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The status of wildlife in protected areas compared to non-protected areas of Kenya

We compile over 270 wildlife counts of Kenya’s wildlife populations conducted over the last 30 years to compare trends in national parks and reserves with adjacent ecosystems and country-wide trends. The study shows the importance of discriminating human-induced changes from natural population oscillations related to rainfall and ecological factors. National park and reserve populations have declines sharply over the last 30 years, at a rate similar to non-protected areas and country-wide trends. The protected area losses reflect in part their

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Factors Affecting Group Size and Vigilance Behaviour of Maasai Giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) on the Serengeti-Ngorongoro Ecosystem, Tanzania

This study investigated the factors affecting different group sizes of Maasai giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis tippelskirchi) in the Serengeti-Ngorongoro ecosystem. The study was motivated to test the following hypotheses: 1) in a given group, the sex ratio of males to females with calves is related to group size; 2) group size affects vigilance behaviour; 3) illegal hunting influences group size and vigilance behaviour; and 4) group size differs in different habitats, being larger in woodlands during the wet season and in

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The use of archeological and ethnographical information to supplement the historical record of the distribution of large mammalian herbivores in South Africa

The introduction of animal taxa  to areas where they do not naturally occur has the potential to damage severely the native fauna and flora. Introductions, both accidental and intentional, to Australia, New Zealand, Marion Island and other oceanic islands provide spectacular examples of this. Non-native mammalian herbivores often become invasive in the absence of their natural predators and their impact on vegetation, which may include alterations to plant species composition, structure and diversity, is exaggerated, especially if the vegetation has

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The ecology and changes of the Amboseli ecosystem: Recommendations for planning and conservation

This report is prepared for the Amboseli Task Force responsible for presenting an integrated landuse plan for the Amboseli ecosystem. The landuse plan aims at fostering sustainable development in south-eastern Kajiado while ensuring the conservation of wildlife in Amboseli National Park and the larger ecosystem. The Task Force, chaired by the Amboseli and Tsavo Group Ranch Conservation Association (ATGRCA), was convened in March 2004 by a workshop of some 70 landowners, community leaders, Kenya Wildlife Service, government agencies and non-government

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Spotlight on the Masai Giraffe

Thousands of years ago, the giraffe (Giraffa camelopardalis)–whose exotic appearance led the ancients to speculate it was an unnatural cross between a camel and a leopard–was common throughout all of Africa, Southern Europe, and India, but later became restricted to Africa. As recently as 800 years ago, giraffe disappeared from North Africa as a result of creeping desertification and loss of woodlands. The ranges of giraffe populations have contracted even further during the past half-century due to agricultural land conversion,

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