Understanding the black-backed jackal

This paper reviews what we know about black-backed jackal ecology, drawing implications for managing human-wildlife conflict with this species. We review the research literature on the black-backed jackals in the context of other African jackal species and with regard to its diet (part 1), its breeding, territoriality and sociality (part 2), and its role as a ‘problem animal’ for small stock farmers (part 3). We argue that both the historical record (see also Nattrass et al., 2017) and the scientific research points to the need to understand the black-backed jackal as a very adaptable animal whose diet, breeding strategies and social arrangements are context-dependent. We draw implications for the management of black-backed jackal predation (part 4) and need for further research, especially on farmlands and landscapes undergoing a transformation in land use. The paper is part of an inter-disciplinary project about sheep farming and predators in the Karoo

A brief history of predators, sheep farmers and government in the Western Cape, South Africa

This paper provides a brief history of the conflict between South African sheep farmers and predators (and we touch also on the debate between diverse stakeholders over how best to respond to that conflict). We focus in particular on black-backed jackals and commercial sheep farmers in the Western Cape Karoo, drawing on historical sources, colonial records, early ecological thinking and observations by farmers to paint a picture of this dynamic conflict. The paper forms part of an inter-disciplinary project about sheep farming and predators in the Karo

On the need for rigorous welfare and methodological reporting for the live capture of large carnivores: A response to de Araujo et al. (2021)

1.De Araujo et al. (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2021, https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13516) described the development and application of a wire foot snare trap for the capture of jaguars Panthera onca and cougars Puma concolor. Snares are a commonly used and effective means of studying large carnivores. However, the article presented insufficient information to replicate the work and inadequate consideration and description of animal welfare considerations, thereby risking the perpetuation of poor standards of reporting. 2.Appropriate animal welfare assessments are essential in studies that collect data from animals, especially those that use invasive techniques, and are key in assisting researchers to choose the most appropriate capture method. It is critical that authors detail all possible associated harms and benefits to support thorough review, including equipment composition, intervention processes, general body assessments, injuries (i.e. cause, type, severity) and post-release behaviour. We offer a detailed discussion of these shortcomings. 3.We also discuss broader but highly relevant issues, including the capture of non-target animals and the omission of key methodological details. The level of detail provided by authors should allow the method to be properly assessed and replicated, including those that improve trap selectivity and minimize or eliminate the capture of non-target animals. 4.Finally, we discuss the central role that journals must play in ensuring that published research conforms to ethical, animal welfare and reporting standards. Scientific studies are subject to ever-increasing scrutiny by peers and the public, making it more important than ever that standards are upheld and reviewed. 5. We conclude that the proposal of a new or refined method must be supported by substantial contextual discussion, a robust rationale and analyses and comprehensive documentation

The bii4africa dataset of faunal and floral population intactness estimates across Africa’s major land uses

Sub-Saharan Africa is under-represented in global biodiversity datasets, particularly regarding the impact of land use on species’ population abundances. Drawing on recent advances in expert elicitation to ensure data consistency, 200 experts were convened using a modified-Delphi process to estimate ‘intactness scores’: the remaining proportion of an ‘intact’ reference population of a species group in a particular land use, on a scale from 0 (no remaining individuals) to 1 (same abundance as the reference) and, in rare cases, to 2 (populations that thrive in human-modified landscapes). The resulting bii4africa dataset contains intactness scores representing terrestrial vertebrates (tetrapods: ±5,400 amphibians, reptiles, birds, mammals) and vascular plants (±45,000 forbs, graminoids, trees, shrubs) in sub-Saharan Africa across the region’s major land uses (urban, cropland, rangeland, plantation, protected, etc.) and intensities (e.g., large-scale vs smallholder cropland). This dataset was co-produced as part of the Biodiversity Intactness Index for Africa Project. Additional uses include assessing ecosystem condition; rectifying geographic/ taxonomic biases in global biodiversity indicators and maps; and informing the Red List of Ecosystems

Characteristics, determinants and management of farmer-predator conflict in a multi-use dryland system, South Africa

Extensive livestock farming provides an important source of food and fibre for humans and is often the only commercially viable land use in the more arid regions of the globe. Pastoralism can however lead to natural habitat degradation, fragmentation of landscape by fencing and conflict between livestock farmers and predators. Collectively these impacts have been identified as major threats to biodiversity in general and predators in particular. In the semi-arid Central Karoo region of South Africa, extensive small-livestock farming is the primary use of land and provides local predators with a plentiful supply of unguarded, easy-to-catch sheep in addition to permanent artificial water sources. The result is a widespread and pervasive conflict between farmers and predators and amongst diverse stakeholders on how to best manage both livestock and predators to reduce such conflict. A major impediment to understanding human-predator conflict on farmland and its impacts on biodiversity is the paucity of relevant applied research. Most research on mesopredators in South Africa has been conducted in protected areas (PA) or at the level of a single farm, precluding the generalisation of results to broader regions, and therefore limiting our understanding of the conflict on farmlands more generally. In this thesis I sought to better understand farmer-predator conflict in the Karoo region of South Africa with an emphasis on measuring the impacts of livestock farming on wildlife in general and how predators in particular impact livestock. I hypothesized that ecological, environmental and socio-economic factors would all contribute to the negative interactions between predators and small-livestock farmers, and to the persistence of the two most prevalent predators in the region, the black-backed jackal (Canis mesomelas) and the caracal (Caracal caracal), despite sustained lethal control. I addressed this hypothesis by first using camera trapping surveys to compare wildlife species richness on farmland with a nearby and similar-sized PA to assess the impacts of small-livestock farming on wildlife diversity and occupancy, notably predators. I then used scat analysis to compare the diet of jackal and caracal with those of conspecifics living in the PA to understand whether predators on farmland are targeting livestock or simply including them opportunistically in their diet. I also used Global Positioning System (GPS) clusters from collars affixed to mesopredators to determine whether jackal and caracal actively kill versus scavenge on livestock. Finally, I performed spatially-explicit interviews using semistructured questionnaires with farmers to assess the distribution and severity of the conflict with jackal, caracal and chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), to explore the potential environmental and socio-economic drivers of reported livestock losses, the attitudes to predators and the use of lethal methods to control predators. Contrary to predictions, species richness was similar on farmland and the PA while community structure, diversity and composition all differed with land use. Species richness and probability of use both varied with environmental factors but not with human disturbance. Diet differed markedly for jackal and caracal between the two land uses, with micromammals and plants dominating mesopredator diet in the PA and livestock on farmland. By combining the results of the biodiversity surveys with the diet analysis, I was able to assess prey preference by predators on medium and large iv vertebrates. The results revealed that while both jackal and caracal consumed more livestock on farmland than wild prey, only jackal showed a preference for livestock. The results of scat and GPS cluster analyses were consistent reinforcing the findings that mesopredators actively killed livestock on farmland but not from within the PA, even when individuals crossed onto neighbouring farms. Survey results showed that farmers perceive the severity of the conflict with jackal, caracal and baboon to be increasing, especially since the 2000s. There was a positive relationship between perceived livestock losses and both environmental (e.g. terrain ruggedness) and socio-economic (e.g. decrease in farm worker numbers) factors. Surprisingly, negative attitudes towards jackal and caracal were not significantly linked to the percentage of lamb losses but rather to their belief that predators should be confined to PAs. Tolerance was best explained by the perceived aesthetic appeal of both jackal and caracal. Finally, I showed that farmers preferred to use lethal versus non-lethal control methods to manage predation, including poison, because non-lethal methods were considered to be expensive, unpractical, labour intensive and less effective. The use of poison was driven by ecological (e.g. having jackal, caracal and baboon as the top three predators on the farm) and socio-economic (e.g. decrease in farm worker numbers) factors. Together, my results suggest that jackal and caracal, like many other mesocarnivores worldwide, display a remarkable ability to adapt to human-modified landscape, using both rangeland and the PA to feed on a diverse range of prey species. Even if small-livestock farms in the Central Karoo still host important components of indigenous biodiversity, the lack of government support and incentives to protect wildlife, the changes in farming practices, the associated increase in natural habitat from which predators can recolonise commercial farmland, and the reduced labour force may together result in farmers increasing their reliance on non-selective lethal control methods to protect their livestock. Of particular concern is the widespread use of illegal poisoning. If we are to find an appropriate balance between farming and conserving biodiversity on farmland, then a new approach will be required to this very old problem. Resource-constrained conservation authorities will need to be backed by multi-stakeholders’ engagements. Farmers will need to be supported through funds to increase farm worker numbers on farms and through improved livestock husbandry measures based on scientific research conducted at the appropriate temporal and spatial scales. The conflict between predators and farmers in the Karoo is complex and multifactorial, involving environmental, ecological, and socioeconomic factors. Finding solutions to limit its impacts is a societal decision at the crux of the debate between conservation and development and requires better use of available funding and multidisciplinary teams to tackle the issue

Beauty or beast? Farmers' dualistic views and the influence of aesthetic appreciation on tolerance towards black-backed jackal and caracal.

Various species of wild, adaptable, medium-sized carnivores occur outside of protected areas, often coming into contact with people and their domestic animals. Negative human-carnivore interactions can lead to antagonistic attitudes and behavior directed at such species. In the South African Karoo, a semi-arid rangeland, the predation of small-livestock by mesopredators is common and farmers typically use a combination of non-lethal and lethal methods to try and prevent livestock losses. We used ethnographic field observations and semi-structured interviews as part of a mixed methods approach, including the quantitative and qualitative analysis of farmers' narratives to illustrate the nuanced ways in which sheep farmers relate to the two mesopredators that consume the most livestock on their farms; black-backed jackal and caracal. Overall, farmers attributed negative characteristics to jackal and caracal but farmers' narratives provided evidence of complex perceptions in that the animals were admired as well as disliked. Both species were seen as charismatic due to traits such as their physical appearance, their "cunning" nature and their remarkable adaptability to human activities, including lethal control. Aesthetic appreciation was an important predictor of tolerance towards both species whereas negative attitudes were associated with the perception that mesopredators should only occur within protected areas. Attitudes towards jackals also appeared to have been affected by cultural representations of them as "thieves". We showed that perceiving mesopredators as beautiful increased the average marginal probability of a farmer tolerating them, and that this strong relationship held when controlling for other covariates such as livestock predation. We advocate the importance of understanding the cultural and aesthetic aspects of predators and considering existing positive dimensions of human-wildlife relationships that may encourage increased farmers' tolerance, which might promote coexistence

Spatial, temporal and attitudinal dimensions of conflict between predators and small-livestock farmers in the Central Karoo

Conflict between predators and small-livestock farmers is a global phenomenon adversely impacting the preservation of wildlife, the well-being of livestock and human livelihoods. Such conflict is pervasive in the Karoo region of South Africa but its contemporary history and various causes remain poorly understood. In this study, we interviewed 77 small-livestock farmers in the Central Karoo between July 2014 and March 2015 to (1) assess the spatio-temporal distribution and severity of the reported predation problems with the main regional predators of livestock (black-backed jackal, caracal and baboon) and (2) describe the perceived reasons for changes in predator numbers. Farmers reported that serious predation problems have increased since the 1990s for all three predators. Jackal predation appears to have re-emerged, particularly since the 2000s, while baboon predation seems to have escalated rapidly since 2014 for select farmers. Farms with more rugged terrain were more likely to experience serious problems with baboons and caracal but ruggedness did not predict the year of onset of problems. Farmers perceive predator numbers to be increasing and attribute this trend to declining government support for predator management, changes in farming practices and the associated increase in suitable predator habitat, from which they can recolonise commercial farms.Keywords: black-backed jackal, caracal, chacma baboon, questionnaire, rangeland

Caracal caracal (Carnivora: Felidae)

Caracal caracal (Schreber, 1776) is a felid commonly called the caracal. It is a slender, medium-sized cat (5.8–22 kg) characterized by a short tail and long ear tufts. C. caracal has a wide distribution and is found throughout Africa, north to the Arabian Peninsula, the Middle East, central and southwest Asia into India; its habitat includes arid woodlands, savanna, scrublands, hilly steppes, and arid mountainous regions. It is globally listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources as “Least Concern” despite population trends unknown across most of its geographic distribution. The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora lists Asian populations under Appendix I and African populations under Appendix II.Open access articleThis item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Molecular detection of tick-borne pathogens in caracals (Caracal caracal) living in human-modified landscapes of South Africa

Background: Wild carnivores living alongside humans and domestic animals are vulnerable to changes in the infectious disease dynamics in their populations. The aims of this study were to determine the prevalence and diversity of selected tick-borne pathogens (TBPs) of veterinary and/or zoonotic concern in wild populations of caracals (Caracal caracal) occurring in human-modified landscapes in South Africa. Using molecular techniques, we screened 57 caracal blood samples for infection by rickettsial bacteria and piroplasms in three regions of South Africa: rangeland in the Central Karoo (n = 27) and Namaqualand (n = 14) as well as the urban edge of the Cape Peninsula (n = 16) of South Africa. To characterise pathogen identity, we sequenced the 18S rRNA and 16S rRNA genes from positive samples and analysed sequences within a phylogenetic framework. We also examine the diversity of potential tick vectors. Results: All individuals tested were infected with at least one tick-borne pathogen. Pathogens included Hepatozoon felis, Babesia felis, Babesia leo and a potentially novel Babesia species. An Anaplasma species previously described in South African domestic dogs was also found in 88% of urban edge caracals. Higher rates of co-infection characterised urban edge caracals (81% vs 15% and 0% in the two rangeland populations), as well as a greater incidence of mixed infections. Host attached tick species include Haemaphysalis elliptica, an important pathogen vector among carnivore hosts. Conclusions: This study confirms the occurrence of previously undocumented tick-borne pathogens infecting free-ranging caracals in human-modified landscapes. We identify clear differences in the pathogen profiles among our study populations and discuss the likely health costs to caracals living adjacent to urban areas.Arts and Sciences, Irving K. Barber School of (Okanagan)Non UBCBiology, Department of (Okanagan)ReviewedFacult