Status Report for the Cheetah in Botswana
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Status Report for the Cheetah in Botswana Rebecca Klein1 1 Cheetah Conservation Botswana, Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Private Bag 0457, Gaborone, Botswana [email protected] Historically, cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus have been distributed throughout Botswana. With once pristine habitat, very low human populations and one of the largest concentrations of ungulates on the continent, space and prey were plentiful. However, the last 40 years have seen great changes in the natural habitat, with overstocking of livestock, range partitioning, the arrival of deep borehole technology and the erection of cordon fences causing dramatic reductions in wildlife populations and the overall integrity of the Kala- hari ecosystems. This report assesses current national cheetah status and distribution, detailing the factors presently affecting these populations. History Little historical data is available on chee- CKGR at a density of 0.25-0.26 chee- likely to be very conservative, as chee- tahs’ status nationally. In 1975, Myers, tah/100 km2 (Winterbach 2003). Fur- tah distribution in Botswana includes estimated Botswana’s cheetah popula- ther predator spoor surveys were car- large areas outside conservation zones. tion at 1000-2000 (Mysers 1975). The ried out by P. Funston in the Kgalagadi cheetah was considered to be sparsely Transfrontier Park (KTP) from 1998- Survey methods distributed. Two-thirds of the country 2001. It was estimated that 204 chee- The information used to represent the was considered to be suitable habitat, tahs inhabit the KTP at a density of 0.57 status of Botswana’s cheetah has been the semi arid Kalahari ecosystem in the cheetah/100 km2 (Funston 2001). Both derived from: Draft National Preda- South and West (700 cheetah), and the CKGR and KTP have similar habitats. tor Management Strategy (Winterbach well watered savannah of the Okavango Attention must be given to substrates 2003); Botswana’s Department of Delta in the North West, which supports when using spoor surveys to compare Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) higher prey populations (800 cheetah). different areas. Problem Animal Control (PAC) records The remaining third of the country in This data was then utilised for Bot- from 1998-2006; 2006 Status report the East, being semi arid and over uti- swana’s draft predator management questionnaires; Sighting reports from lised was assumed to have lower chee- strategy. This was compiled in 2003 2003-2006. Farming community inter- tah densities (500 cheetah). There was and provides the accepted estimates views from 2003-2006; Literature re- great concern over the extensive habitat for cheetah based on the current know- views. deterioration due to a lack of manage- ledge. ment of the national herd of 1.5million The national density estimates were Current distribution cattle. Habitat degradation was result- derived from calibration factors found In 1992 it was considered that cheetahs ing in declines in perennial grassland, in the CKGR and KGTP. The following were widespread throughout Botswana, an increase in scrub savannah, low- assumptions were made to estimate the being most common in the South West ered water tables and disappearance of cheetah population size: and North West (Vandepitte 1992). wildlife (Myers 1975). These concerns • Density in the Kgalagadi Wildlife Today, although widespread, cheetah remain today and the need for habitat Management Area is intermediate be- distribution will likely be concentrated conservation in Botswana has never tween the CKGR and KGTP estimates, in the southern part of the country were been greater. i.e. between 0.26-0.56 cheetah/100 densities of competitors will be lower km2. (ODMP 2006). It is considered that Distribution and population estimation • Density in other areas varies between large part of the cheetahs’ distribution Background of current estimates 0.15-0.56 cheetah/100 km2. occurs outside protected areas and there Very little focused research has been • Cheetahs only occur in 25% of the may be higher densities in agricultural carried out on cheetah in Botswana. Central Agricultural Unit. zones, where wild prey is available, However, the Department of Wildlife This study provided a total national than in conservation zones (Winterbach and National Parks (DWNP) carried population estimate of 1,768 cheetahs. 2003). out predator spoor surveys in the Cen- It should be noted this is a tentative es- According to estimates (Table 1, tral Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) timate gained through extrapolation and Fig. 1), the Kgalagadi Transfrontier from 1998-1999. Data collected along expert assumptions. More data is re- Park (KTP) and Kgalagadi Wildlife defined road transects of known length quired to provide an estimate on which Management Area (WMA) have the was used to provide an index of abun- to base management options. highest densities of cheetah. The Cen- dance (Stander 1998). The analysis The assumption of 0.15-0.56 chee- tral Kalahari Game Reserve (CKGR) yielded the result of 112 cheetahs in the tah/100 km2 in the agricultural zones is has lower estimates than might be ex- 14 2007 pected, although prey has decreased considerably in the last 40 years and li- ons may be a limiting factor in this area. The agricultural zones throughout Bot- swana are important areas for cheetah, in these areas competitors such as lions and spotted hyenas have been removed, although livestock conflict now limits these populations. The Central Agricul- tural Zone has the lowest densities. This region is the most populated and utilised region in the country and has the high- est cattle biomass. The protected areas in the North, Okavango, Chobe and the Pans have the highest prey densities, but also the highest lion and spotted hyena populations. Therefore, cheetah numbers may be limited in these areas. From the current cheetah distribution Fig 1. Current National Cheetah Estimates related to predator management zones. estimates the importance of conserva- tion management for the cheetah in ag- ricultural zones is very clear. quarter of the zone (A. Houser, unpubl. previously inaccessible to farming. This From PAC reports, interviews and data). This is higher than the estimated requires urgent further study. sightings it can also be seen that chee- 302 for the whole region. Although this Certain areas such as the Molopo tahs are present throughout Botswana, supports the assumption that cheetah Farm block in the South of the Kgala- with the exception of some areas of numbers are likely to be higher in the gadi Agricultural 2 Zone have seen de- the Central Agricultural Unit, such as agricultural zones than the national es- creasing cheetah populations. Sightings the Tati Farms in the North West of the timates (Winterbach 2003). of cheetah were once a regular occur- area, where no reports for cheetahs have rence in this savannah habitat (M.Bing, been made in last 10 years. Conversely, Population trend pers. comm.). However, this region is within the Central Agricultural Unit, A general view is that cheetah numbers affected by illegal trade in cheetah due the Tuli Block Farms in the South West may be increasing in the agricultural to the proximity of the South African have higher numbers of reports than the zones. High predator populations in pro- border, as well as livestock conflict. Re- rest of the area. The Tuli region is an tected areas; removal of lion Panthera ports of decreasing cheetah populations area of mixed land use, with a gradual leo and spotted hyena Crocuta crocuta have also come from Orapa Game Park increase in sustainable wildlife utilisa- from farmlands and the effect on natural and Khama Rhino Sanctuary in the Cen- tion and ecotourism in the region. This prey movements due to the expansion tral Agricultural Unit. Moremi Game may have led to a local recovery of of artificial water points, may encourage Reserve and Chobe National Park both cheetah numbers in the region. cheetahs to utilise these areas. Of peo- report decreasing cheetah populations. Further studies carried out to assess ple (n=78) interviewed on trends over cheetah numbers include: The Okavan- the last 5 years in the ag- go Delta Management Plan carried out ricultural zones, 68% felt Table 1. Cheetah estimates from Botswana’s draft pre- a baseline survey of cheetah and leop- cheetah populations were dator policy (Winterbach 2003). ard numbers in the Ramsar Site in 2006. increasing. 20% felt they Density The cheetah population was estimated had remained constant. Management unit Estimate Ind/100 km2 through spoor surveys at 243. Chee- While only 12% reported Okavango 52 0.35 tah density was estimated at 0.7 chee- them to be decreasing Dry North 164 0.36 2 (R. Klein, unpubl. data). tah/100 km . This is considerably higher Kwando/Chobe 19 0.35 than originally estimated in the National However, high stocking Pandamatenga 11 0.37 Predator Strategy (0.35 cheetah/100 rates and boreholes have Pans 43 0.35 2 km ). This suggests that this area holds made farmlands potential Central Agricultural 119 0.09 a more significant population than pre- sinks for national predator Northern Tuli GR 2 0.29 viously considered (ODMP 2006). populations, particularly Ngamiland Agricultural 246 0.35 Cheetah Conservation Botswana cheetahs. Claims that chee- Ghanzi Farms 136 0.35 carried out a spoor survey in Jwana tah numbers are increasing Kgalagadi WMAs 302 0.41 Game Park in the Kgalagadi Agricultur- are just as likely to be at- CKGR 113 0.21 al 2 zone. The cheetah population was tributed to an increase in KTP 204 0.57 estimated at approximately 150 chee- livestock encounter rates Kgalagadi Agricultural 1 55 0.35 tah within the study area which spans a due to expansion into areas Kgalagadi Agricultural 2 302 0.35 CAT News Special Issue 3 – Cheetahs in Southern Africa 15 wildlife area with high populations of elephant, buffalo, lion, spotted hyena and large game.