Healthy Wildlife Research Articles

Evaluating Two Sampling Methods for Mycoplasma Bovis Diagnosis in American Bison (Bison bison).

Mycoplasma bovis is a bacterial pathogen endemic to cattle. In the early 2000s, M. bovis emerged as a cause of respiratory disease in American bison (Bison bison), causing significant morbidity and mortality. Bison herds that experience an outbreak of M. bovis are at higher risk for subsequent outbreaks, suggesting that chronic, subclinical infections can be established. Antemortem testing is therefore crucial to disease management; however, the precise sampling method to maximize detection of M. bovis in bison is unknown. We evaluated two sample types-superficial nasal swabs and deep nasopharyngeal swabs-collected from apparently healthy or symptomatic bison from January 2021 through December 2022. We used real-time PCR to detect M. bovis in 76/938 bison (8.1%) from 11 herds. For bison testing positive on at least one swab type, M. bovis was detected in 63/76 (82.8%) deep nasopharyngeal swabs and 29/73 (38.1%) superficial nasal swabs. Agreement between swabs for positive bison was 21% (n=16, kappa coefficient 0.319). We conclude that deep nasopharyngeal swabbing is more sensitive than superficial nasal swabbing for detection of M. bovis in bison and that low agreement between methods may be related to stage of infection. We further tested pooled samples by PCR and found that pooling of up to five samples can be effective to increase throughput and minimize costs. Management of wild bison relies on the ability to relocate animals to maintain gene flow and healthy populations. Sensitive and specific diagnostic tests are needed to inform decisions and minimize risk of transmission, especially from subclinical carriers. This study provides valuable insight that will inform best practices for M. bovis testing, thereby supporting the conservation of bison as healthy wildlife, which in turn promotes ecological restoration, safeguards cultural practices of Tribal Nations, and upholds the bison as a unique American icon.

An update on novel taxa and revised taxonomic status of bacteria isolated from non-domestic animals described in 2022.

Numbers of new and revised microbial taxa are continuously expanding, and the rapid accumulation of novel bacterial species is challenging to keep up with in the best of circumstances. With that in mind, following the template of reports on prokaryotic species isolated from humans, this is now the second publication summarizing new and revised taxa in non-domestic animal species in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology. The majority of new taxa were obtained as part of programs to identify bacteria from mucosal surfaces and the gastrointestinal tract from healthy wildlife. A few notable bacteria included new Erysipelothrix spp. from mammalian and aquatic sources and a novel Bartonella spp. isolated from a rodent, both of which could be considered members of emerging and re-emerging genera with pathogenic potential in humans and animals.

WILDLIFE HEALTH AND THE NORTH AMERICAN MODEL OF WILDLIFE CONSERVATION.

The management of wildlife in the United States and Canada, including the monitoring and maintenance of the health of wildlife populations and the ecosystems on which they depend, are conducted under a set of principles that aim for sustainable use. This set of principles is known as the North American Model of Wildlife Conservation (the Model), and it guides wildlife management and conservation decisions in both countries. The purpose of this perspective is to highlight how wildlife health is an important part of the Model and is vital to its future. It is proposed that wildlife health and the Model support one another. First, the history and fundamental ideas of a public trust that shaped the Model are reviewed. Next, wildlife health is defined and examples are offered that highlight how the Model supports wildlife health and how health affects the Model, as well as the limitations or threats if one moves away from the Model's defining principles. Finally, controversies surrounding the Model are reviewed and a perspective on the future is offered, based in large part on the work of Aldo Leopold. Leopold's thinking about health of the land and its organisms was well ahead of its time, and the scientific underpinnings of his writings in making the case for wildlife health and the Model are recounted. As a simple addendum to Leopold's land ethic, a plea for a health ethic is called for, whereby healthy wildlife and healthy landscapes are an obligation of the Model and modern society because health "tends to preserve the integrity, stability and beauty of the biotic community."41.

Sociodemographic and regional determinants of rabies submission bias in North Carolina

AbstractWith North Carolina's human population and urban development rapidly expanding, spread of zoonotic disease is of concern to both wildlife managers and public health officials. Between 2008 and 2018, 300−1,000 wild terrestrial animals were submitted for rabies testing each year, however, only 30−46% of total submissions tested positive for rabies annually. Given the low percentage of positive tests and high number of submissions in some counties, we used one‐way ANOVAs to determine if a submission bias, that is, healthy wildlife being submitted for rabies testing for undetermined reasons (e.g., fear, lack of knowledge), may exist in some counties or throughout North Carolina. Using multiple regression analyses and data from all 100 counties, we investigated if income, age, education, gender, ethnicity, population density, housing density, and geographical region influenced total submissions and percent positive cases. Statewide, annual total submissions averaged 765 ± 56.0 (x̄ ± SE throughout) and the percent positive cases averaged 35% ± 1%, however variation existed among counties for both metrics (F98−99,947−1088 = 3.77−23.07 P < 0.001) indicating submission bias. Counties that are in the Piedmont region and/or have lower percentages of Black residents (Std. β = −0.17) and counties with denser human populations, housing density, and/or more tourism income (β = 0.71) had the largest number of total submissions for rabies testing. Alternatively, counties that had higher percentages of residents who had attended some college submitted fewer animals for testing (Std. β = −0.18). Counties with a higher percent of Black residents also had a higher percentage of positive cases (Std. β = 0.33) and, as expected based on the ethnic composition of each region, there were lower percentages of positive cases in the Mountain region compared to the Piedmont and Coastal Plain regions. The percent of self‐reported Hispanic residents in a county also positively affected (Std. β = 0.30) the percentage of positive cases. This variable was negatively correlated with median age indicating counties with older residents have a lower percentage of positive cases. We suggest rabies education should be focused on the Mountain region, White residents, and older individuals in North Carolina since these groups of residents were more likely to request rabies testing on non‐rabid wildlife. Specifically, counties with higher populations of White individuals had higher annual total submissions, but fewer positive tests for rabies, indicating this demographic group had the most bias and they, as well as local and county animal control departments, should be the focus for targeted educational programs.

Canadian wildlife health surveillance—patterns, challenges and opportunities identified by a scoping review

The protection and promotion of healthy wildlife populations is emerging as a shared goal among stakeholders in the face of unprecedented environmental threats. Accordingly, there are growing demands for the generation of actionable wildlife health information. Wildlife health surveillance is a connected system of knowledge that generates data on a range of factors that influence health. Canada recently approved the Pan-Canadian Approach to Wildlife Health that describes challenges facing wildlife health programs and provides a path forward for modernizing our approach. This scoping review was undertaken to describe the range of peer-reviewed Canadian wildlife health surveillance literature within the context of the challenges facing wildlife health programs and to provide a quantitative synthesis of evidence to establish baselines, identify gaps, and inform areas for growth. This review describes patterns related to species, location, authorship/funding, objectives, and methodology. Five areas are identified that have the potential to propel the field of wildlife health: representativeness, expanded/diversified collaboration, community engagement, harmonization, and a shift to a solutions-focused and One Health mindset. This scoping review provides a synopsis of 10 years of Canadian wildlife health surveillance, challenges us to envision the future of successful wildlife health surveillance, and provides a benchmark from which we can measure change.

Identification of Escherichia coli and Related Enterobacteriaceae and Examination of Their Phenotypic Antimicrobial Resistance Patterns: A Pilot Study at A Wildlife-Livestock Interface in Lusaka, Zambia.

A cross-sectional study was used to identify and assess prevalence and phenotypic antimicrobial resistance (AMR) profiles of Escherichia coli and other enterobacteria isolated from healthy wildlife and livestock cohabiting at a 10,000 acres game ranch near Lusaka, Zambia. Purposive sampling was used to select wildlife and livestock based on similarities in behavior, grazing habits and close interactions with humans. Isolates (n = 66) from fecal samples collected between April and August 2018 (n = 84) were examined following modified protocols for bacteria isolation, biochemical identification, molecular detection, phylogenetic analysis, and antimicrobial susceptibility testing by disc diffusion method. Data were analyzed using R software, Genetyx ver.12 and Mega 6. Using Applied Profile Index 20E kit for biochemical identification, polymerase chain reaction assay and sequencing, sixty-six isolates were identified to species level, of which Escherichia coli (72.7%, 48/66), E. fergusonii (1.5%, 1/66), Shigella sonnei (22.7%, 14/66), Sh. flexinerri (1.5%, 1/66) and Enterobacteriaceae bacterium (1.5%, 1/66), and their relationships were illustrated in a phylogenetic tree. Phenotypic antimicrobial resistance or intermediate sensitivity expression to at least one antimicrobial agent was detected in 89.6% of the E. coli, and 73.3% of the Shigella isolates. The E. coli isolates exhibited the highest resistance rates to ampicillin (27%), ceftazidime (14.3%), cefotaxime (9.5%), and kanamycin (9.5%). Multidrug resistance (MDR) was detected in 18.8% of E. coli isolates while only 13.3% Shigella isolates showed MDR. The MDR was detected among isolates from impala and ostrich (wild animals in which no antimicrobial treatment was used), and in isolates from cattle, pigs, and goats (domesticated animals). This study indicates the possible transmission of drug-resistant microorganisms between animals cohabiting at the wildlife–livestock interface. It emphasizes the need for further investigation of the role of wildlife in the development and transmission of AMR, which is an issue of global concern.

Green Infrastructure—Countering Ecosystem Fragmentation: Case Study of a Municipality in the Carpathian Foothills

This paper discusses green infrastructure, which can be considered a useful tool in the process of ensuring the sustainable development of rural structures in the polish Carpathian region. It allows for achieving a better quality of the environment of human life and healthy wildlife linkages. The element that supports defining information about the existing state of green infrastructure and its resources is the green infrastructure fragmentation coefficient based on edge effect calculations, which is the relation between the edge of the patch (circumference) to its surface area. With the use of model analysis of green infrastructure, it is possible to implement the provisions of the Carpathian Convention and coordinate planning documents that facilitate the sustainable development of spatial structures. Our study on the state of green infrastructure in rural areas of the Polish Carpathian Mountains is a source of knowledge about the quality of this area, its natural environment and fragmentation. Determining the territory’s green infrastructure fragmentation coefficient provides an opportunity for higher-precision studies and the detection of threats and integration of GI fragments and addressing proper solutions in conflict areas.

Spatio-Temporal Changes in Wildlife Habitat Quality in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem

Understanding habitat quality and its dynamics is imperative for maintaining healthy wildlife populations and ecosystems. We mapped and evaluated changes in habitat quality (1975–2015) in the Greater Serengeti Ecosystem of northern Tanzania using the Integrated Valuation of Environmental Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model. This is the first habitat quality assessment of its kind for this ecosystem. We characterized changes in habitat quality in the ecosystem and in a 30 kilometer buffer area. Four habitat quality classes (poor, low, medium and high) were identified and their coverage quantified. Overall (1975–2015), habitat quality declined over time but at rates that were higher for habitats with lower protection level or lower initial quality. As a result, habitat quality deteriorated the most in the unprotected and human-dominated buffer area surrounding the ecosystem, at intermediate rates in the less heavily protected Wildlife Management Areas, Game Controlled Areas, Game Reserves and the Ngorongoro Conservation Area and the least in the most heavily protected Serengeti National Park. The deterioration in habitat quality over time was attributed primarily to anthropogenic activities and major land use policy changes. Effective implementation of land use plans, robust and far-sighted institutional arrangements, adaptive legal and policy instruments are essential to sustaining high habitat quality in contexts of rapid human population growth.

Peste des Petits Ruminants at the Wildlife-Livestock Interface in the Northern Albertine Rift and Nile Basin, East Africa.

In the recent past, peste des petits ruminants (PPR) emerged in East Africa causing outbreaks in small livestock across different countries, with evidences of spillover to wildlife. In order to understand better PPR at the wildlife–livestock interface, we investigated patterns of peste des petits ruminants virus (PPRV) exposure, disease outbreaks, and viral sequences in the northern Albertine Rift. PPRV antibodies indicated a widespread exposure in apparently healthy wildlife from South Sudan (2013) and Uganda (2015, 2017). African buffaloes and Uganda kobs <1-year-old from Queen Elizabeth National Park (2015) had antibodies against PPRV N-antigen and local serosurvey captured a subsequent spread of PPRV in livestock. Outbreaks with PPR-like syndrome in sheep and goats were recorded around the Greater Virunga Landscape in Kasese (2016), Kisoro and Kabale (2017) from western Uganda, and in North Kivu (2017) from eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This landscape would not be considered typical for PPR persistence as it is a mixed forest–savannah ecosystem with mostly sedentary livestock. PPRV sequences from DRC (2017) were identical to strains from Burundi (2018) and confirmed a transboundary spread of PPRV. Our results indicate an epidemiological linkage between epizootic cycles in livestock and exposure in wildlife, denoting the importance of PPR surveillance on wild artiodactyls for both conservation and eradication programs.

Mapping of Physical Vulnerability in Tiger Habitat Areas: A Case Study of Tiger Corridor of Rajasthan, India

Abstract. Nowadays, biodiversity is very rapidly diminishing from all over the globe due to unsustainable practices of natural resource by anthropogenic activities. It is an unhealthy for ecosystem services. In the biodiversity, tiger is an icon of healthy wildlife, which is known as a vital factor for maintaining universal food chain system. The research paper is focused on “Mapping of Physical Vulnerability of Tiger Habitat Areas: A Case Study of Tiger corridor of Rajasthan, India” it’s a micro level Study based on primary and secondary data through GIS mapping, habitat ranking and Q-Q plot. All five physical factors to inter-connect and overlay of the ranking of tiger habitats for the physical vulnerability. Especially, core and periphery of vulnerability have obtained from the Multispectral images from ETM and ETM+ sensors of Landsat and LISS-III and AWiFS sensors of Resourcesat-satellites. The study examines the spatial pattern physical vulnerability and suitability of tiger corridor of Rajasthan. Tiger Landscape change within all ecological zones has been evaluated. The Landsat TM and ETM imagery has been used to produce LULC classification maps for both areas utilising a hybrid supervised/unsupervised methods. LULC changes are measured using landscape metrics and change maps created by post-classification through change detection. Using all the raster maps and the final change detection of the reserve has been done through spatial analysis using the raster calculator tool in ArcGIS, Erdas, Statistical tool and MS Excel 13. The study comes out with physical vulnerability in core and periphery areas of the tiger corridor. The research addressed vulnerability of tiger habitat, human encroachment, impact on tiger habitat, intervene of domestic animals, and the migration in core and periphery areas, finally, the situation of physical vulnerability would be alarming for biodiversity of tiger corridor, specially buffer areas.

Wildlife and Hunting As Alternative Farm Enterprises

Wildlife enhances our quality of life and is an integral part of the landscape. In addition, wildlife can be managed to provide revenue as part of alternative farm enterprises. The key to maintaining healthy wildlife populations necessary in such alternative enterprises is providing quality habitat through proper management (Figure 1). This document is WEC 197 and one of a series of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS), University of Florida. First published: July 2005.

Geo-Spatial Mapping of Land Use and Land Cover Changes in the Core and Periphery Area of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India, 1975–2015

Abstract In the near future, natural resources are very rapidly diminishing all over the globe. Which is very unhealthy for land ecosystem services. In the biodiversity, Tiger is an icon of healthy wildlife which is considered as a vital factor for maintaining Universal Food Chain System. This research paper is based on “Geo-Spatial Mapping of land use and land cover changes in the Core and Periphery Area of Ranthambore Tiger Reserve, Rajasthan, India, 1975-2015, it’s a micro level Study based on primary and secondary data through GIS mapping and consider as a Socio-Economic &amp;amp; Physical factors to inter-connect with Tiger habitats. Especially, core and periphery LULC have been obtained from the Multispectral images from ETM and ETM+ sensors of Landsat and LISS-III and AWiFS sensors of Resourcesat-satellites. This study examines the spatial and temporal patterns of LULC change along the boundary of Ranthambhore in the Rajasthan from 1975 to 2015. Tiger Landscape change within all ecological zones will be evaluated. The Landsat TM and ETM imagery will be used to produce LULC classification maps for both areas using a hybrid supervised/unsupervised methods. LULC changes are measured using landscape metrics and change maps created by post-classification through change detection. Using all the raster maps and the final change detection of the reserve will be done through spatial analysis using the raster calculator tool in ArcGIS and Erdas and MS Excel 13. The study comes out with land use and land cover change in core and periphery areas of the reserve. The research also describes Human Encroachment, Impact on human colonization, interfere with domestic animals, Interbreeding, and the Migration in core and periphery areas, finally, the situation would be alarming for biodiversity of tiger habitat due to the high pressure of anthropogenic activities.

Factors Influencing Salamander Hormones in Created Wetlands

Small isolated wetlands are critical breeding habitat for many amphibians. Many of these wetlands are susceptible to destruction due to lack of regulation. Therefore, it is important to create new suitable habitat that can sustain healthy wildlife populations to mitigate loss. Concentrations of corticosterone, a hormone related to stress, development, and growth, can indicate a populations’ health and habitat quality. The objective of our research was to determine if certain habitat characteristics in created wetlands influence corticosterone levels of Spotted Salamander (Ambystoma maculatum) larvae. From May-June in 2015 and 2016, we sampled Spotted Salamander larvae (n=10/wetland) in 26 wetlands created between 2011 and 2014 in the Monongahela National Forest, West Virginia. We collected environmental data including vegetation cover and water quality at each wetland. Analysis indicates that larval total length and wetland water temperature are positively correlated with corticosterone and the best predictors for corticosterone levels. Vegetation cover also showed a positive correlation with corticosterone levels. Our results can improve understanding of the relationship between physiological conditions and habitat quality and how it can be used to interpret wildlife population health and habitat degradation.

Public Perceptions of Wildlife-Associated Disease: Risk Communication Matters

Wildlife professionals working at the interface where confl icts arise between people and wild animals have an exceptional responsibility in the long-term interest of sustaining society's support for wildlife and its conservation by resolving human-wildlife confl icts so that people continue to view wildlife as a valued resource. The challenge of understanding and responding to people's concerns about wildlife is particularly acute in situations involving wildlife-associated disease and may be addressed through One Health communication. Two important questions arise in this work: (1) how will people react to the message that human health and wildlife health are linked?; and (2) will wildlife-associated disease foster negative attitudes about wildlife as reservoirs, vectors, or carriers of disease harmful to humans? The answers to these questions will depend in part on whether wildlife professionals successfully manage wildlife disease and communicate the associated risks in a way that promotes societal advocacy for healthy wildlife rather than calls for eliminating wildlife because they are viewed as disease-carrying pests. This work requires great care in both formal and informal communication. We focus on risk perception, and we briefl y discuss guidance available for risk communication, including formation of key messages and the importance of word choices. We conclude that the risk perception and communication research available is helpful but inadequate, and that thoughtful practice with respect to message and word choice is needed.

Persistent organic pollutants in Baltic herring (Clupea harengus)-an aspect of gender.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are monitored regularly in water, sediment, and biota in the Baltic Sea. Lipophilic substances are measured in remarkable concentrations especially in the fatty parts of fish, such as herring (Clupea harengus). However, less lipophilic POPs, e.g. perfluorinated compounds (PFCs), can also be detected. For the first time to our knowledge, this study provides a broad range of contaminant concentrations simultaneously measured in filet, liver, and gonads of both sexes of Baltic herring. We analysed organochlorines, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and PFCs in mature autumn-spawning individuals and found distinct organ pollutant pattern for all POPs in both sexes. POP concentrations found in the gonads of both sexes indicate that not only females but also males tend to reduce contaminants via reproduction. However, sex-dependent differences could be identified for hexachlorobenzene, PBDEs, and were most remarkable for PFCs. This transfer of contaminants to the gonads in both male and female herring is being underestimated, as it may directly affect the general reproduction success as well as the healthy development of the next generation. Hence, the accumulation of contaminants in the gonads should be considered one possible threat to a healthy wildlife as its achievement is stated by the Baltic Sea Action Plan. Inclusion of a periodic monitoring of POP concentrations in gonads of fish may be an important bioeffect measure to assess the environmental status of biota in the Baltic Sea.

Exotic grasses and wildlife in northern Mexico

Seeding exotic grasses remains a common practice to increase forage production for cattle in northern Mexico. Even while interest in wildlife conservation and management has been increasing since the late 1990s because of the economic value of wildlife for sport hunting, cattle production still represents an important part of the ranch income. Our objective was to review the available information on exotic grasses and its effect on native rangelands and wildlife. To obtain the information included in this article, we reviewed the published information and personal information and observations. Ranchers need to balance and make commitments to optimize cattle and wildlife economic output. In general, the negative perception of biologists, ranchers, and the general public toward exotic grasses is less pronounced than in the United States even when the ecological benefits of maintaining healthy native rangelands is well-understood. Differences in primary productivity and domestic animal production between exotic and native grasses are well-documented; however, information on impacts of exotic grasses on wildlife is extremely limited. The preservation of native rangelands is important; however, exotic grasses will continue to be seeded in northern Mexico as long as cattle production remains an important economic activity. Exotic grasses in many cases will be impossible to eradicate; therefore, management will be necessary to ensure optimization of habitat for livestock and wildlife species. In this context many research questions need to be answered to optimize domestic livestock production and maintain healthy wildlife populations. Governments, non-governmental organizations, and other entities interested in conservation should combine efforts and develop incentive programs for ranchers to preserve native rangelands in Mexico and to avoid seeding exotic grasses. © 2013 The Wildlife Society.

Climate adaptation strategy for natural resources released

The National Fish, Wildlife, and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy, released on 26 March by the Obama administration, calls for a series of measures to help public and private decision makers better address the effects of climate change on living natural resources. The measures include conserving habitat to support healthy fish, wildlife, and plant populations and ecosystem functions; managing species and habitats to protect ecosystem functions and provide sustainable commercial, subsistence, recreational, and cultural use; increasing knowledge and information about effects on and responses of fish, wildlife, and plants; and reducing nonclimate stressors to help fish, wildlife, plants, and ecosystems adapt.

Promoting wildlife health or fighting wildlife disease: Insights from History, Philosophy, and Science

AbstractAlthough healthy wildlife populations are often a goal of wildlife management, ambiguity over the meaning of the term health may limit its effectiveness in guiding management objectives. Health is a complex concept with empirical and normative qualities; if it is to convey more than simply metaphorical value in wildlife conservation, clearer articulation of the meaning of wildlife health is needed. We provide a brief overview of the evolution of wildlife disease and health management; we discuss important philosophical themes relevant to developing a clarified understanding of wildlife health; and we share perspectives on wildlife health and disease from a Delphi exercise involving North American wildlife health professionals. The Delphi group conceptualized wildlife health as a multidisciplinary concept marked predominantly by population sustainability and resilience. Disease was considered to be a specific abnormal condition that is a part of the broader concept of health. We suggest improved integration of the descriptive and normative elements of wildlife health and greater inclusion of societal values in developing wildlife health objectives as a means to broaden the scope and effectiveness of wildlife health management. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.

Collective Action and the Rules of Surfing

This article examines the interaction between formal laws and informal social norms in generating de facto institutions for collective common pool resource governance. Utilizing ethnographic fieldwork and a game theory model, this study illustrates how the informal rules of surfing — which emerged in response to a resource scarcity engendered in part by formal state law — inadvertently facilitate collective action for environmental conservation by increasing the individual benefits for local surfers to organize against environmental threats. Lessons learned regarding effective institutions for governing common pool resources are relevant to sustaining ecosystem services necessary for human well-being such as clean air and healthy fish and wildlife populations. How and why some groups of surfers have managed to cooperate to protect surf breaks — a de jure open access common pool resource — is salient to the larger theoretical question of how any social group can overcome the collective action problem and self-organize to provide a non-excludable public good.

Response of guanacosLama guanicoeto changes in land management in Península Valdés, Argentine Patagonia: conservation implications

AbstractThe guanacoLama guanicoewas the only large native herbivore widely distributed across Patagonia until the introduction of domestic sheepOvis aries. Guanacos have declined because of competition with sheep for forage, high hunting pressure and habitat degradation. Península Valdés is a protected area where sheep ranching is the predominant activity. A ranch formerly dedicated to sheep production was converted into a private wildlife reserve, from which all the sheep were removed in 2005. We studied changes in guanaco abundance inside and outside the reserve after sheep removal, and also plant cover of various vegetation types. We found that guanaco abundance was higher inside than outside the reserve, and increased by three-fold within 3 years. Total plant cover and grass cover were higher inside than outside the reserve. Our results showed that guanacos reacted rapidly to changes in management, and suggest that even at a high density guanacos would not be as damaging to the vegetation as sheep. Although management changes resulted in significant changes in guanaco abundance locally, the size of a protected area influences the persistence of wild populations. A large herbivore such as the guanaco needs to be managed across large areas. We believe it is necessary to implement a management plan for Península Valdés that allows for the coexistence of sustainable livestock production and healthy wildlife populations.