Samantha K. Nicholson

Endangered Wildlife Trust | EWT · Conservation Science Unit

This study provides a framework to assess the feasibility of reintroducing carnivores into an area, using African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) as an example. The Great Fish River Nature Reserve in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, has been identified as a potential reserve to reintroduce wild dogs, and we applied this framework to provide a thr...

The largest part of the South African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) distribution occurs outside formally protected areas, making cheetahs vulnerable to conflict-related killings. This conflict is assumed to be directly related to negative attitudes of landowners towards predators. Our study assessed the socio-economic factors influencing landowner att...

A female cheetah Acinonyx jubatus captured on ranchland in 2014 was ‘hard released’ after ~3 months of ex situ boma-confinement, into Pilanesberg National Park PNP which simultaneously was colonised by two males. The female was monitored via satellite telemetry for a period of ~10 months, and interventions took place during this period to ensure ma...

South Africa is one of only seven countries with a viable population of African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus). The national population in 2017 was 372 adults and yearlings and comprised three subpopulations: 1) Kruger National Park (Kruger), 2) an intensively managed metapopulation established through reintroductions into isolated, fenced reserves, and...

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...

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...

African large carnivores have undergone significant range and population declines over recent decades. Although conservation planning and the management of threatened species requires accurate assessments of population status and monitoring of trends, there is evidence that biodiversity monitoring may not be evenly distributed or occurring where mo...

Monitoring population trends is important for evaluating the effectiveness of conservation interventions. An annual aerial census of three crane species, the Grey Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum, Blue Crane Anthropoides paradiseus and Wattled Crane Bugeranus carunculatus, was performed in KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa over the past 23 year...

Reversing biodiversity loss is a global imperative that requires setting aside sufficient space for species. In South Africa, an estimated area of 20 million ha is under wildlife ranching, a form of private land enterprise that adopts wildlife-based land uses for commercial gain. This land has potential to contribute towards biodiversity conservati...

Reliable estimates of wildlife mortality due to wildlife-vehicle collisions are key to understanding its impact on wildlife populations and developing strategies to prevent or reduce collisions. Standardised approaches for monitoring roadkill are needed to derive robust and unbiased estimates of mortality that are comparable across different study...

The private wildlife sector in South Africa must demonstrate value in the face of political pressures for economic growth, job creation and food security. Through structured survey questionnaires of landowners and managers from 276 private wildlife ranches, we describe patterns of wildlife-based land uses (WBLUs), estimate their financial and socia...

In partnership with the University of Pretoria, the Endangered Wildlife Trust’s Carnivore Conservation Programme collared six male and three female free-roaming Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) in the Thabazimbi area in Limpopo Province, South Africa. This study was undertaken to determine the spatial ecology of free-roaming Cheetahs that occur outside...

The Suricate is listed as Least Concern as it is relatively widespread in the assessment region, is present in several protected areas (notably in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park), and there are currently no major threats to the species. It occurs in habitats and regions that are largely intact and unlikely to be extensively transformed. Climate c...

Selous’ Mongoose is listed as Least Concern since although it is uncommon and likely living at low-density across its range (with possibly fewer than 1,000 mature individuals in the assessment region), it is relatively widespread, and occurs in well-protected savannah woodland and grassland habitats. The expansion of wildlife ranching in Limpopo ma...

Meller’s Mongoose is listed as Least Concern since, although it is uncommon and lives at low density across its distribution, the majority of its range encompasses well-protected savannah habitats, such as Kruger National Park. The expansion of wildlife ranching may have created additional suitable habitat, especially bordering Kruger. Although thi...

This species is listed as Least Concern as it is widespread within the assessment region and present in numerous protected areas and habitats, as long as there are termites available. Aardwolves can occupy open and degraded grassland where there is high termite abundance. The expansion of wildlife ranching may be increasing suitable habitat across...

This species is listed as Least Concern because it is common in conservation areas and occurs widely on farms throughout the assessment region. Bat-eared Foxes are occasionally persecuted mistakenly as damage-causing animals. However, these threats, while suspected to cause local declines periodically, are not expected to be affecting the populatio...

The Side-striped Jackal is listed as Least Concern as it appears to be expanding westwards into the Lowveld of South Africa and thus we infer that the population is increasing or at least stable. The species has been observed in areas where Black-backed Jackals (Canis mesomelas) have either been extirpated or have declined in Mpumalanga. Furthermor...

Background The International Crane Foundation (ICF) / Endangered Wildlife Trust’s (EWT) African Crane Conservation Programme has recorded 26 403 crane sightings in its database from 1978 to 2014. This sightings collection is currently ongoing and records are continuously added to the database by the EWT field staff, ICF/EWT Partnership staff, vario...

With a declining population of roughly 3000-5000 individuals in Africa, African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are one of the most endangered carnivores in the world. As the global human population expands, it is becoming increasingly unlikely that large portions of land will be set aside for conservation, especially in developing countries. Thus, recen...