Resource selection modeling reveals potential conflicts involving reintroduced lions in Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa

Ecotourism has motivated efforts to reintroduce lions (Panthera leo) to landscapes where they were not previously common. In 2002, four lions were reintroduced into the fenced Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa to improve ecotourism opportunities, but lions potentially compete for habitat with humans...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of zoology (1987) Vol. 296; no. 2; pp. 124 - 132
Main Authors: Millspaugh, J. J., Rittenhouse, C. D., Montgomery, R. A., Matthews, W. S., Slotow, R.
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: London Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.06.2015
Subjects:
Autumn
Carnivores
Ecology
Ecotourism
Grasslands
Habitats
Herbivores
lions
National parks
Natural resources
Panthera leo
radiotelemetry
resource selection
Sand
Seasons
South Africa
Spatial distribution
Spring
Wildcats
Wildlife conservation
Winter
South Africa
ISSN:0952-8369, 1469-7998
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:Ecotourism has motivated efforts to reintroduce lions (Panthera leo) to landscapes where they were not previously common. In 2002, four lions were reintroduced into the fenced Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa to improve ecotourism opportunities, but lions potentially compete for habitat with humans and endemic herbivores of conservation concern. We developed a population‐level resource selection function to map the relative probability of lion occurrence throughout Tembe Elephant Park to predict the spatial distribution of potential conflicts. In winter, high relative probability of lion occurrence spatially overlapped with Muzi reedbeds/hygrophilous grassland habitat, which is where humans gather natural resources. Comparatively, we found no spatial overlap with sand forest habitat used by endemic herbivores. The results were opposite in summer, with lion occurrence overlapping sand forest habitat and no predicted overlap with Muzi reedbeds/hygrophilous grassland habitat. During spring and autumn, the highest relative probability of lion occurrence spatially overlapped both Muzi reedbeds/hygrophilous grassland and sand forest habitats. These results show that lions might compete with humans in winter, spring and autumn and with endemic herbivores in all seasons but winter. Despite the success of reserve fencing in limiting human–lion conflicts, we show that communities that reintroduce carnivores continue to balance relative reward, associated with ecotourism, and risks to human safety and species of conservation concern. We discuss the importance of dynamic management practices that ensure temporal segregation between humans and lions within specific habitat types.
Bibliography:Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife
University of KwaZulu-Natal
Sam Terblanche
Wildlands Conservation Trust
istex:D72672B72D41082319F111E978A3D716E7EDEE74
ark:/67375/WNG-3F08JJ4D-R
ArticleID:JZO12224
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-1
content type line 14
ISSN:0952-8369
1469-7998
DOI:10.1111/jzo.12224