The Tanzania Carnivore Atlas Project T anzania’s im portance for carnivore biodiversity is internationally recognised, yet at present the country has lim ited capacity for m onitoring carnivore distribution and trends. H ow ever, w ithin T anzania there is an, as yet, untapped source of inform ation: T here are a grow ing num ber of naturalists living in the country w ho are interested in carnivore conservation and w ho can help contribute inform ation on carnivore sightings. T he T anzania Carnivore A tlas Project aim s to draw on the interest and expertise of these people by generating a protocol w hereby people can contribute inform ation on the carnivores they see during the course of a year. T his Project is m odelled on the successful T anzania Bird A tlas Project, although it has a m ore m odest aim : to m onitor the distribution of T anzania’s 35 carnivore species on an annual basis rather than the country’s nearly 1000 bird species on a m onthly basis. T he ultim ate objective of the Carnivore A tlas Project is to generate m ore inform ation on the status of T anzania’s carnivores and to contribute to an action plan for carnivore conservation in T anzania. T his plan w ill prioritise actions to conserve threatened carnivore species and its im plem entation w ill help to safeguard carnivore biodiversity across the country. H ence by contributing data to the project you w ill be lending your active support to the long-term conservation of T anzania’s carnivores. A ll potential contributors to the Carnivore A tlas Project w ill receive a Carnivore A tlas Pack, w hich includes copies of tw o different types of check-sheet for carnivore sightings, a m ap of T anzania and copies of our Cheetah W atch and W ild D og W atch leaflets, should you also w ish to contribute to these schem es. TH E CAR N IV O R E CH E CK-S H EETS W e have included tw o types of data collection sheets in your pack: a carnivore S pecies Check-list and a carnivore S ightings S heet. Each sheet asks for different kinds of inform ation. W e ask you to please fill in the S pecies Check-list as your first priority, then, if you have tim e, w e w ould be delighted if you could also fill in the S ightings S heet. Please only record carnivore species if you are absolutely certain of having correctly identified the species sighted. The S pecies Check-list T he S pecies Check-list includes all the w ild carnivore species of T anzania and is designed to provide basic presence/absence inform ation. T his kind of inform ation w ill allow us to m ap the distribution of carnivores across T anzania and to m onitor species for range contractions or expansions. Page 1 of 3 Carnivore Atlas Project Check-list information Tanzania Carnivore Conservation Program A s w ith the T anzanian Bird A tlas Project, w e are asking for sightings w ithin grid squares that are a quarter square degree of latitude/longitude, an area of roughly 60 km 2. Instructions on identifying grid square num bers are found below . W e ask you to follow the guidelines carefully to ensure accurate data collection: 1. Please use a new sheet for each year and for each different grid square. 2. T he top of each sheet asks for your nam e, the specific grid square num ber, and the year for w hich you are providing inform ation on that particular sheet. It also asks for a rough assessm ent of how m uch tim e you spent in that particular grid square that year. It is very im portant that you include these four pieces of inform ation at the top of every sheet. 3. Place a tick against each carnivore species seen w ithin a particular grid square during the course of a year. 4. W e realise that it m ay be difficult for you to identify all 35 carnivore species and so w e ask you to please restrict yourselves to recording details of only those species that you are confident of having identified reliably. W e recom m end J onathan Kingdon’s ‘T he Kingdon Field G uide of A frican M am m als’ (1997 A cadem ic Press) as a useful identification tool, especially for the lesser-know n carnivores. N um bering your grid square 29°E (longitude) 30°E G rid squares are identified and num bered 4°S using lines of latitude and longitude. For the (latitude) purposes of the Carnivore A tlas Project, every one degree square has been divided A B into four as show n and m arked A , B, C or D . T he longitude and latitude of the one- degree square show n here are 29ºE and (2904A) (2904B) 4ºS , respectively. W hen identifying your grid square num ber, please first reference longitude (East) then latitude (S outh); in C D this exam ple the four grid squares show n are num bered 2904A , 2904B, 2904C and (2904C) (2904D) 2904D . It is very im portant that you alw ays m ark your grid square num ber at 5°S the top of your S pecies Check-list.1 The S ightings S heet1 T he S ightings S heet asks you for m ore detailed inform ation on individual carnivore sightings. It w ould be w onderful if these sheets could be filled in every tim e you see a carnivore, but w e realise that this m ay be asking a lot of you! Instead, w e ask that you fill in these sheets w henever you have unusual sightings of carnivores; for exam ple, w henever you see a species 1 We have enclosed a map of Tanzania with grid squares for your reference. We are happy to provide more detailed maps of your area should you require. Page 2 of 3 Carnivore Atlas Project Check list-information Tanzania Carnivore Conservation Program that you see rarely in a particular area. T hus, the S ightings S heet allow s us to gather relatively detailed inform ation about carnivores that are seldom seen in a given area. Please fill in as m any of the labelled colum ns as possible; these include the species seen, the total num ber of individuals in the sighting, the num ber of young, w hether the carnivore w as dead or alive in the sighting, the date, tim e, location*, and habitat type. A list of habitat categories is provided on the S ightings S heet. * W e prefer a G PS location reference w henever possible. If you use a G PS , w e w ould be m ost grateful if you could record the coordinates, if at all possible, in degrees decim als (i.e. 4.59843). If you don’t have a G PS , then please provide a grid square reference, nam e of nearest tow n, or a description of the sighting location. A t the bottom of the S ightings S heet, w e ask you to list the species that you consider to be rare in the area for w hich you are reporting. Please only include inform ation of w hich you are com pletely certain in your S ightings S heet. W e w ould very m uch appreciate it if you could fill in both check-sheets, but w e also understand that the S ightings S heet w ill require m ore tim e and effort to fill in. W e therefore recom m end that you prioritise the S pecies Check-list, and only com plete the S ightings S heet if you have sufficient tim e. Please fill in the check-sheets even if you are just passing through a grid square, particularly if you are driving at night w hen nocturnal species are m ore likely to be seen. Road kills also constitute valid inform ation, and sadly, m any carnivores are killed on the roads. Please return your form s at the end of the year to: Carnivore A tlas Project T he T anzania Carnivore Conservation Program T anzania W ildlife Research Institute Box 661 A rusha, T anzania T el: 027 250-8240 If you have any queries please contact us by em ail on carnivores@ habari.co.tz or cheetah@ habari.co.tz Thank you for your assistance! Page 3 of 3 Tanzania Carnivore Atlas Project: Species Check-List Observer(s) Year Grid square reference …………………… (eg. 2904B; longitude(E) latitude(S) and quadrant A, B, C or D) Observer visits to grid square over the year (please underline the most appropriate): Pass through once / Single trip of 1-7 days / several trips or one long trip of 7-30 days / Partially resident / Mostly resident Latin name Common name Seen? How often seen? tick if yes Once / 2-10 times / 10+ Family: CANIDAE Dogs and allies Canis adustus Side-striped jackal Canis aureus Golden jackal Canis mesomelas Black-backed jackal Lycaon pictus Wild Dog Otocyon megalotis Bat eared fox Family : FELIDAE Cats Acinonyx jubatus Cheetah Felis caracal Caracal Felis silvestris Wild cat Felis serval Serval Panthera leo Lion Panthera pardus Leopard Family : HERPESTIDAE Mongooses Atilax paludinosus Marsh mongoose Bdeogale crassicauda Bushy tailed mongoose Galerella sanguinea Slender mongoose Helogale hirtula Desert Dwarf mongoose Helogale parvula Dwarf mongoose Herpestes ichneumon Egyptian mongoose Herpestes naso Long snouted mongoose Ichneumia albicauda White-tailed mongoose Mungos mungo Banded mongoose Rhynchogale melleri Meller‘s mongoose Family : HYAENIDAE Hyaenas Crocuta crocuta Spotted hyaena Hyaena hyaena Striped hyaena Proteles cristatus Aardwolf Family : MUSTELIDAE Weasels and allies Aonyx capensis African clawless otter Lutra maculicollis Spotted-necked otter Mellivora capensis Honey Badger Ictonyx striatus Zorilla Poecilogale albinucha Striped (White-naped) Weasel Family : VIVERRIDAE Genets and Civets Civettictis civetta African Civet Genetta angolensis Miombo genet Genetta genetta Common genet Genetta maculata Large Spotted genet Genetta servalina Small Spotted (Servaline) genet Nandinia binotata Two Spotted Palm Civet Introduced species Viverricula indica Small Indian Civet Herpestes javacunis Small Indian Mongoose Other? Please specify Tanzania Carnivore Conservation Program [email protected]; PO Box 661, Arusha Tanzania Carnivore Atlas Project: Sightings Sheet Observer(s)