We report densities of spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) and African golden wolf (Canis anthus) in Enderta district in northern Ethiopia with high human and low natural prey densities. We estimated... Show moreWe report densities of spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta) and African golden wolf (Canis anthus) in Enderta district in northern Ethiopia with high human and low natural prey densities. We estimated spotted hyaena and African golden wolf abundance and characterized their spatial distribution with three methods we surveyed four road-transects for 66 nights during dry (n = 41) and wet (n = 25) seasons, we used 34 calling stations and we mapped all active spotted hyaena dens at the time of the survey. The density of spotted hyaena and African golden wolf increased with proximity to towns where human density was higher. A total of 562 spotted hyaena and 63 African golden wolf responded to calling stations, leading to estimates of 1145 spotted hyaena and 166 African golden wolf in Enderta district. This method also found a significantly higher spotted hyaena and African golden wolf abundance in high human density areas. Maximum response radius was 2.8 km for spotted hyaena and 2.5 km for African golden wolf, and response probability was 0.83 for spotted hyaena and 0.8 for African golden wolf, respectively. We found 40 active spotted hyaena dens with 1507 remnants of prey, and the majority of the dens were located close to rivers and villages. Our findings show a positive relationship between spotted hyaena, African golden wolf and human concentrations that might demonstrate a case of exceptional coexistence of humans and carnivores, both at high densities. We suggest further investigations into co-adaptations between humans and predators in the study area. Show less
Context: Livestock depredation and scavenging of waste by the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) occurs widely across Ethiopia. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the food base of the... Show moreContext: Livestock depredation and scavenging of waste by the spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) occurs widely across Ethiopia. Aims: The aim of this study was to investigate the food base of the spotted hyena and livestock depredation across Ethiopia. Methods: The diet of spotted hyenas was assessed in 17 randomly selected study sites across the country, including two national parks, by scat analysis. We conducted an extensive survey of livestock depredation and economic impact in 10 randomly selected subdistricts using semistructured interviews with 3080 randomly selected households. Key results: We found that even spotted hyenas from national parks feed predominantly on anthropogenic waste. Households reported losses of 2230 domestic animals, 3.9% of their stock or an average annual financial loss of US$10.3 per household over the past five years. The diet of spotted hyenas showed only prey items of domestic origin except in Chebera Churchura National Park, where a few items of prey of wild species were found. Frequencies of prey remains of cattle, sheep, donkey and goat were highest in decreasing order. Key conclusions: Survival of hyenas in Ethiopia is thus largely and widely dependent on management of livestock conflict and waste. Some hairs in scats originated from depredation, but most food intake is from waste dumps and slaughterhouses. Implications: Waste management, spotted hyena persistence and environmental sanitation area are linked. Show less
Yirga, G.; Bauer, H.; Gebrehiwot, K.; Deckers, J. 2011
