Tim Hofmann and Stijn Verschueren from the Cheetah Conservation Fund in Otjiwarongo, Namibia investigate how to effectively monitor cheetah populations.
Cheetahs are Africa’s most endangered big cats, with fewer than 7,100 individuals left in the wild, scattered across less than 9% of their historical range. These estimates are largely based on expert opinions and few well-studied populations. In many parts of the cheetah’s range, we lack clear insights into the species’ conservation status, mainly because cheetahs are so difficult to detect.
With recent advancements in monitoring techniques and analytical methods, two PhD researchers from the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) – Tim and Stijn – tested the combination of detection dogs and camera traps to improve cheetah population monitoring. Scat detection dogs are a rather new method and the combination with camera trapping has been rarely explored. Our goal was to develop a cost-effective survey design that could be adapted to different environmental conditions. This could guide population monitoring efforts in understudied regions of the cheetahs range, as well as inform programs targeting other species with a similar conservation biology.
When we first discussed the idea, we quickly realized the challenge of monitoring cheetah populations across large spatial scales. As we studied the literature and consulted with our supervisors, who had decades of experience studying cheetahs, it became clear that marking sites might be key to monitoring success. Cheetah marking sites are often prominent landscape features, such as large trees, where territorial cheetahs defecate. These sites are visited by other individuals as well, making them valuable for identifying cheetah presence. However, while some of these sites may be prominent, they are not always easy to find and there might be marking sites that are not prominent at all.
This is where our detection dog Enyakwa came into the picture. With her incredible sense of smell, she can locate cheetah scat far more effectively. If Enyakwa could help us locate cheetah marking sites, we could then set up camera traps at those locations to capture more detailed information on cheetah activity. To ensure a well-rounded and comparative approach, we also placed cameras on roads and game trails. The combination of using Enyakwa’s nose with strategically placed camera traps seemed like a promising way to maximize our chances of detecting cheetahs across the study area.
Tim and Enyakwa took the lead by walking transects and driving around in search of cheetah scats and marking sites. We covered 120 km on foot and 500 km by car through 2000 km2 of thornbush savanna in central-eastern Namibia. Walking with the dog was invaluable to find concealed scats, as well as marking sites that were both prominent and hidden. This resulted in the identification of three marking sites with cheetah scat, and three additional scats away from these marking sites. The driving effort located 19 more obvious marking sites and allowed us to cover a larger area extends. Here, Enyakwa also played an important role, in particular for the detection of tiny scats tucked beneath grass under trees.
After this, Stijn set up 30 camera trap stations at marking sites, which led to 55 independent cheetah detections. On roads and game trails, Stijn placed another 30 camera trap stations, resulting in 13 additional cheetah detections. The importance of placing camera traps at the identified marking sites quickly became clear!
For our analysis, we used an occupancy framework to compare the effectiveness of different search strategies and camera trap configurations. We found that walking transects with the detection dog method was more successful than driving. Walking transects resulted in more detections, while driving was more time-efficient. However, driving only works in areas with a good road network and prominent marking sites. Strategically placing camera traps at marking sites discovered by the dog led to more cheetah detections and reduced the number of field days required.
We learned a lot about the individual strengths of each survey approach, but the real power lay in combining them. We believe this integrated approach could be applied to other species too and hope our work inspires fellow researchers. That said, we recognize the limitations of our study, particularly that it was conducted in a single area with a relatively high cheetah density. As a next step, we plan to expand this approach to other regions of the cheetah’s range to see if it holds up in different conditions.
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