Laikipia News and Events – Towards a sustainable future

October 2002

LIVING WITH LIONS
The Laikipia Predator Project
Mpala Research Centre

REDUCING LIVESTOCK LOSSES AND CONSERVING PREDATORS
Throughout Africa, populations of large predators are plummeting. There may be as few as 3,000 wild dogs, 15,000 cheetahs, and 20,000 lions left in the continent as a whole.

Laikipia District is one of the few areas in Kenya that still supports significant populations of large predators outside national parks and reserves. We estimate that there are 90-120 adult lions in the area, as well as healthy populations of spotted and striped hyaenas, leopards and cheetahs. Most importantly, the highly endangered African wild dog is making a remarkable comeback. The persistence of these populations is a testament to wildlife-friendly management by most residents of Laikipia.

Our studies have shown - not surprisingly - that properties that lose fewer livestock to predators tend to kill fewer predators. This suggests that we can conserve predators more successfully if we can prevent them from killing livestock. Better management may not only reduce livestock losses today - it should also prevent young predators from learning to take stock in the first place.

How can we best manage livestock to minimise losses to predators? The science of predator management is in its infancy, and every livestock producer has their own opinions on which practices best protect stock. One goal of the Laikipia Predator Project has been to investigate which of the techniques currently used are most effective. In this brief article, we summarise our preliminary findings, from a study led by Mordecai Ogada. Few of these recommendations will come as a surprise, but we now have the data to help make them with more confidence.

None of these measures are expensive, most costing much less than the value of a single cow lost to a predator.

CO-ORDINATED MANAGEMENT
Because large predators wander widely, it is very important that management standards are consistently high across properties. Even if most ranches and communities practice 'predator friendly' management, many carnivores may still be killed on those that do not. Thus, one ranch that loses lots of livestock due to poor management may end up killing many lions or hyaenas that cause few problems on neighbouring properties using better management practices. Thus, a few properties may compromise conservation goals for the whole district.

BOMA DESIGN
Our studies show that good boma design and construction is by far the most important factor in protecting livestock from predators. (A boma is a traditional enclosure for livestock to overnight in - also known as corral or kraal)

The stronger the better: Bomas built from Acacia bush were best at protecting livestock from predators. For cattle, Acacia bomas were slightly better than those built of solid posts or stone, as well as open bomas. For sheep and goats, Acacia bomas performed much better than wire pens.

We found that the height of walls was much less important than their thickness, especially at cattle bomas. Thick walls were especially effective at preventing lion attacks, presumably because they prevented cattle from breaking out; doors should also be as solid as possible. Thick bush at the bottom may also help prevent hyaenas from pushing through, but thick walls did not deter leopards. We plan to experiment with cantilevered barbed wire above the walls of bomas with serious leopard problems.
Internal structure: A boma with several internal 'rooms' is much more effective at protecting both cattle and sheep & goats than a simple one room boma, especially from lion attacks.

Human activity: Lions, leopards and hyaenas all took far fewer sheep, goats and cattle from bomas where more houses were present. The number of houses reflects the number of people living at a boma, and it is difficult to know exactly what deters predators from human activity. However, we have noticed that predators tend to attack from the direction where there are fewest houses. We appreciate that farm managers may not wish to have large numbers of people living at boma, so we plan to experiment with other approaches that mimic human presence, such as playing a radio at night.

Dogs: Having one or more dogs present at the boma may reduce predation on cattle, especially by lions. Dogs may also help to discourage predators when livestock are out grazing, although we have not yet been able to test this scientifically. However, domestic dogs may carry diseases that can be transmitted to wildlife, especially to endangered African wild dogs. For this reason, all domestic dogs must be vaccinated regularly against rabies and canine distemper, and their numbers be strictly controlled. This will also help to protect people and livestock from rabies. Another drawback to keeping dogs is that they may be used for hunting.

Firearms: Our studies show that bomas at which there is an armed night guard suffer fewer losses to lions. This may be because guards are able to scare lions away, or because lions learn to avoid bomas where they are shot at.

HERDING
Diligent herding is extremely important in protecting livestock from predators.
By day, sheep and goat herds with a high ratio of herders to livestock (i.e. smaller herds or more herders) lost fewer livestock to both lions and cheetahs.
By night, many livestock are taken by predators - especially hyaenas - when they are left out of bomas by accident. However, there are very few strays lost to hyaenas in the communities, where people are herding their own animals and on commercial ranches with systems for motivating and rewarding good herding.

WILD PREY
Most predators prefer to take wild prey. In fact, given the large numbers of livestock in Laikipia it is surprising how FEW are taken where predators have alternatives. It is our impression that abundant wild prey reduces the likelihood of predators turning to cattle and sheep - we are now testing this idea.

OUR THANKS
Laikipia District is in the forefront of conservation in East Africa, and many properties have generously participated in the preliminary research presented here. We thank all who have helped, and look forward to continued collaboration. "Predator-friendly" management that we develop as a community in Laikipia will be a model for better conservation in the rest of Africa.

This work has been supported by grants from the Wildlife Conservation Society, the African Wildlife Foundation, East African Wildlife Society, National Geographic, Sea World, Inc., the Potrero Nuevo Fund and other conservation foundations.

More information: We are happy to provide details of the scientific analyses that we used to produce this leaflet.

Laurence Frank and Rosie Woodroffe
Mpala Research Centre; Tel. 0176-32758
lgfrank@uclink.berkeley.edu rwoodroffe@ucdavis.edu