GLOBAL CHEETAH MONITORING WORKSHOP 1 – 4 June 2004 Ndutu Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti, Tanzania WORKSHOP REPORT GLOBAL CHEETAH MONITORING WORKSHOP 1 – 4 June 2004 Ndutu Safari Lodge, Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Serengeti, Tanzania WORKSHOP REPORT Hosted by: TANZANIA WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (TAWIRI) THE SERENGETI CHEETAH PROJECT ENDANGERED WILDLIFE TRUST CONSERVATION BREEDING SPECIALIST GROUP SOUTHERN AFRICA THE ZOOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON Sponsored by: American Zoo Association Conservation Endowment Fund Saint Louis Zoo AZA’s Cheetah Species Survival Plan Regional Air Services The Zoological Society of London Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority Darwin Initiative Ndutu Safari Lodge In collaboration with THE CONSERVATION BREEDING SPECIALIST GROUP SOUTHERN AFRICA (CBSG – SSC / IUCN) Cheetah Monitoring Workshop 2004 1 © Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG-SSC / IUCN) and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. The copyright of the report serves to protect the Conservation Breeding Specialist Group workshop process from any unauthorised use. Bashir, S., Daly, B., Durant, S.M., Förster, H., Grisham, J., Marker, L. Wilson, K. and Friedmann, Y (editors). 2004. Global Cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) Monitoring Workshop. Final workshop report. Conservation Breeding Specialist Group (SSC / IUCN). Endangered Wildlife Trust. The CBSG, SSC and IUCN encourage workshops and other fora for the consideration and analysis of issues related to conservation, and believe that reports of these meetings are most useful when broadly disseminated. The opinions and recommendations expressed in this report reflect the issues discussed and ideas expressed by the participants in the Global Cheetah Monitoring Workshop and do not necessarily reflect the opinion or position of the CBSG, SSC, or IUCN. CBSG Southern Africa gratefully acknowledges the support of: Vodacom AZA Cheetah SSP Davies Foundation Elizabeth Wakeman Henderson Charitable Trust Lomas Wildlife Trust Impala Platinum Photographs on the front cover of this report were supplied by Mandy Momberg (Pilanesberg National Park) and the De Wildt Wild Cheetah Project. Cheetah Monitoring Workshop 2004 2 Table of Contents SECTION 1 AND 2...........................................................................................................................5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................................6 THE CBSG WORKSHOP PROCESS..............................................................................................9 SECTION 3.....................................................................................................................................10 PRESENTATIONS .........................................................................................................................10 1. SARAH DURANT– TANZANIA WILDLIFE RESEARCH INSTITUTE (TAWIRI), TANZANIA...................11 2. ULLAS KARANTH – CAMERA TRAP DATA AND MARK-RECAPTURE ANALYSIS .............................16 3. GUS MILLS - PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEYS ...........................................................................................17 4. KELLY WILSON – DE WILDT CHEETAH PROJECT: EXPERIENCES FROM COUNTING CHEETAH.18 5. ALEXANDER LOBORA – IDENTIFYING AND PRIORITIZING WILDLIFE SURVEYS USING GIS .........19 6. PAUL FUNSTON AND SARAH DURANT – SPOOR DENSITY ..............................................................20 7. MEGAN PARKER – WORKING DOGS FOR CONSERVATION..............................................................22 SECTION 4.....................................................................................................................................23 WORKING GROUP REPORTS – TASK 1 ....................................................................................23 DIRECT COUNTS: VISUAL OBSERVATIONS / TAGGING TECHNIQUE ..................................25 1. SURVEY DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................25 2. ACCURACY AND PRECISION ................................................................................................................25 3. SUITABILITY ............................................................................................................................................26 4. TRAINING / CAPACITY............................................................................................................................26 5. COSTS .....................................................................................................................................................26 CARNIVORE ATLASSING / QUESTIONNAIRES / GIS DATA TECHNIQUE..............................27 1. SURVEY DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................27 2. ACCURACY AND PRECISION ................................................................................................................29 3. SUITABILITY ............................................................................................................................................29 4. COSTS .....................................................................................................................................................29 5. TRAINING / CAPACITY............................................................................................................................30 SPOOR COUNTS TECHNIQUE ....................................................................................................31 1. SURVEY DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................31 2. ACCURACY AND PRECISION ................................................................................................................32 3. COST AND TRAINING .............................................................................................................................33 4. TRAINING / CAPACITY............................................................................................................................33 WORKING DOGS TECHNIQUE....................................................................................................35 1. SURVEY DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................35 2. ACCURACY AND PRECISION ................................................................................................................35 3. SUITABILITY ............................................................................................................................................36 4. COST ISSUES..........................................................................................................................................36 5. TRAINING / CAPACITY............................................................................................................................37 CAMERA TRAPS TECHNIQUE (Photographic capture-recapture)..........................................38 1. SURVEY DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................38 2. ACCURACY AND PRECISION ................................................................................................................38 3. SUITABILITY OF METHOD......................................................................................................................39 4. TRAINING / CAPACITY............................................................................................................................39 5. COST ISSUES..........................................................................................................................................40 PHOTOGRAPHIC SURVEY TECHNIQUE....................................................................................41 1. SURVEY DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................41 2. ACCURACY AND PRECISION ................................................................................................................42 3. SUITABILITY ............................................................................................................................................42 4. COST ISSUES..........................................................................................................................................42 5. TRAINING / CAPACITY............................................................................................................................43 PLENARY SESSION COMMENTS AND DISCUSSION...............................................................44 SECTION 5.................................................................................................................................... 44 REGIONAL REPORTS – TASK 2 .................................................................................................48 Namibian Regional Report..................................................................................................................... 50 Tanzania Regional Report ..................................................................................................................... 52 Zimbabwan and Botswanan Regional Report .........................................................................................