Estimating the distribution and habitat suitability for aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) in Kruger National Park, South Africa

Abstract

AbstractCryptic, nocturnal or rare species pose a conservation challenge. Aardvarks (Orycteropus afer) occur across sub‐Saharan Africa, but local or regional distribution is frequently unclear. We investigated the habitat relationships of aardvarks within Kruger National Park, South Africa, using non‐invasive driving and walking surveys of aardvark sign. We used generalised linear and Maxent models in an exploratory analysis to evaluate our predictions that the distribution of suitable habitat would be influenced by elevation, vegetation productivity, potential termite activity, potential presence of large predators and amount of sand in the soils. We surveyed 1,786 km of roads and conducted 247 short walking surveys, detecting aardvark sign in 601 locations. Relative habitat use by aardvarks was positively correlated with elevation and vegetation productivity and was negatively correlated with surface water occurrence, suggesting that aardvarks avoided areas with high densities of predators, and favoured higher elevations and areas with greener vegetation. Mean annual rainfall, employed as an index of termite activity, was only weakly correlated with habitat suitability, and soil components had little predictive power. We generated predictive maps of aardvark habitat distribution within the Kruger National Park. Our sampling technique could be employed to investigate aardvark distribution and habitat relationships more broadly.