![gmail backup 0.105 gmail backup 0.105](https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8809/17026498367_70959649b4_k_d.jpg)
Disease-free Cape buffalo (Syncerus caffer caffer) in southern Africa exist in populations with a variety of histories and management practices. However, increased fragmentation and intensive management may threaten the evolutionary potential and conservation value of species. Wildlife ranching, although not considered a conventional conservation system, provides a sustainable model for wildlife utilization and could be a source of valuable genetic material.
#Gmail backup 0.105 drivers#
This article is the first step towards understanding the drivers and managing the associated impacts of unsustainable and illegal giraffe use and trade. While the CITES listing of giraffe provides a mechanism through which international trade can be monitored, our findings suggest that the majority of illegal hunting currently occurs domestically and only within certain giraffe populations. We found that the dynamics of legal and illegal trade and the use of giraffe parts vary throughout Africa, ranging from local consumption to cross border and international trade, and from ornamental adornment to medicinal and consumption use. As a first step towards addressing these knowledge gaps, we conducted a literature review as well as a specialist survey regarding the use and trade of giraffe. However, there is a distinct lack of quantitative data and research on the scale, extent and purpose of both illegal and legal hunting, and the use and/or trading of giraffe and their parts. Concern over the species' threat status prompted a proposal to list the giraffe, which is still recognized as a single species by the IUCN, in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES). Three of the four newly distinguished giraffe species are in significant decline. Despite these challenges, commercial wildlife ranching offers a viable option for conserving large mammalian herbivore biodiversity. We discuss the potential negative impacts of widespread game fencing on landscape fragmentation and gene flow, as well as how the widespread occurrence of extralimital species may lead to hybridisation, biotic homogenisation, and changes to vegetation dynamics. We estimate that 4.66–7.25 million herbivores occur on ranches nationally, representing one of the few examples on earth where indigenous mammal populations are thriving and demonstrating how sustainable use can lead to rewilding. Ranches conducting trophy hunting had similar species richness and numbers of extralimital species per ha, but fewer threatened species when compared to ranches conducting ecotourism. In comparison to 54 state PAs, wildlife ranches had significantly higher species richness, more threatened species but more extralimital species when property/reserve size was controlled for. Overall, 40 herbivore species were present across the sample, where individual ranches had a mean of 15.0 (± 4.8) species, 1.9 (± 1.5) threatened species, and 3.6 (± 3.1) extralimital species per property. Using structured questionnaires of 226 wildlife ranchers, we assessed how the sector contributes towards the conservation of ungulates and elephants (hereafter herbivores). This land has potential to contribute towards biodiversity conservation, but the extent to which this occurs has not been evaluated.
![gmail backup 0.105 gmail backup 0.105](https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7792/17313822976_a27c83a3a0_o_d.jpg)
In South Africa, an estimated area of 20 million ha is under wildlife ranching, a form of private land enterprise that adopts wildlife-based land uses for commercial gain. Reversing biodiversity loss is a global imperative that requires setting aside sufficient space for species.