy fo...

The re-flowing of the Boteti River following floods from the Okavango delta has implications for human-wildlife conflict because of its influence on the distribution of wildlife. This may influence carnivore predation on livestock. The aim of this study was to assess change in incidents of carnivore predation on livestock along the Boteti River. Co...

Raptor research often requires identifying individuals. Researchers place patagial tags on raptors to facilitate such identification. Researchers in southern African use two main types of patagial tags: hard plastic ear tags originally designed for cattle and soft vinyl tags. We deployed both types of tags on vultures in Botswana. Based on our obse...

Blood lead levels of white-backed vultures in Botswana

We studied the dietary patterns of African wild dog in Vumbura and Linyanti –Selinda regions, in northern Botswana. We estimated the densities of potential wild dog prey ungulate using Distance sampling techniques. Scat analysis and direct observations of wild dog kills were used to analyze the dietary characteristics. Pianka and Levin's indices we...

Human Wildlife Conflict (HWC) is increasing in places near wildlife areas. In places closer to the protected areas, chances of livestock having direct contact with carnivores increases which escalates HWC. The government of Botswana constructed an electric-fence along the Boteti riverbed in-order to reduce conflict between wildlife in the Makgadikg...

Raptor research often requires identifying individuals. Researchers place patagial tags on raptors to facilitate such identification. Researchers in southern African use two main types of patagial tags: hard plastic ear tags originally designed for cattle and soft vinyl tags. We deployed both types of tags on vultures in Botswana. Based on our obse...

Botswana has a variety of ecosystems, all of which support a multitude of wildlife species. The Kalahari is a vast semidesert that covers over 84% of the country. Grasslands along with scattered trees and drought-resistant undergrowth dominate large tracts of the Kalahari’s landscape. The northeastern Kalahari extends into the wetter environments o...

Botswana has a variety of ecosystems, all of which support a multitude of wildlife species. The Kalahari is a vast semidesert that covers over 84% of the country. Grasslands along with scattered trees and drought-resistant undergrowth dominate large tracts of the Kalahari's landscape. The northeastern Kalahari extends into the wetter environments o...

Brown hyaena scent marks were tested for their potential to provide DNA suitable for PCR. Up to 100% of scent marks were successfully amplified. The approach can potentially be adapted to other species with similar pasting behaviour and scent mark morphology, or to samples that are environmentally exposed/degraded/inhibitor-rich or where there are...

The lack of knowledge on the feeding ecology of brown hyaenas (Hyaena brunnea) living in farming areas and its vulnerable conservation status were the motivating factors behind this study. A comparison was made between the feeding ecology of brown hyaenas living in the vicinity of subsistence pastoralists and in the Makgadikgadi National Park away...