African Journal of Wildlife Research

The observed avoidance of small prey by large African carnivores is generally interpreted as reflecting the unsustainable trade-off between the nutritional returns against the costs of harvesting such small prey, following optimal foraging theory (e.g. Clements, Tambling, Hayward & Kerley 2014; Elliott, McTaggart Cowan & Holling 1977). By contrast, avoidance of large prey is interpreted as reflecting the risk for the predator associated with attacking such large prey, this risk exceeding the nutritional returns of such a large item (e.g. Clements et al. 2014; Hayward & Kerley 2005). This view is reinforced by the demonstration that the presence of horns reduces the preference of prey relative to body size (Clements, Tambling & Kerley 2016). However, even small prey may present a risk during capture and submission. Such risks are part of predator/prey co-evolution (Sunquist & Sunquist, 1997). The risk of small prey capture is, however, poorly documented and understood, and hence largely ignored. An example of such a risk is provided, and placed in the context of the literature to encourage further debate.

Large carnivores are key drivers of ecosystem structure and function, yet their populations are declining worldwide. African lion (Panthera leo) populations have decreased significantly in recent decades with an estimated 23 000 lions left in Africa. Successful conservation efforts rely on a sound understanding of how animals utilize their surrounding habitat. We used movement data from GPS collars to investigate patterns and drivers of seasonal space use by free-roaming lions in the Greater Mapungubwe Transfrontier Conservation Area (GM-TFCA). We developed individual and population-level resource utilization functions (RUF) from 2008 to 2015. RUFs relate non-uniform space use within a home range to landscape metrics in a multiple regression framework.We identified six landscape features hypothesized a priori to be good predictors of lion space use: land use, land cover, elevation, terrain ruggedness, distance to human settlements and rivers. Only elevation during the dry season was a significant factor detected for lion space use (β ± S.E.) (–0.278 ± 0.107, CI = –0.4881, –0.0676). Across seasons, lions varied in their avoidance of human settlements, but 12 of 18 (67%) individuals selected areas within their home ranges that were farther from human settlements. Lions moved randomly across the landscape independent of vegetation type regardless of season. In season-specific analyses, some lions avoided human settlements (dry season: 45%, [n = 10] utilized areas farther from settlements; wet season: 50% [n = 9]). The lack of avoidance of settlements by some lions in our study also confirms that individual variation among lions can lead to human–wildlife conflicts. Perhaps the most critical observation from our study is that individual lions acted very differently as they used the landscape, which suggests the need for management plans to be landscape and case-specific.

Artificial waterholes are a widely used, yet contested wildlife management practice in semi-arid environments.We evaluated wildlife water provisioning at four artificial waterholes in the southern region of the Kruger National Park.We documented daily waterhole visitation patterns of mammals during the wet and dry seasons using camera-traps. We recorded 26 mammal species at the waterholes, with African elephants (Loxodonta africana) and impalas (Aepyceros melampus) being the most abundant.We used generalized linear mixed models (GLMM) to determine which variables (season, time of day, water quality, and the presence of carnivores or elephants) would affect animal visitation. Waterhole visitation patterns differed according to time of day, but this effect remained relatively constant between seasons. More animals visited waterholes in the dry season compared to the wet season. Carnivore presence negatively affected impala abundance. Elephant presence did not affect impala and white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) visits to waterholes.Water quality also appeared to play a role in determining animal abundance. Based on our results, though obtained from a limited sample size, we suggest some management practices to be considered when deciding which waterholes should be closed down or left open.