Abstract
The brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) is endemic to southern Africa. The largest population of this near-threatened species occurs in Botswana, but limited data were available to assess distribution and density. Our objectives were to use a stratified approach to collate available data and to collect more data to assess brown hyaena distribution and density across land uses in Botswana. We conducted surveys using track counts, camera traps and questionnaires and collated our results and available data to estimate the brown hyaena population based on the stratification of Botswana for large carnivores. Brown hyaenas occur over 533 050 km² (92%) of Botswana. Our density estimates ranged from 0 brown hyaenas/100 km² in strata of northern Botswana to 2.94 (2.16–3.71) brown hyaenas/100 km² in the southern stratum of the Central Kalahari Game Reserve. We made assumptions regarding densities in strata that lacked data, using the best references available. We estimated the brown hyaena population in Botswana as 4642 (3133–5993) animals, with 6.8% of the population in the Northern Conservation Zone, 73.1% in the Southern Conservation Zone, 2.0% in the smaller conservation zones and 18.1% in the agricultural zones. The similar densities of brown hyaenas in the Central Kalahari Game Reserve and the Ghanzi farms highlight the potential of agricultural areas in Botswana to conserve this species. The conservation of brown hyaenas in the agricultural landscape of Botswana is critical for the long-term conservation of the species; these areas provide important links between populations in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.Conservation implications: Botswana contains the core of the brown hyaena population in southern Africa, and conflict mitigation on agricultural land is crucial to maintaining connectivity among the range countries.
Highlights
The brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) has an estimated population size of < 10 000 mature individuals and is listed as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Wiesel 2015)
The species is endemic to southern Africa with range countries including Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe (Mills & Hofer 1998; Wiesel 2015)
There is evidence that brown hyaenas are persecuted in Botswana (Maude & Mills 2005), we found no indication of a population decline
Summary
The brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) has an estimated population size of < 10 000 mature individuals and is listed as near threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Wiesel 2015). The species is endemic to southern Africa with range countries including Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe (Mills & Hofer 1998; Wiesel 2015). The largest population of brown hyaena is found in Botswana (Wiesel 2015), a country that hosts one of the most diverse carnivore assemblages in Africa. The range includes a diversity of human land uses such as conservation areas (Keeping 2014; Maude & Mills 2005), commercial farms (Boast & Houser 2012; Kent & Hill 2013) and communal land used for subsistence livestock farming (Muir 2009; Schiess-Meier et al 2007)
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