An evaluation of large carnivore translocations into free-range environments in Namibia

Around the world, large carnivores are involved in human wildlife conflict by killing livestock or compromising peoples’ safety. This results in widespread lethal persecution that contributes to carnivore population declines. Alternatively, translocation of so-called ‘problem animals’ is an often-used approach to resolve conflict non-lethally. However, translocations are rarely assessed in terms of their capacity to reduce conflict or their biological and financial implications. This study evaluates the efficacy of this strategy by investigating 22 intensively monitored translocations that were carried out into free-range environments in Namibia between 2008 and 2012. Translocations involved 23 cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) (plus 10 dependent offspring), six leopards (Panthera pardus) and one brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea). Translocation objectives included conflict mitigation and the rehabilitation of confiscated, indiscriminately trapped or orphaned individuals. Study animals were released at an average distance of 404.3 km (47 – 816 km) following captive periods ranging from 1 – 1,184 days. Using survival, livestock predation and homing as key measures of translocation success one year post-release, out of 27 individuals with known outcomes, 44.4% were successful. Success was higher for leopards (67%) than for cheetahs (40%), which were particularly unsuccessful if they habituated to human presence during prolonged captivity. Human-induced mortality accounted for most deaths in year one (58%; 10 cheetahs, one leopard, and the hyaena). Translocation success did not differ significantly by sex (M: 39%; F: 50%) or between hard (47%) and soft releases (40%). Regardless of species, release mode and recipient area size, all carnivores displayed extensive post-release movements ranging beyond protected area boundaries, but only two cheetahs returned to their capture site. Most animals that survived the first year successfully reproduced (five leopard cubs, 14 cheetah cubs) and settled into permanent ranges. Following an initial period of orientation and exploration, the ecology of translocated large carnivores reflects that of resident conspecifics. Only three case studies resulted in post-release conflict, but translocations did not resolve conflict on source properties permanently, leading to repeat requests for carnivore removals by those land managers. A farmland survey (26,090 km2, n = 221 respondents) demonstrated that conflict with, and persecution of, large carnivores remain widespread, suggesting a high potential demand for carnivore translocations. However, release area suitability modelling across Namibia’s protected area network showed that only a few public or private reserves can potentially accommodate individual cheetahs and leopards. Translocations are also costly, with a total expense of $80,681 in this study ($269 – $7,559 per individual). The main cost factor was tracking technology (56$5,983 (adjusted median) and 65% of all costs were recuperated from public support. Translocations can successfully conserve individual carnivores and help supplement low-density populations locally. However, due to its limited success, associated costs, and a high degree of variability in terms of outcomes, the strategy is not a feasible standard response to human-carnivore conflict. It is best reserved as a last-resort tool for the selective management of few individuals from highly endangered species. Where it is necessary, rigorous candidate and recipient area selection can improve outcomes significantly. Wildlife managers should predominantly aim at improving tolerance of large carnivores in unprotected, multi-use landscapes, thereby reducing the number of indiscriminately captured animals

Evaluation of a conflict-related brown hyaena translocation in central Namibia

The distribution of the brown hyaena (Hyaena brunnea) in southern Africa overlaps widely with commercial livestock ranching.As a direct result,both perceived and confirmed conflict with farmers occurs and hyaenas are trapped for lethal control or translocation.We studied the outcomes of a conflict-related brown hyaena translocation in Central Namibia involving a subadult female – the first reported GPS-monitored translocation of this species. The animal was moved 63 km from the conflict site and after exploratory movements settled into a new home range incorporating resident conspecifics. The hyaena caused no further conflict and did not return home to its original capture site where livestock depredation ceased. The hyaena was killed in a road accident five months after release. We assess and review our results (and brown hyaena translocations in general) with respect to species ecology, previous translocations as well as monitoring data from resident conspecifics.We provide supporting information that individual hyaenas can be translocated successfully but emphasize that decisions need to be made case-specifically considering the age, sex and social status of the animals. We highlight the importance of brown hyaena sociality when considering translocation as a management tool.Chester Zoo, U.K., and Colchester Zoo, U.K., for funding the GPS satellite transponders. The Brown Hyena Research Project acknowledges support from Namdeb Diamond Corporation and Nedbank’s Go Green Fund.http://www.sawma.co.zaam201

Tip- and laser-based 3D nanofabrication in extended macroscopic working areas

The field of optical lithography is subject to intense research and has gained enormous improvement. However, the effort necessary for creating structures at the size of 20 nm and below is considerable using conventional technologies. This effort and the resulting financial requirements can only be tackled by few global companies and thus a paradigm change for the semiconductor industry is conceivable: custom design and solutions for specific applications will dominate future development (Fritze in: Panning EM, Liddle JA (eds) Novel patterning technologies. International society for optics and photonics. SPIE, Bellingham, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2593229). For this reason, new aspects arise for future lithography, which is why enormous effort has been directed to the development of alternative fabrication technologies. Yet, the technologies emerging from this process, which are promising for coping with the current resolution and accuracy challenges, are only demonstrated as a proof-of-concept on a lab scale of several square micrometers. Such scale is not adequate for the requirements of modern lithography; therefore, there is the need for new and alternative cross-scale solutions to further advance the possibilities of unconventional nanotechnologies. Similar challenges arise because of the technical progress in various other fields, realizing new and unique functionalities based on nanoscale effects, e.g., in nanophotonics, quantum computing, energy harvesting, and life sciences. Experimental platforms for basic research in the field of scale-spanning nanomeasuring and nanofabrication are necessary for these tasks, which are available at the Technische Universität Ilmenau in the form of nanopositioning and nanomeasuring (NPM) machines. With this equipment, the limits of technical structurability are explored for high-performance tip-based and laser-based processes for enabling real 3D nanofabrication with the highest precision in an adequate working range of several thousand cubic millimeters

Lions Panthera leo prefer killing certain cattle Bos taurus types

Lion predation on cattle causes severe human–wildlife conflict that results in retaliatory persecution throughout the lion’s geographic range. Cattle closely resemble the body size, shape, and herding patterns of preferred lion prey species. We studied cattle depredation patterns in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and tested whether lions exhibited specific preferences based on cattle demographic characteristics (sex and age), as well as morphological traits (body mass, horn length, and pelage patterns). We also tested whether human disturbance of kills influenced lion energy intake and whether depredation circumstances influenced loss levels. Lions predominantly killed cattle at night (87.1%) and exhibited no preference for either sex. Overall, bulls and calves were most preferred, whereas heifers were significantly avoided, as were cattle with uniform colour patterns. Cattle with mottled pelage patterns were most preferred, especially among free-roaming herds. Preferences were context-specific, with lions preferring inexperienced calves during enclosure attacks (including multiple cases of surplus killing) and free-roaming bulls and oxen. About 13% of adult cattle had no horns, and these were preferentially targeted by lions, while cattle with short horns were killed in accordance with their availability and long horned cattle were highly avoided. The contemporary morphology of Tswana cattle that resulted from unnatural selective pressures during domestication does not offer effective antipredatory protection. Human disturbance of feeding soon after kills occurred reduced cattle carcass consumption by >40% (or about 30 kg per carcass per lion). Lions killed significantly more cattle in nonfortified enclosures than in the veldt, although this was influenced by surplus killing. Our results suggest that cattle predation by lions is driven by availability and cavalier husbandry practices, coupled with morphological features associated with facilitating easy husbandry. Cattle no longer exhibit the key features that enabled their ancestors to coexist with large predators and are now reliant upon humans to perform critical antipredator activities. Hence, the responsibility for mitigating human–wildlife conflict involving lions and cattle lies with people in either breeding traits that minimise predation or adequately protecting their cattle.The National Geographic Society Big Cats Initiative, grant numbers B5-15, B10-16, B6-17, and Stichting SPOTS, grant number PIOP_2018. M.W.H. and M.J.S. were funded by the Australia–Africa Universities Network Partnership Research and Development Fund 2018. F.J.W. was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship of the University of Pretoria, number 16407522.https://www.mdpi.com/journal/animalshj2020Mammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

Seasonal selection of key resources by cattle in a mixed savannah-wetland ecosystem increases the potential for conflict with lions

In Africa's pastoral conservation landscapes, apex predators frequently kill livestock. Retaliatory persecution such as poisoning threatens predators, but also non-target biota. Several factors influence conflict severity, including livestock husbandry, overlap in seasonal habitat use, and the degree to which livestock perceive and are able to respond to a landscape of fear. We investigated these factors by GPS-tracking 42 Tswana beef cattle (Bos taurus) from 29 herds in 2017 and six lions (Panthera leo) from different prides (May 2016–Dec. 2017) in the northern Okavango Delta, Botswana, where cattle depredation significantly impacts the livelihoods of rural agro-pastoralists. Cattle exhibited seasonal habitat selection patterns similar to wild ungulates in the region. They preferred woodland habitats, with more digestible grasses, during the wet season. During the dry season, they preferred wetland habitats with reliable forage and water availability. Cattle also preferred areas close to human settlements, but the necessity to forage in wetlands during the dry season exposed them to significant depredation risk, especially >4 km from settlements. Lions killed most cattle in wetlands during the late dry season but the intensity of recent lion presence (previous 14 days) only had a weak negative effect on cattle habitat selection patterns. Cattle used rangelands according to nutritional requirements, irrelevant of the associated predation risk, suggesting that socio-ecologically acceptable conflict solutions cannot rely on the exclusion of livestock from seasonal wetlands. Curbing depredation by lions will best be achieved by a combination of resource- and predation-cognisant seasonal herding strategies with adequate livestock protection. Understanding the ecological constraints that intensify conflict is pertinent to any livestock production landscape with predator presence. It is also a central prerequisite for future land use planning and devolution of legal, controlled resource access rights through policy. Coexistence strategies must account for the strong reliance of people, their livestock, and wildlife on shared key resources. This is particularly important in large trans-frontier conservation areas where the successful merging of biodiversity conservation and rural development is a strategic goal. Omission will foster resentment and resistance to coexistence with apex predators, particularly if livestock productivity and human livelihoods are negatively affected.Grants received from the National Geographic Society (Big Cats Initiative grant numbers: B5-15, B10-16, B6-17), WWF's INNO Fund (grant no.: 17-03), and Stichting SPOTS Netherlands and its supporters. FJW was supported by a post-doctoral fellowship of the University of Pretoria. MJS was supported by a National Research Foundation Incentive grant.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon2020-09-01hj2019Centre for Wildlife ManagementMammal Research InstituteZoology and Entomolog

Size, shape and maintenance matter : a critical appraisal of a global carnivore conflict mitigation strategy – livestock protection kraals in northern Botswana

Fortified kraals are predator-proof enclosures designed to protect livestock at night. Globally, they show great promise in reducing depredation by carnivores, thus promoting co-existence with people. Their efficacy depends on effectiveness, durability, regular use, owner satisfaction, cost-efficiency, and design. We monitored 32 fortified kraals for 18 months in a high conflict area in northern Botswana (n = 427 kraal months) where lions (Panthera leo) frequently kill cattle. Monthly kraal use was 60% and was significantly influenced by kraal type, age, and shape. When used and maintained, kraals stopped livestock depredation. Due to poor maintenance, however, kraal age had a significant, negative influence on kraal use and effectiveness, compromising sustainability and cost-effectiveness. Fortified kraals built by a non-governmental organisation cost US$1322.36 per unit (n = 20) and mitigated a mean annual loss of$187.32. This suggests cost-recuperation after 7.0 years, or 2.3 times longer than observed kraal lifetime. Conversely, owner-built replicates cost $579.90 per unit (n = 4), recuperating investment after 3.1 years. Owner satisfaction was significantly higher for fortified kraals when compared with traditional kraals. However, owners of fortified kraals did not kraal their cattle more frequently than owners of traditional kraals. Regionally, the mean annual kraaling rate for 29 GPS-monitored cattle herds (n = 3360 nights) was 40$38,000 annually, however, kraal fortification alone does not provide a blanket solution to carnivore conflicts in Africa's agro-pastoral landscapes.Appendix 1. Mean daily cattle net displacement in northern Botswana in 2017.Appendix 2. Details of fortified livestock protection kraals and traditional kraal control groups in northern Botswana.Appendix 3. Cost details for fortified livestock protection kraals in northern Botswana.Appendix 4. GLM model output for monthly use of fortified livestock protection kraals in northern Botswana.The National Geographic Big Cats Initiative [grant numbers: B5-15, B10-16, B6-17], WWF's 2017 INNO fund, and Stichting SPOTS Netherlands and its supporters. MJS was supported by a National Research Foundation Incentive grant.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/biocon2019-09-01hj2018Centre for Wildlife ManagementMammal Research Institut

Lions at the gates : trans-disciplinary design of an early warning system to improve human-lion coexistence

Across Africa, lions (Panthera leo) are heavily persecuted in anthropogenic landscapes. Trans-disciplinary research and virtual boundaries (geofences) programmed into GPS-tracking transmitters offer new opportunities to improve coexistence. During a 24-month pilot study (2016–2018), we alerted communities about approaching lions, issuing 1,017 alerts to four villages and 19 cattle posts. Alerts reflected geofence breaches of nine lions (2,941 monitoring days) moving between Botswana’s Okavango Delta and adjacent agro-pastoral communities. Daily alert system costs per lion were US$18.54, or$5,460.24 per GPS deployment (n = 13). Alert-responsive livestock owners mainly responded by night-kraaling of cattle (68.9%), significantly reducing their losses (by $124.61 annually), whereas losses of control group and non-responsive livestock owners remained high ($317.93 annually). Community satisfaction with alerts (91.8%) was higher than for compensation of losses (24.3%). Study lions spent 26.3% of time monitored in geofenced community areas, but accounted for 31.0% of conflict. Manual alert distribution proved challenging, static geofences did not appropriately reflect human safety or the environment’s strong seasonality that influenced cattle predation risk, and tracking units with on-board alert functions often failed or under-recorded geofence breaches by 27.9%. These insufficiencies prompted the design of a versatile and autonomous lion alert platform with automated, dynamic geofencing. We co-designed this prototype platform with community input, thereby incorporating user feedback. We outline a flexible approach that recognizes conflict complexity and user community heterogeneity. Here, we describe the evolution of an innovative Information and Communication Technologies-based (ICT) alert system that enables instant data processing and community participation through interactive interfaces on different devices. We highlight the importance of a trans-disciplinary co-design and development process focussing on community engagement while synthesizing expertise from ethnography, ecology, and socio-informatics. We discuss the bio-geographic, social, and technological variables that influence alert system efficacy and outline opportunities for wider application in promoting coexistence and conservation.The National Geographic Big Cats Initiative, WWF’s INNO fund and Stichting SPOTS, NL, and its supporters. A post-doctoral fellowship at the University of Pretoria, a National Research Foundation Incentive grant and the Australia-Africa Universities Network.http://www.frontiersin.org/Ecology_and_Evolutionam2020Centre for Wildlife ManagementMammal Research Institut

Gastric cancer in autoimmune gastritis: A case-control study from the German centers of the staR project on gastric cancer research

Objectives Patients with autoimmune gastritis (AIG) are reported to have an increased risk of developing gastric cancer (GC). In this study, we assess the characteristics and outcomes of GC patients with AIG in a multicenter case-control study. Methods Between April 2013 and May 2017, patients with GC, including cancers of the esophagogastric junction (EGJ) Siewert type II and III, were recruited. Patients with histological characteristics of AIG were identified and matched in a 1:2 fashion for age and gender to GC patients with no AIG. Presenting symptoms were documented using a self-administered questionnaire. Results Histological assessment of gastric mucosa was available for 572/759 GC patients. Overall, 28 (4.9%) of GC patients had AIG (67 +/- 9 years, female-to-male ratio 1.3:1). In patients with AIG, GC was more likely to be localized in the proximal (i.e. EGJ, fundus, corpus) stomach (odds ratio (OR) 2.7, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.0-7.1). In GC patients with AIG, pernicious anemia was the leading clinical sign (OR 22.0, 95% CI 2.6-187.2), and the most common indication for esophagogastroduodenoscopy (OR 29.0, 95% CI 7.2-116.4). GC patients with AIG were more likely to present without distant metastases (OR 6.2, 95% CI 1.3-28.8) and to be treated with curative intention (OR 3.0, 95% CI 1.0-9.0). The five-year survival rates with 95% CI in GC patients with and with no AIG were 84.7% (83.8-85.6) and 53.5% (50.9-56.1), respectively (OR 0.25, 95% CI 0.08-0.75, p = 0.001). Conclusions Pernicious anemia leads to earlier diagnosis of GC in AIG patients and contributes significantly to a better clinical outcome