Human–wildlife conflict is one of the most pressing issues in conservation. Low-income rural communities are disproportionately affected by negative interactions with large predators, which often leads to retaliatory killings and persecution of the animals. To overcome this, socio-ecological studies that merge existing knowledge of large predator ecology with long-term livestock depredation monitoring are required. We examined patterns and drivers of livestock depredation in northern Botswana, using a mixed effects model of the government's long-term monitoring data on human–wildlife conflict, to identify ways to reduce depredation at key spatial and temporal scales. We compared the results to farmers’ understanding of their personal risk within the landscape. We analysed 342 depredation events that occurred during 2008–2016, using variables measured at different scales. The variables affecting the locations of depredation events at the 2-km scale were distance to protected areas and predator and herbivore density, with increased depredation in the wet season. At a 1-km scale, herbivore density did not have a significant effect, but the effect of other variables was unchanged. The 4-km scale model was influenced by livestock and herbivore density, with increased depredation in the wet season. Livestock depredation could be reduced by establishing an 8-km livestock-free buffer along the protected area boundary. There was disparity between government data on human–wildlife conflict, depredation reported by farmers in interviews and farmers’ risk awareness. Farmers would benefit from workshops providing tools to make evidence-based decisions and minimize their risk of negative interactions with wildlife. This would ultimately contribute to wildlife conservation in the Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area.

Specific procedures are described to measure the body dimensions of large African predators; these include measurements of body and tail length, head, canines, mane, limbs, paws and testes. Data on body mass and dimensions were collected from an immobilized sub-adult male African lion Panthera leo. He was 40 months old and weighed 190 kg. After being immobilized, data on body mass and dimensions were collected by a team comprising a scribe, two operators and assistants. The procedures of measuring the 43 variables on body dimensions were then repeated three times in quick succession, each session lasting about 10 min. The four sessions were handled as if a different individual was measured each time. Except for reports on body mass of lions, there is a paucity of comparable data in the literature for most of the variables presented in this paper. The small dispersion measures of the 43 variables suggest that the specific procedures to measure the body dimensions of a large African predator such as the lion have a high degree of repeatability and can be applied with confidence. The procedure has been used to obtain data on body dimensions of a large number of lions as well as dead specimens of black-backed jackal Canis mesomelas, caracal Caracal caracal and Cape fox Vulpes chama. The data form part of a database on body dimensions of large African predators created by ALPRU. The objective is to develop non-invasive techniques to determine whether wild predator populations might have been subjected to abnormal growth and development as a result of negative impacts on their habitat and thus food base.