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The importance of large prey animals during the Pleistocene and the implications of their extinction on the use of dietary ethnographic analogies

Estimates of the human trophic level and dietary quality during the Paleolithic are the basis for many hypotheses and interpretations regarding human evolution and behavior. We describe an additional factor that could have significantly influenced human evolution and behavior, the availability of large prey animals. Given the importance of large prey and the mounting evidence of the decline in its abundance throughout the Pleistocene, we question the reliability of past reconstructions of the human trophic level that were heavily based

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Community-Based ecotourism and bushmeat consumption dynamics: Implications for conservation and community development

This paper uses qualitative research methods guided by the social exchange theory and the Community-Based Natural Resource Management concept to explore the contribution of community-based ecotourism to bushmeat consumption/production using the Chobe Enclave Conservation Trust, located adjacent to the Chobe National Park, Botswana. Data were collected between May and August 2018. Using semi-structured in-depth interviews, results indicate that, bushmeat consumption became prevalent through trophy hunting tourism. With the hunting ban in 2014, game hunting licenses was stopped, cutting institutionalized bushmeat

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Terrestrial mammalian wildlife responses to Unmanned Aerial Systems approaches

Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are increasingly being used recreationally, commercially and for wildlife research, but very few studies have quantified terrestrial mammalian reactions to UAS approaches. We used two Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) UAS to approach seven herbivore species in the Moremi Game Reserve, Botswana, after securing the relevant permissions. We recorded responses to 103 vertical and 120 horizontal approaches, the latter from three altitudes above ground level (AGL). We ran mixed logistic regressions to identify factors triggering (i)

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Effects of the safari hunting tourism ban on rural livelihoods and wildlife conservation in Northern Botswana

This paper examines the effects of the safari hunting ban of 2014 on rural livelihoods and wildlife conservation in Northern Botswana using the social exchange theory. The paper used both primary and secondary data sources. Data were analysed qualitatively. Results indicate that the ban led to a reduction of tourism benefits to local communities such as: income, employment opportunities, social services such as funeral insurance, scholarships and income required to make provision of housing for the needy and elderly. After

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The Ecology and Behaviour of Giraffe in Northern Botswana

Northern Botswana is one of the giraffe strongholds across its geographic range in the absence of, or with low impact from, the major anthropological threats faced elsewhere. Yet despite its conservation significance, until now, no giraffe specific ecological or behavioural studies have been undertaken. Moreover, Africa’s giraffe population has been significantly reduced over the last two decades, and the pressure on giraffe habitats and populations is likely to increase as the human population continues to expand, and the effects of

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Feeding behaviour of Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis) in Mokolodi Nature Reserve, Botswana

Feeding patterns of twelve giraffes were documented during the wet season from February to April in Mokolodi Nature Reserve in southeastern Botswana. The general aim of the study was to better understand how the giraffes sustain themselves in the Reserve. More specifically the study addresses different aspects of feeding modes and feeding preferences, time allocation between different activities and differences between males and females. We used focal-animal sampling and scan sampling to obtain relevant data. It was found that the

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On elephants, giraffes, and social development

Social development rests on varied assumptions, including the greater effectiveness and efficiency of local over central management, legally endorsed resource control, and the popular ability to take responsibility for the environment. The article outlines the experience of community based natural resource management in Botswana in validating these and other assumptions, and concludes that in some instances, particularly in small rural communities, grassroots development that follows them may not yield the expected outcomes.

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Shoot characteristics of Acacia tortilis (Forsk.) in wildlife and rangeland habitats of Botswana

Length, branch production, orientation, spinescence and biomass were measured for current shoots of Acacia tortilis shrubs in a range of habitats in Botswana. All shoot characteristics varied between individuals and between habitats with longer, less spinescent shoots produced in the habitat recently protected from wildlife. Biomass allocated to woody material increased with shoot length at the expense of leaf mass, whilst investment in straight prickles was as much as 6% of shoot dry mass. Shoot length had significant effects on

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Resource partitioning within a browsing guild in a key habitat, the Chobe Riverfront, Botswana

Resource partitioning between elephant, giraffe, kudu and impala was assessed. This was to address concerns that elephant population increase adversely affects other species through depleting their food in key areas close to permanent water. Resources considered were woody species browsed, height browsed and plant parts browsed. Animals were observed as they browsed and the plant species, browsing heights and plant parts browsed were recorded. Observations were made over 1 y and the data were divided between wet and dry season.

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Buffalo, Bush Meat, and the Zoonotic Threat of Brucellosis in Botswana

Background: Brucellosis is a zoonotic disease of global importance infecting humans, domestic animals, and wildlife. Little is known about the epidemiology and persistence of brucellosis in wildlife in Southern Africa, particularly in Botswana. Methods: Archived wildlife samples from Botswana (1995–2000) were screened with the Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and fluorescence polarization assay (FPA) and included the African buffalo (247), bushbuck (1), eland (5), elephant (25), gemsbok (1), giraffe (9), hartebeest (12), impala (171), kudu (27), red lechwe (10), reedbuck (1),

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