Browsing by Author "Nyaliongo, Julius William"

Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Impact of human activities on the carnivore populations in the western corridor of the Serengeti ecosystem
    (University of Dar es Salaam, 2004) Nyaliongo, Julius William
    This study assessed the impact of humans on carnivore populations in the western corridor of the Serengeti during 2001 to 2002. The study involved transects counts of herbivores, carnivores and hunting signs in the western corridor of the Serengeti Ecosystem. It also included random searching for carnivores and the determination of flight distances of herbivores in the western and the central Serengeti together with interviewing local people residing in the western Serengeti. Herbivore densities did not correlate with lion, leopard and cheetah densities but did with that of spotted hyaenas. The commuting behaviour of spotted hyaenas allows them to travel long distances from their home territory and feed on migratory prey. High levels of illegal hunting occurred in sites with low levels of law enforcement and high densities of herbivores. The flight distances of herbivores were longer in the western corridor than in the central Serengeti. This is most probably due to hunting by human. Local people reported that carnivores were most responsible for most losses of livestock and that spotted hyaenas were the major predator. However, this study revealed that most livestock losses were due to diseases and theft. Control of disease transmission between wild and domestic carnivores through vaccination of domestic dogs was not successful because disease mortality of vaccinated and unvaccinated dogs did not differ. This study concluded that human activities had a negative impact on the distribution and abundance of large cats and recommended high level and strong law enforcement. Further studies on the human-carnivore conflicts and alternative income generating activities to local the communities in the western corridor are recommended.