A record of cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) diet in the Northern Tuli Game Reserve, Botswana
- Authors: Craig, Christie A , Brassine, Eleanor I , Parker, Daniel M
- Date: 2017
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/123004 , vital:35395 , https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12374
- Description: Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) typically prey upon the most available small to medium-sized (23–56 kg) antelope (Hayward et al., 2006). In Botswana, impala (Aepyceros melampus) and springbok (Antidorcas marsupialis), followed by steenbok (Raphicerus campestris) and duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia), are the prey species most frequently killed by cheetahs (Klein, 2007). Juvenile eland (Tragelaphus oryx), gemsbok (Oryx gazella), hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus) and kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) are also taken (Klein, 2007). The Northern Tuli Game Reserve (NOTUGRE) in eastern Botswana is naturally delineated by the nonperennial Shashe and Limpopo rivers in the east and south and has relatively porous game fencing along portions of the western and southern boundaries (Fig. 1) (Jackson, McNutt & Apps, 2012). Neither the fences nor the rivers restrict the movement of large carnivores such as cheetahs, lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus), spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) and African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) onto neighbouring pastoral land (Jackson, McNutt & Apps, 2012). It is thus possible that cheetahs are feeding on livestock outside of the park. However, the diet of the cheetahs in NOTUGRE has not been evaluated. Our study serves to describe the diet of the cheetahs in NOTUGRE using both scats and kill sightings.
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- Date Issued: 2017
Birds feeding on aloe nectar: do camera traps and point counts produce comparable data?
- Authors: Craig, Christie A , Hunter, Cayley , Craig, Adrian J F K , Hulley, Patrick E
- Date: 2017
- Subjects: To be catalogued
- Language: English
- Type: text , article
- Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/465336 , vital:76595 , https://journals.uct.ac.za/index.php/BO/article/view/467/485
- Description: This paper represents a single season of camera trapping at aloes. We found that point counts recorded more species and therefore gave a broader picture of species diversity in the area. The differences between the two methods indicate caution in relying on just one method for this type of survey. Since camera traps focus on the aloes, they capture primarily birds feeding on nectar. The two methods should be regarded as complementary, since both an overview of the avifauna and the activity of individual species is important in analysing differences between seasons.
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- Date Issued: 2017