Hans Bauer

• Professor
• Research Fellow at University of Oxford

Monitoring large carnivores is imperative for conservation planning, but is difficult due to their elusive behaviour and natural rarity. Some carnivores such as the cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) are particularly wide ranging and often go undetected despite being present, or are detected at rates too low to make meaningful quantitative inferences. The...

Transfrontier conservation landscapes, such as the Kavango–Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area (KAZA TCA) in southern Africa, play a crucial role in preserving global biodiversity and promoting the sustainable development of local communities. However, resources to facilitate management could become scarce across large areas, leading to difficu...

Understanding species distributions is key for effective biodiversity conservation. We conducted a large-scale camera trapping survey in five systematic grids across central-eastern Namibia to identify drivers of large carnivore occupancy and to predict occurrence across a broader mixed-use landscape spanning 161,629 km2. Through targeted searches...

Lions and their prey are threatened across most of their range and especially in West and Central Africa. Prey availability influences carnivore densities, social structure, prey preference and home ranges, and changes in prey are important for carnivore management. Scarcity of large prey in many West and Central African ecosystems has been describ...

Conservation efforts are challenged by lack of funding and ambiguity in strategic prioritisation. Flagship species generate public attention but may not adequately represent and protect biodiversity. Integrating species‐centric approaches with area‐based strategies may refine conservation outcomes and could improve achievements towards biodiversity...

Color mutations are a common phenomenon in vertebrates. Among these anomalies, albinism is the most common in wild mammals. We deployed 78 camera traps across the Yoko Council Forest (YCF) to inventory medium to large-sized terrestrial mammals and we obtained a total effort of 17,981 operational camera trap days, giving 169 detections of long-nosed...

Knowledge of the large carnivore guild is important in view of a possible lion reintroduction into the Comoé National Park (CNP), northern Côte d’Ivoire. We used camera trapping to assess activity patterns, habitat selection, and ecological factors influencing the occupancy of the spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta. Our results showed that the presence...

The civil war in Côte d'Ivoire led to a hike in human disturbances and the extirpation of African lion Panthera leo from the Comoé National Park (CNP). After the war, many efforts have been made to restore this ecosystem and management is considering the reintroduction of lions. In a participatory management with people at the center of conservatio...

Large carnivore distribution in Ethiopia is not well documented; we did 108 interviews and 12 focus group discussions in six districts of the Somali Region to gather basic information. The Region is not listed as resident range for big cats, but our results indicate widespread presence of cheetah, and possible remnants of lion and leopard occurrenc...

A rise in human disturbance in Comoé National Park (CNP) has led to lion ( Panthera leo ) extirpation. After the crisis, there have been numerous efforts to restore this ecosystem and CNP's management authority is considering reintroducing lions. This ideally requires an understanding of the earlier process of lion extirpation. We assessed the caus...

Lions are one of the world’s most iconic species but are threatened with extinction. Developing effective range-wide conservation plans are crucial but hampered by the relative lack of knowledge on specific threats facing each population and the socio-political context for conservation. Here, we present a range-wide examination of the relative frag...

Wildlife is in decline across Africa, particularly in the Sudan-Sahel savanna. An important but little-studied area on the eastern reaches of this biome is Dinder National Park in Sudan. In March 2021, we conducted a distance sampling survey in its ~ 3000 km² core area around the main Gelego camp, walking a total of 56 line transects over a cumulat...

Spatial patterns of and competition for resources by territorial carnivores are typically explained by two hypotheses: 1) the territorial defence hypothesis and 2) the searching efficiency hypothesis. According to the territorial defence hypothesis, when food resources are abundant, carnivore densities will be high and home ranges small. In additio...

Carnivores are threatened across Sub-Saharan Africa mostly due to retaliatory killing by people, the loss of prey species and their habitats. Due to their food and space requirements, they regularly come into conflict with humans. In many regions, information about carnivore occurrence and human-carnivore conflict remains poorly known particularly...

The civil war in Côte d’Ivoire between 2002 and 2010 led to a hike in human disturbances and the disappearance of African lions (Panthera leo) from the Comoé National Park (CNP). After the crisis, many efforts to conserve and restore this ecosystem and its biodiversity have been made and the management authority is considering the reintroduction of...

White-eared Kob, Kobus kob leucotis , Lichtenstein & Peters, 1853, is known to occur in the Gambela-Boma landscape in western Ethiopia and South Sudan. They live in herds and are generally found near water, in such places as plains, woodlands, swamps, and flood plains. We deployed 36 camera traps in Omo National Park and one of them took two images...

Background Previous phylogeographic studies of the lion (Panthera leo) have improved our insight into the distribution of genetic variation, as well as a revised taxonomy which now recognizes a northern (Panthera leo leo) and a southern (Panthera leo melanochaita) subspecies. However, existing whole range phylogeographic studies on lions either con...

Urban spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in Ethiopia are a prime example of large carnivores coexisting with little to no conflict with people in a human-dominated landscape, providing a valuable waste-removal service. To gain insight in how this urban lifestyle persists across generations, we studied hyena group composition at the city waste dump of...

Conflict with humans and habitat fragmentation are major threats to large carnivores in Africa, and transboundary protected areas may ease some of the space requirements for individual countries. The W‐Arly‐Pendjari complex (WAP) in West Africa sits across Benin, Burkina Faso and Niger and is the last regional stronghold for many species, including...

Ethiopia is renowned for its cultural and biological diversity and covers an important share of lion habitat in Africa, providing connectivity between East and Central Africa. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of lions and human–lion conflict in several protected areas of Ethiopia and to present an overview on lion distribution na...

African lions ( Panthera leo ) and African savanna ( Loxodonta africana ) and forest ( L. cyclotis ) elephants pose threats to people, crops, and livestock, and are themselves threatened with extinction. Here, we map these human-wildlife conflicts across Africa. Eighty-two percent of sites containing lions and elephants are adjacent to areas with c...

We use comparable 2005 and 2018 population data to assess threats driving the decline of lion Panthera leo populations, and review information on threats structured by problem tree and root cause analysis. We define 11 threats and rank their severity and prevalence. Two threats emerged as affecting both the number of lion populations and numbers wi...

In African wildlife conservation literature, southern and southeastern African voices dominate, giving a false impression of pan-Africanism. We present divergent perspectives from West, Central and the Horn of Africa and argue that empathy towards multiple perspectives offers increased resilience to COVID-19 and other crises.

Large carnivore populations have suffered declines worldwide. For the African continent, these have been particularly strong in West and Central Africa. The Bénoué Complex in North Cameroon, located in Central Africa, is a key landscape for their conservation. We determined spatiotemporal trends in lion (Panthera leo), leopard (Panthera pardus) and...

This study investigates potential climate change impact on river flow in the Geba basin in northern Ethiopia. Application of a spatially distributed hydrological model with downScaled climate prediction data reveals that river flow will significantly reduce in the future, likely leading to increased water stress in the forthcoming decades.

Background Previous phylogeographic studies of the lion ( Panthera leo ) have improved our insight into the distribution of genetic variation, as well as a revised taxonomy which now recognizes a northern ( Panthera leo leo ) and a southern ( Panthera leo melanochaita ) subspecies. However, existing whole range phylogeographic studies on lions eith...

We used bibliometric data to show that Black, African, and women researchers are underrepresented among authors of field studies on lions (Panthera leo) in Africa. This may lead to biased representation in institutions dealing with lion research and conservation and reinforce disenfranchisement with one of the most emblematic species in Africa. We...

Lake Abaya and Lake Chamo are the two largest Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes; they are located close to each other, but have a strikingly different water transparency. We explain key differences in the structure and the functioning of the food web with variation in limnological variables and major pelagic food web compartments within and across both l...

Human-lion conflict is one of the leading threats to lion populations and while livestock loss is a source of conflict, the degree to which livestock depredation is tolerated by people varies between regions and across cultures. Knowledge of local attitudes towards lions and identification of drivers of human-lion conflict can help formulate mitiga...

Questionnaire used for household survey data collection. (PDF)

De-identified household survey dataset with keys for coded responses. (XLSX)

Despite their iconic status, lion (Panthera leo) populations continue to decline across the majority of their range. In the light of the recent decision (in October 2017) to add lions to the Appendices of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), this paper identifies the new and existing legal protections afforded to lions through five global tre...

Lions have often been discussed under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild flora and fauna (CITES). While CITES decisions on species trade regimes are ostensibly based on science, species data are often inconclusive and political considerations inevitably determine outcomes. We present the context of lion conservation...

Human–wildlife conflict is one of the major challenges in conservation biology. Here, we investigated the human–wildlife conflicts and their impacts in and around Chebera-Churchura National Park, Ethiopia. We conducted semistructured interview for 300 people and five focus group discussions from November 2010 to January 2011. In addition, scats of...

The 2 largest Ethiopian Rift Valley lakes, Abaya and Chamo, are dominant socioecological systems with important potential for ecotourism because of their attractive setting with Nechisar National Park. We report on changes in water quality in these lakes during recent decades. We integrated data on key limnological variables during the last 55 year...

Lion survey results in the WAP. Columns 1–5 are taken from Bouché et al. [1] and columns 6–7 are from their original survey report, the other columns show our original calculations. Note that distance to water is not a significant factor at the level of individual Hunting Zones and therefore we calculated estimates without stratification, which exp...

We assessed losses of livestock to lions Panthera leo and leopards Panthera pardus in the Adiyo and Gimbo districts in Kafa Biosphere Reserve, Ethiopia. We quantified the economic impact, conducted household and group interviews, and explored potential solutions with local people. During 2009–2013 there were 350 and 62 attacks by lions and leopards...

We report densities of spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) and African golden wolf (Canis anthus) in Enderta district in northern Ethiopia with high human and low natural prey densities. We estimated spotted hyaena and African golden wolf abundance and characterized their spatial distribution with three methods we surveyed four road-transects for 66 n...

The concept of species niches has enhanced our understanding of community assembly and food web structure in a variety of ecosystem types. Niche‐based species sorting profoundly determines community composition along strong environmental gradients, while interspecific interactions tend to be more important within habitats at local spatial scales. T...

From December 3rd to December 13th 2014, NABU conducted an biodiversity assessment at the Ethiopian Kafa Biosphere Reserve (BR). A multidisciplinary team of 18 international and 12 Ethiopian experts supported by 23 local field guides carried out intense field work at selected sites at the Kafa BR.

Collisions between wildlife and aircraft are a serious concern both for economic and safety reasons. Thus, to prevent bird strikes it is necessary for airports to sufficiently identify potential problems with hazardous bird species. The abundance and species composition of birds and their threat to aircrafts in Mekelle were investigated. Both point...

Most of the literature on vertical coordination and its impact on farm performance and farmer wellbeing deal with high-value or modern food supply chains, including export chains and chains dominated by large international supermarkets or other forms of foreign direct investment. The impact of vertical coordination mechanisms in local food supply c...

Wildlife migration in Ethiopia and South Sudan longer than ‘the longest in Africa’: a response to Naidoo et al. - Pablo Schapira, Marina Monica, Gatluak Gatkoth Rolkier, Hans Bauer

Ethiopian farmers have been using an ox-drawn breaking plough, known as _ard_ plough – _maresha,_ for thousands of years. _Maresha_ is a pointed, steel-tipped tine attached to a draught pole at an adjustable shallow angle. It has narrow side-wings, attached to the left and right side of it, to push soil to either side without inverting. The aim of...

Comparative phylogeography of African savannah mammals shows a congruent pattern in which populations in West/Central Africa are distinct from populations in East/Southern Africa. However, for the lion, all African populations are currently classified as a single subspecies (Panthera leo leo), while the only remaining population in Asia is consider...

In dismissing the conclusions of our paper, “Lion (Panthera leo) populations are declining rapidly across Africa, except in intensively managed areas,” Riggio et al. (1) misrepresent our treatment of specific survey sites and raise erroneous objections to our overall statistical approach.

Significance At a regional scale, lion populations in West, Central, and East Africa are likely to suffer a projected 50% decline over the next two decades, whereas lion populations are only increasing in southern Africa. Many lion populations are either now gone or expected to disappear within the next few decades to the extent that the intensivel...

Compensation schemes can contribute to equitable sharing of benefits from wildlife. We describe a scheme that uses tourist fees for partial and conditional compensation of damage to livestock caused by wildlife on Kuku Group Ranch, Kenya. The explicit aim of the scheme is to decrease the killing of lions Panthera leo by Maasai on community land in...

Context The spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) lives in remarkably close proximity to humans in the degraded and prey-depleted landscapes in Tigray in northern Ethiopia, predominantly feeding on human organic waste. Aims We sought to provide an estimate of spotted hyena abundance at garbage dumps and open agricultural areas across Tigray. Methods We...

Context Reproduction and survival are two of the most important demographic factors that play a major role in changing population abundances of pest species over time and space, solid understanding of which is a useful input to forecast future population changes for proactive management. Aims We investigated the effects of rainfall, crop-developme...

People who perceive economic benefits and enjoy unrestricted access to natural resources tend to support ecosystem conservation efforts. Our study explores whether this remains true in remnant patches of Afroalpine ecosystem in North Ethiopia, where communal land provides valuable natural resources for the local communities and also sustain small p...

Context Livestock depredation and scavenging of waste by the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) occurs widely across Ethiopia. Aims The aim of this study was to investigate the food base of the spotted hyena and livestock depredation across Ethiopia. Methods The diet of spotted hyenas was assessed in 17 randomly selected study sites across the count...

Long-term in situ soil and water conservation experiments are rare in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Eastern Africa. A long-term experiment was conducted (2005–2013) on a Vertisol to quantify the impacts of resource-conserving agriculture (RCA) on runoff, soil loss, soil fertility and crop productivity and economic profitability in northern Et...

The global shift towards renewable energy is manifested in developing countries such as Ethiopia primarily because of continuous economic growth in the last two decades and secondly due to the vast untapped potential resources. In addition to other factors, the lack of accurate data of the resources has, however, hampered the development of solar e...

In this study, we were interested in understanding if droughts influence the home range of predators such as lions, and if it does, in what ways the droughts influenced lions to adjust their home range, in response to prey availability. We monitored movements of ten lions fitted with GPS-GSM collars in order to analyze their home range and movement...

1. In semi-arid regions, the construction of small reservoirs is important in alleviating water shortage, although many have poor water quality with high turbidity and dense blooms of algae and cyanobacteria, and there are large differences in the ecology of such reservoirs. 2. We took advantage of two exceptionally dry years in northern Ethiopia t...

Riverine fish that colonize reservoirs can have a strong influence on the ecology of these systems. To understand this impact, it is important to know what they feed upon. In the reservoirs, they are exposed to different food sources compared to the riverine environment. We studied diet of 404 specimens belonging to two species of the riverine cypr...

Conservation agriculture (CA) is often quoted as a beneficial resource-saving technique for dryland agriculture, but its large-scale implementation is frequently hindered by the lack of farmers’ acceptance. To date, few studies have investigated the impact of spatial factors, costs and benefits and regional agroecosystem differentiation on adoption...

The generally accepted wisdom that large carnivores cannot survive in human dominated landscapesdoes not hold true in Ethiopia. The present work reports on spotted hyena abundance and distribution inand around three National Forest Priority Areas in Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Calling stations were usedto assess spotted hyena abundance and distribut...

The use of the marasha ard plough for conservation agriculture in Northern Ethiopia Indigenous tillage systems are often undervalued in conservation agriculture (CA). In Ethiopia, since the 1970s there have been several attempts to develop and implement often major modifications to the marasha, the traditional ox-drawn ard plough, with the main ai...

First letter: This Letter to the Editor, as well as the companion Letter to the Editor (African Zoology 49(1): 2–4, 2014) and Short communication (African Zoology 47(2): 353–357, October 2012) that it implicates/refers to, have been retracted by the Editors-in-Chief and neither the electronic nor the print version of the short communication or the...

The role of post-1991 ethnic-based federalism on conflicts along regional boundaries has been a topic of great dispute in Ethiopianist literature. This article sheds new light on the on-going debate based on original ethnographic material from the Afar-Tigray regional border zone. Contrary to other studies, conflicts appear to have reduced in that ar...