As human populations grow and transform undeveloped terrestrial and aquatic habitats, human–wildlife conflict inevitably increases. This is particularly problematic for large predators and the humans who live alongside them. Relatively little research has been conducted on alleviating adverse human encounters with one of the most significant predator species in Africa, the Nile crocodile Crocodylus niloticus. This short communication raises questions about some of the general statements made to explain the incidence of attacks by crocodiles. Some of the limitations of the data on such attacks are considered, with recommendations on what kinds of data are required. Data collection and analysis, and how they can inform more effective mitigation efforts, are discussed.

The conservation status of threatened taxa may be obfuscated by the detection of cryptic species complexes, in both vertebrate and invertebrate species. African dwarf crocodiles (Osteolaemus spp.) are hunted throughout their range but their conservation status is unknown. Few population assessments have been carried out and there has been a taxonomic revision of the number of species in the genus. The similar morphologies of Osteolaemus tetraspis and Osteolaemus osborni pose a challenge for conservation in Cameroon, where they are still managed as a single species. Nocturnal spotlight surveys were conducted in three regions during August–November 2010 and December 2011–February 2012 to provide population assessments of O. tetraspis and O. osborni and raise awareness of the two species in Cameroon. The mean encounter rates of O. tetraspis and O. osborni were 1.02 ± SD 1.34 (65 individuals in 39 surveys) and 0.61 ± SD 0.38 (three in four surveys) crocodiles per km, respectively. The O. tetraspis population comprised juveniles predominantly and had a male-biased sex ratio. The few O. osborni detected comprised both adults and juveniles. Both species are threatened in Cameroon, based on low encounter rates, young population structures and the threats of habitat loss and hunting pressure. This study provides distribution maps and serves as a baseline to quantify population trends and inform conservation strategies.

The Saharan cheetah Acinonyx jubatus hecki, once broadly distributed across north-western Africa, now occurs in only 9% of its former range and is categorized as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The Saharan cheetah is rare and threatened but there is a lack of reliable data on its population status and distribution. We report sightings of cheetahs in the Termit & Tin Toumma National Nature and Cultural Reserve of Niger, recorded using three methods: camera-trap surveys, sign surveys and interviews with local people. We recorded three individuals in camera-traps, three direct sightings of lone individuals, 43 distinct cheetah tracks, and one cheetah scat, which suggest a resident population. Most respondents had negative attitudes towards carnivores, including the cheetah. Paradoxically, local nomads reported no conflict with the cheetah and perceived that the number of cheetahs was declining. Attitudes towards carnivores were correlated with respondents’ age and level of education. Efforts to reduce killing of carnivores and their prey are needed but it is equally important for conservation initiatives to focus on increasing local knowledge about wildlife through education, particularly targeted at the younger generation. Our findings highlight the benefits of using various techniques for recording the presence of a rare carnivore.

Estimation of survival rates is important for developing and evaluating conservation options for large carnivores. However, telemetry studies for large carnivores are often characterized by small sample sizes that limit meaningful conclusions. We used data from 10 published and 8 unpublished studies of leopards Panthera pardus in southern Africa to estimate survival rates and investigate causes of leopard mortality. Mean survival rates were significantly lower in non-protected (0.55 ± SE 0.08) compared to protected areas (0.88 ± 0.03). Inside protected areas juveniles had significantly lower survival (0.39 ± 0.10) compared to subadults (0.86 ± 0.07) and adults (0.88 ± 0.04). There was a greater difference in cause of death between protected and non-protected areas for females compared to males, with people being the dominant cause of mortality outside protected areas for both females and males. We suggest there is cause for concern regarding the sustainability of leopard populations in South Africa, as high female mortality may have severe demographic effects and a large proportion of suitable leopard habitat lies in non-protected areas. However, because a large proportion of deaths outside protected areas were attributed to deliberate killing by people, we suggest that management interventions may have the potential to increase leopard survival dramatically. We therefore stress the urgency to initiate actions, such as conflict mitigation programmes, to increase leopard survival in non-protected areas.

African lion Panthera leo populations have declined as a result of various anthropogenic factors, and most extant populations are small, which further compromises their persistence. Lions in unfenced areas are more exposed to illegal hunting, snaring and poisoning, and populations in fenced reserves are subject to population control by removal of selected individuals from particular age and sex classes. During 2000–2011 19 lions from the mostly unfenced Northern Tuli Game Reserve in Botswana were shot, snared or poisoned. By contrast, only one lioness was shot outside the fenced Venetia Limpopo Nature Reserve 10 km away, in South Africa, where 29 lions were trophy hunted or culled. We found that the mean population size, sex ratio and litter size were the same for both reserves but population density, pride size and cub survival rate were significantly higher in the fenced reserve. The size of the population in Northern Tuli was constrained by a high rate of indiscriminate anthropogenic mortality, with 94.7% of adult mortality occurring outside the reserve. The different forms of anthropogenic suppression in evidence at the two reserves resulted in different population-level responses, which will ultimately affect population viability. As conservation strategies are attempting to remove fences and establish larger conservation areas, this study indicates how fences can influence population dynamics in areas where human presence threatens large carnivores.

Climate change and habitat fragmentation are considered key pressures on biodiversity, and mammalian carnivores with a limited geographical distribution are particularly vulnerable. The kodkod Leopardus guigna, a small felid endemic to the temperate forests of southern Chile and Argentina, has the smallest geographical range of any New World felid. Although the species occurs in protected areas in both countries, it is not known how well these areas protect the kodkod either currently or under climate change scenarios. We used species distribution models and spatial analyses to assess the distribution of the kodkod, examining the effects of changes in human land use and future climate change. We also assessed the species’ present representation in protected areas and in light of climate change scenarios. We found that the kodkod has already lost 5.5% of its range as a result of human land use, particularly in central areas of its distribution with intermediate habitat suitability. Climate change, together with human land use, will affect 40% of the kodkod's present potential distribution by the year 2050. Currently, 12.5% of the species’ potential distribution lies in protected areas and this will increase to 14% in the future. This increase does not, however, mean an increase in protected habitat but rather a reduction of the species' total potential range; a relatively larger percentage will be protected in Argentina than in Chile but the species is more susceptible to extinction in Argentina and the Chilean Matorral.

There is little information on the population status of the ocelot Leopardus pardalis in Mexico. In the Sierra Abra-Tanchipa Biosphere Reserve, in San Luis Potosí, ocelots are affected by habitat loss and fragmentation as a result of increased agricultural development. We used photographic identification in camera-trapping capture–recapture surveys to determine population abundance and density during the dry season and subsequent early and late humid seasons during April 2011–March 2012. We recorded 80 photographs of 15 individuals (10 males, one female, and four of undetermined sex) in 7,786 camera-days. Abundance was estimated using a closed capture heterogeneity model, yielding an estimated population of 9 ± SE 3 in the dry season and 21 ± SE 8 and 15 ± SE 5 during the subsequent early and late humid seasons, respectively. Spatially explicit density estimates were 0.04 and 0.03–0.18 individuals per km2 for the dry and humid seasons, respectively, and were similar (P > 0.612) among seasons. Peaks in ocelot activity occurred during 20.00–04.00. We conclude that the ocelots of the Sierra Abra-Tanchipa Reserve have a low population density and may face geographical and biological isolation as a result of habitat conversion. Continued monitoring and improved understanding of the movements and habitat preferences of ocelots are necessary to ensure their continued persistence, and connectivity between this population and others in north-east Mexico.

The recovery goal for the jaguar Panthera onca in the USA should be to restore significant presence with some reproduction, consistent with historical records. Nevertheless, the prevailing conservation strategy for the jaguar does not include restoration in peripheral range and merely seeks long-term survival of the jaguar within its existing northern range, which is almost entirely in Mexico. Broader issues are whether recovery programmes should include peripheral populations, range expansion and species representation across ecoregions. Considering jaguar history, habitat, population requirements, wildlife management and other factors in the southwestern USA, efforts to re-establish the species would have a reasonable chance of success. Recovery of the jaguar in the USA would improve prospects for the adaptation and survival of the species within its northern range, given habitat loss, conflicts with humans and climate change.

China is home to three subspecies of tiger Panthera tigris but there are no estimates of the size of any of the populations. We detected a population of the Endangered Amur tiger Panthera tigris altaica in Hunchun Nature Reserve in Jilin Province using both mitochondrial DNA and nuclear microsatellite loci. Four male and one female tigers were detected, indicating the potential for a small breeding group. However, genetic diversity was low overall, with six loci showing a heterozygote deficiency and a mean of 2.55 alleles per locus. This study is the first estimate of the wild Amur tiger population in China to use non-invasive techniques, and the presence of a female tiger indicates this is a potentially viable population. We provide baseline genetic diversity estimates to support monitoring of the population. The small number of tiger scats located indicates the importance of continuing the current conservation efforts for this tiger subspecies in Hunchun Nature Reserve. Such efforts include reducing poaching of tigers and their prey, and implementation of management plans to encourage the persistence and recovery of tigers in this area.

Impoverished communities often turn to illegal extraction of resources from protected areas to alleviate economic pressures or to make monetary gains. Such practices can cause ecological damage and threaten animal populations. These communities also often face a high disease burden and typically do not have access to affordable health care. Here we argue that these two seemingly separate challenges may have a common solution. In particular, providing health care to communities adjacent to protected areas may be an efficient and effective way to reduce the disease burden while also improving local perceptions about protected areas, potentially reducing illegal extraction. We present a case study of a health centre on the edge of Kibale National Park, Uganda. The centre has provided care to c. 7,200 people since 2008 and its outreach programme extends to c. 4,500 schoolchildren each year. Contrasting the provision of health care to other means of improving community perceptions of protected areas suggests that health clinics have potential as a conservation tool in some situations and should be considered in future efforts to manage protected areas.

There is little information on the changing role of bushmeat hunting in the agricultural areas of West Africa. We assessed the status and role of bushmeat hunting and rural consumption in three communities in Ghana, through household surveys (n = 250), and interviews with hunters (n = 69), eatery owners (n = 18) and bushmeat traders (n = 3). Hunting was embedded within dynamic livelihood strategies, with two broad categories of hunters identified: a large group who targeted pests on their own farms using traps, and a smaller group of professional hunters. The professional hunters included a group of young men who hunted with dogs, and another group of older firearm hunters who tended to be members of Hunters’ Associations. All professional hunters reported a decline in bushmeat availability and expressed concerns about the viability of hunting as a livelihood. The frequency of consumption of bushmeat increased with distance from the region's main urban centre, Kumasi, but bushmeat was not found to be a major component of the diet in any of the villages. Few men self-identified as hunters, although bushmeat hunting continued to play an important role in the rural economy, primarily for crop protection. Conservation efforts need to consider the full spectrum of hunting behaviours. Specific measures should target forest-based hunters, who are more likely to damage forest ecosystems than crop pest hunters but also show more concern for the sustainability of hunting, and commitment to hunting as an institution.

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species uses geographical distribution as a key criterion in assessing the conservation status of species. Accurate knowledge of a species’ distribution is therefore essential to ensure the correct categorization is applied. Here we compare the geographical distribution of 35 species of chameleons endemic to East Africa, using data from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) and data compiled by a taxonomic expert. Data screening showed 99.9% of GBIF records used outdated taxonomy and 20% had no locality coordinates. Conversely the expert dataset used 100% up-to-date taxonomy and only seven records (3%) had no coordinates. Both datasets were used to generate range maps for each species, which were then used in preliminary Red List categorization. There was disparity in the categories of 10 species, with eight being assigned a lower threat category based on GBIF data compared with expert data, and the other two assigned a higher category. Our results suggest that before conducting desktop assessments of the threatened status of species, aggregated museum locality data should be vetted against current taxonomy and localities should be verified. We conclude that available online databases are not an adequate substitute for taxonomic experts in assessing the threatened status of species and that Red List assessments may be compromised unless this extra step of verification is carried out.