Abstract
Rapid urbanization coupled with decreasing areas of natural habitat are causing baboon populations to become scattered and isolated, often resulting in increased levels of human-baboon conflict. To implement baboon-human conflict management strategies, it is essential to formulate realistic conservation policies that deal with all stakeholder concerns and ensure the conservation of viable baboon populations. A study was initiated in response to complaints of perceived excessive baboon numbers and associated lack of food resources on Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve in South Africa. Data obtained from GPS tracking collars fitted to one baboon from each of 10 identified troops were analyzed to determine home range size and utilization. The spatial representation of home ranges generated from this study will allow reserve management to identify areas of potential high and low human-baboon conflict and will contribute to the development of a formal baboon management plan to reduce human-baboon conflict on and around the reserve. Home ranges were unevenly distributed and had a mean size of 26.72 km2 ± 13.91 SD in the cold/dry season and 26.54 km2 ± 12.76 SD in the warm/wet season. Troop home ranges overlapped to some degree and five troops utilized areas outside the reserve. Although no significant relationship between troop size and home range was found, there was a positive relationship between troop size and daily distance travelled. All troops had significantly longer mean daily distances during the warm/wet season than during the cold/dry season (P ≤ 0.02).
Highlights
The rapid increase in urbanization accompanied by decreasing natural habitats are causing many animal species, including primates, to become scattered and isolated
The population of baboons on Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve (SNR) fall within reported troop sizes our results suggest that SNR baboon troop sizes resemble those of the Cape Peninsula and Forestry plantations
The aim of this study was to determine the spatial utilization of baboon troops on SNR over a period of 12 months
Summary
The rapid increase in urbanization accompanied by decreasing natural habitats are causing many animal species, including primates, to become scattered and isolated. Animal populations require a certain amount of resources to meet their daily metabolic demands. Variation in intraspecific home range sizes and distances travelled per day are influenced by both habitat diversity and seasonal changes in resource availability [1]. Primates living in habitats with low levels of food availability or relatively homogeneous habitats normally have larger home ranges than those in areas with high levels of food availability or heterogeneous habitats. Seasonal changes in resource availability are predicted to influence seasonal home range size [2]. The number of animals in a troop is an additional factor influencing home range size. Larger troops experience increased intragroup competition for resources than smaller troops, which results in larger daily distances travelled. Larger troops experience increased intragroup competition for resources than smaller troops, which results in larger daily distances travelled. [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
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