The diet of large carnivores is of great interest to conservation managers, as it can reveal the extent of human-carnivore conflict and the impact of carnivores on species of high conservation priority. Metabarcoding of environmental DNA can identify species and is often more reliable than observational or morphological methods, particularly when it comes to detecting rare and elusive species. Here, we used DNA metabarcoding of feces to determine the diet of spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta in the Ngorongoro Crater, a protected area in northern Tanzania with high densities of wild ungulates surrounded by areas co-inhabited by pastoralists. We assessed which species hyenas preferably consumed over a 24-year period and how frequently they consumed livestock and black rhinoceros, a species of high economic value and conservation priority. We further estimated the effects of three key socio-demographic variables - age, social rank, and sex - on the propensity of hyenas to consume livestock. We detected DNA from 20 species in 371 hyena feces. Livestock was rarely consumed (4.1% of detections) and mostly by old hyenas that are less capable of hunting fleet-footed and powerful wild prey. No DNA of black rhinoceros was detected in any of the samples. Our findings suggest that the impact of Crater hyenas on livestock and wildlife of high conservation priority is minimal. Our study highlights the potential of DNA metabarcoding to assess the extent of human-carnivore conflict and to guide evidence-based conservation efforts to promote coexistence of carnivores, humans, and species of high conservation priority.

Several recent commentaries by conservationists underscore the inadequacy of scholarly investigations on the ecology and conservation of non-apex carnivores. This bias spells multi-arrayed challenges for carnivores living in anthropized landscapes. The globally Vulnerable fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus) living across human-dominated South Asian wetlands exemplify this problem. Bangladesh, a densely populated, tenuous place for human-wildlife coexistence, constitutes similar to 30 % of the fishing cat's known distribution range. Based on systematic surveys of media reports (n = 361; 2005-2021), we implemented a novel application of predictive modeling to map fishing cat presence, and hotspots of human-fishing cat negative interactions across Bangladesh. The distribution of fishing cats was best explained by the extent of wetlands and dry-season precipitation. Negative interactions were associated with patchy mosaics of wetlands, croplands, and road networks. Around 47 % of the reported negative interactions were triggered by mere sightings of the cat and 26 % involved transactional costs. Chase-and-capture of the 'problem' animal ensued in > 50 % of reported cases; 26 % mentioned the use of traps or other gears. From 31 % of reports, we recorded 160 fishing cat mortality incidents, but no human fatalities. Our results show that around one-third of Bangladesh likely has breeding fishing cat populations; > 95 % of these regions are outside Protected Areas. We recommend formulating an action plan to strategize a redressal policy, enhance public perception of coexistence, and increase conservation units. We suggest applying this case study to other fishing cat range countries, or other carnivores in the Global South, where data deficiency and lack of systematic large-scale assessments often hinder conservation interventions.

The determination of suitable habitats and roadkill hotspots allows for the prioritization of areas of conservation and the identification of road sections that require appropriate planning and development. Understanding the factors that influence the species' presence and those contributing to its road-related fatalities is crucial. This study demonstrates the use of MaxEnt modeling to map the potential distribution of the striped hyaena (Hyaena hyaena) in Batna province (East Algeria) using occurrence records and a set of environmental variables. The results indicated that the two primary environmental variables that influence the distribution of the species are the shrubland, and the slope with a contribution of 37.5 and 30.2 %, respectively, followed by built-up areas (12 %) and distance to roads (7.2 %). The species may occupy steep terrain with shrubland near anthropized areas. Road collisions represent a threat to the species, with 28 documented casualties from 2010 to 2020 in Batna. The kernel density estimation revealed an important roadkill hotspot along the national roads 3 and 28. This study represents a preliminary step for the use of wildlife ecological niche modeling and road management in Algeria.

In conservation, a growing population is often taken as a sign of success. But trends in population size can be misleading. When individuals are long-lived, populations may keep growing—for a time—even as the environment begins to stabilize or deteriorate. Trends in carrying capacity ( K ) would better reflect the situation that a population finds itself in, yet K is commonly assumed to be static. We developed an individual-based modelling approach to estimate time-varying carrying capacity ( K t) in a population of free-ranging spotted hyenas. K t noticeably varied due to events such as disease outbreaks, but not in response to recent conservation interventions. Although the population tripled in size during the 26-year study period, we found no corresponding trend in K t. Rather, population recovery resulted from earlier environmental improvements. Our approach, which can be applied to populations of other species, allows for a faster and more accurate assessment of conservation needs.### Competing Interest StatementThe authors have declared no competing interest.

1. Despite the ecological importance of the four extant species of Hyaenidae, and the threats they face globally, there has been no review of the nearly 100 years of published research on hyaenas, nor has there been a synthesis of management-related literature regarding these species. 2. We reviewed 907 studies on Hyaenidae, summarized broad temporal, geographic and topical trends, and evaluated findings from management-related research to determine ways forward for hyaena conservation management. Since the first known study in 1939, most have focused on spotted hyaena (Crocuta crocuta; 75% of all studies), yet overall publications for Hyaenidae have increased by 372% in recent decades. 3. Only 44 of the 67 hyaena range states were represented across publications, with nearly half of all studies conducted in Kenya (18%), South Africa (16%) and Tanzania (13%). Twenty-eight countries had fewer than five studies. Ecology and diet were the most-studied topic areas. The least-studied topics were disease and physiology. 4. Studies on human-hyaena interactions were highly variable in topic, with infrastructure impacts and Hyaenidae benefits to people covered the least. All species were reported to have consumed anthropogenic diet items. Mortality data were included within 11% of publications, with 79% of recorded hyaena mortality constituting anthropogenic causes, although there were few targeted studies on the subject. Lastly, 12% of publications involved community engagement in their methods. 5. There is a significant bias among species, topics and range states across Hyaenidae studies, and little data explicitly related to human-hyaena coexistence. Our management-focused synthesis suggests that research on Hyaenidae could better reflect large carnivore conservation and management inquiry by increasing studies focused on human interactions with Hyaenidae. To address research gaps and inform Hyaenidae management, we recommend increasing applied research outside of protected areas and using interdisciplinary, community-involved methods to increase foundational knowledge on understudied hyaena species, habitats and locations.

We have been monitoring spotted hyaena dens with camera traps at our site since 2016. We describe a novel phenomenon: concurrent subterranean den sharing between spotted hyaenas, warthogs, and crested porcupines at a wildlife conservancy in Kenya. We discovered two different hyaena clans that occasionally shared active dens with warthogs and porcupines in 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 but not since. We speculate on the reasons why and how this cohabitation arrangement arose and suggest that it might be based on a 'healthy respect' for the threats presented by their mutually formidable weaponry. We hope this note will encourage others to describe similar behaviour.

The diet of large carnivores is of great interest to conservation managers, as it can reveal the extent of human-carnivore conflict and the impact of carnivores on species of high conservation priority. Metabarcoding of environmental DNA can identify species and is often more reliable in doing so than observational or morphological methods. Metabarcoding is particularly powerful at detecting elusive and rare species and has therefore become a widely applied tool in biodiversity research. Here, we used DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples to determine the diet of spotted hyenas in the Ngorongoro Crater, a protected area in Northern Tanzania surrounded by areas co-inhabited by pastoralists. We assessed which species hyenas preferably consumed over a 24-year period and how frequently they consumed pastoralist livestock and black rhinoceros, a species of high economic value and conservation priority. We further estimated the effects of three key socio-demographic variables – age, social rank, and sex – on the propensity of hyenas to consume livestock. We detected DNA from 20 species in 371 hyena feces. Hyenas preferably consumed blue wildebeest and Grant’s gazelle. Among the detected species were five domestic species and one wild species that lived in the pastoralist-inhabited areas but not the Crater. This shows that resident Crater hyenas undertake foraging trips to areas surrounding the Crater. DNA of domestic species however was rarely detected (4.1% of 434 detections), and predominantly in feces of old hyenas. This suggests that Crater hyenas rarely consume livestock and that livestock is mostly consumed by hyenas less capable of hunting fleet-footed and powerful wild prey. No DNA of black rhinoceros was detected in any of the samples, suggesting that Crater hyenas do not frequently consume rhinoceros. Our findings suggest that the impact of Crater hyenas on livestock and wildlife of high conservation priority is limited. Our study highlights the potential of DNA metabarcoding to assess the extent of human-carnivore conflict and to guide evidence-based conservation efforts to promote coexistence of carnivores, humans and species of high conservation priority.

The global decline of terrestrial species is largely due to the degradation, loss and fragmentation of their habitats. The conversion of natural ecosystems for cropland, rangeland, forest products and human infrastructure are the primary causes of habitat deterioration. Due to the paucity of data on the past distribution of species and the scarcity of fine-scale habitat conversion maps, however, accurate assessment of the recent effects of habitat degradation, loss and fragmentation on the range of mammals has been near impossible. We aim to assess the proportions of available habitat within the lost and retained parts of mammals' distribution ranges, and to identify the drivers of habitat availability. We produced distribution maps for 475 terrestrial mammals for the range they occupied 50 years ago and compared them to current range maps. We then calculated the differences in the percentage of 'area of habitat' (habitat available to a species within its range) between the lost and retained range areas. Finally, we ran generalized linear mixed models to identify which variables were more influential in determining habitat availability in the lost and retained parts of the distribution ranges. We found that 59% of species had a lower proportion of available habitat in the lost range compared to the retained range, thus hypothesizing that habitat loss could have contributed to range declines. The most important factors negatively affecting habitat availability were the conversion of land to rangeland and high density of livestock. Significant intrinsic traits were those related to reproductive timing and output, habitat breadth and medium body size. Our findings emphasize the importance of implementing conservation strategies to mitigate the impacts caused by human activities on the habitats of mammals, and offer evidence indicating which species have the potential to reoccupy portions of their former range if other threats cease to occur. This study investigates the impact of habitat degradation on terrestrial mammal species. By comparing historic and current distribution maps for 475 species, we found that 59% of them have less available habitat in their lost ranges, suggesting habitat loss contributed to range declines. Factors like land conversion to rangeland and high livestock density negatively affected habitat availability. Intrinsic traits such as reproductive timing, habitat breadth and medium body size also played a role. The study underscores the need for conservation efforts to mitigate human-induced habitat threats and identifies species that could potentially reclaim lost range if threats are addressed.image

The use of remote camera traps has accelerated rapidly in the field of large carnivore science since the 1990s. Members of the Hyaenidae are important components of functional ecosystems in Africa and parts of the Middle East and South Asia, and make good candidates for study using camera traps. However, camera trap studies of hyenas remain rare in the literature when compared to species like tigers Panthera tigris , leopards Panthera pardus , and snow leopards Panthera uncia . In this paper, we examine the published use of camera traps for hyenas ( n = 34 studies implemented between 2007 and 2020) and examine the logistical challenges of using camera traps, such as individual identification, limited sexual dimorphism, and complex social structures, for studies of hyena population biology, behavioral ecology, and conservation. We highlight what these challenges may mean for data analyses and interpretation. We also suggest potential benefits of further camera trap studies of this taxonomic family, including new insights into social behavior, range extensions, and robust density estimates.

It is important to assess whether anthropogenic activity affects wildlife distribution and resource use to appraise the efficacy of multi-use protected areas. Habitat degradation and vegetation damage as indicators of competitive and facilitative livestock-wildlife interactions were the focus of this study. Foot transects were conducted in the dry season of 2011, wet season of 2012, and dry season of 2012 in five wildlife sanctuaries in the Amboseli ecosystem, Kenya, to determine whether habitat degradation and vegetation damage affected wildlife distribution and wildlife-livestock interactions. Simpson's and Jaccard's biodiversity indices and Pianka's niche overlap index were used to assess wildlife-livestock interactions across a gradient of habitat degradation. In the dry season, Jaccard's, Pianka's, and Simpson's indices (0.50, 0.84, and 0.99, respectively) peaked at the highest level of degradation. In the wet season, Jaccard's index (0.42) peaked at a fairly high level of habitat degradation, Pianka's index (0.82) at a fairly low level, and Simpson's (0.80) at the lowest level. Two-way ANOVA revealed that there was no effect of degradation or vegetation damage on wildlife distribution irrespective of the feeding guild. Therefore, it appears that continued shared use of the Amboseli landscape by wildlife and livestock is feasible.

Scavenging of carrion is an important ecological process that influences ecological communities and food webs. The competitive inter- and intra-specific interactions in terrestrial vertebrate scavenger communities are likely to limit access to carrion for some scavengers, having direct impacts on their fitness by limiting energetic intake. Striped hyenas (Hyaena hyaena) are well-known facultative scavenger that co-exists with other carnivores (i.e., tigers, Panthera tigris; leopards, Panthera pardus; and golden jackals, Canis aureus) across the landscape. In this study, we assessed the competitive interactions among large carnivores having a large-sized body (i.e., striped hyenas, tigers, leopards) and a social group foraging mesocarnivore (i.e., golden jackal) through their carrion acquisition with special reference to striped hyenas’ carrion acquisition in the semi-arid region of Rajasthan, India. We deployed camera traps at 14 carcass sites from 2020 to 2022 and considered three main aspects of scavenging behavior (presence, total feeding time, and mean feeding bout duration). We used generalized linear models (GLMs) to understand the competitive interactions among large carnivores and mesocarnivores through their carcass consumption and scavenging efficiency. Our analyses showed that the tigers are dominant scavengers that monopolize carrion resources and reduce consumption time, and hence nutrition gained, of striped hyenas and the other carnivorous scavengers. But leopards and striped hyenas did not show any major negative interactions at carcasses, while both jackals and striped hyenas negatively affected each other’s carrion acquisition at carcasses; as a result, striped hyena’s presence affected the carrion acquisition by jackals, and also jackals affected the mean feeding bout duration of striped hyenas. Our results highlight the importance of functional traits in intraguild interactions and the potential effects of competition on carrion acquisition. Specifically, large carnivores that have specific traits, i.e., large body size, negatively affected the subordinate carnivores at carcasses, while the mesocarnivores that have specific traits, i.e., social group foraging, negatively affect the carrion acquisition and energetics of solitary feeding striped hyenas.

Robust measures of animal densities are necessary for effective wildlife management. Leopards ( Panthera pardus ) and spotted hyenas ( Crocuta Crocuta ) are higher order predators that are data deficient across much of their East African range and in Uganda, excepting for one peer-reviewed study on hyenas, there are presently no credible population estimates for these species. A lack of information on the population status and even baseline densities of these species has ramifications as leopards are drawcards for the photo-tourism industry, and along with hyenas are often responsible for livestock depredations from pastoralist communities. Leopards are also sometimes hunted for sport. Establishing baseline density estimates for these species is urgently needed not only for population monitoring purposes, but in the design of sustainable management offtakes, and in assessing certain conservation interventions like financial compensation for livestock depredation. Accordingly, we ran a single-season survey of these carnivores in the Lake Mburo National Park of south-western Uganda using 60 remote camera traps distributed in a paired format at 30 locations. We analysed hyena and leopard detections under a Bayesian spatially explicit capture-recapture (SECR) modelling framework to estimate their densities. This small national park (370 km 2 ) is surrounded by Bahima pastoralist communities with high densities of cattle on the park edge (with regular park incursions). Leopard densities were estimated at 6.31 individuals/100 km 2 (posterior SD = 1.47, 95% CI [3.75–9.20]), and spotted hyena densities were 10.99 individuals/100 km 2 , but with wide confidence intervals (posterior SD = 3.35, 95% CI [5.63–17.37]). Leopard and spotted hyena abundance within the boundaries of the national park were 24.87 (posterior SD 7.78) and 39.07 individuals (posterior = SD 13.51) respectively. Leopard densities were on the middle end of SECR studies published in the peer-reviewed literature over the last 5 years while spotted hyena densities were some of the first reported in the literature using SECR, and similar to a study in Botswana which reported 11.80 spotted hyenas/100 km 2 . Densities were not noticeably lower at the park edge, and in the southwest of our study site, despite repeated cattle incursions into these areas. We postulate that the relatively high densities of both species in the region could be owed to impala Aepyceros melampus densities ranging from 16.6–25.6 impala/km 2 . Another, potential explanatory variable (albeit a speculative one) is the absence of interspecific competition from African lions ( Panthera leo ), which became functionally extinct (there is only one male lion present) in the park nearly two decades ago. This study provides the first robust population estimate of these species anywhere in Uganda and suggests leopards and spotted hyenas continue to persist in the highly modified landscape of Lake Mburo National Park.

Anthropogenic activity can have substantial effects on wildlife. These effects may vary according to the characteristics of the activity and the species involved. Although effects on behaviour are well studied, studies of effects on fitness and physiology are scarce, particularly for group-living species. We exploited a natural experimental setup to investigate the effect of diurnal pastoralism on juvenile recruitment and allostatic load in a population of free-ranging spotted hyenas in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, over a 24-year period. Pastoralism was restricted to the territories of two of the eight study clans, allowing us to compare juvenile recruitment in exposed and unexposed clans. We also compared faecal glucocorticoid metabolite concentrations (fGMC)-a biomarker of an organism's allostatic load-between exposed and unexposed clans using 975 faecal samples from 475 hyenas. We found no detectable difference in juvenile recruitment nor fGMC between the exposed and unexposed clans, indicating that the pastoralism had no substantial deleterious effect on the spotted hyenas. The lack of a deleterious effect likely stems from the combined effect of the predictable and undisruptive nature of the pastoralism, the socio-ecology of spotted hyenas and the Ngorongoro Crater's consistently abundant prey. Our findings demonstrate that exposure to anthropogenic activity may be compatible with the persistence of certain group-living species, especially if the overlap between the species' critical behaviours and the activity is limited. Our study thereby provides new perspectives for ecologists, conservation biologists and stakeholders who seek to assess human-wildlife conflicts and balance the needs of local human communities and wildlife.

Management strategies to reduce human-carnivore conflict are most effective when accepted by local communities. Previous studies have suggested that the acceptance depends on emotions toward carnivores, the cultural importance of carnivores, and livestock depredation, and that it may vary depending on the types of strategies and carnivores involved. However, no study so far considered these factors simultaneously to compare their influence on the acceptance of management strategies. We quantified the predictive potential of these factors on the acceptance of three management strategies frequently applied to mitigate human-carnivore conflict: no action, relocation, and lethal control. We interviewed 100 members of the Maasai community in Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. We used structured, closed questionnaires and focused on the three large carnivores involved in the most depredation regionally: spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta), lions (Panthera leo), and leopards (Panthera pardus). We found that the majority of respondents accepted no action and rejected relocation and lethal control for all three carnivores. The acceptance of the management strategies was strongly influenced by the emotion joy and by the cultural importance of carnivores, and the effects of joy and cultural importance were stronger than the effect of livestock depredation. We conclude that authorities should evaluate the emotions and cultural importance that local communities associate with carnivores when seeking to gain acceptance of management strategies and account for differences between species. Finally, we recommend that future human-carnivore coexistence studies should consider the socio-psychology of local communities and be done longitudinally to detect shifts in cultural, emotional, and ecological factors over time.

The striped hyena (Hyaena hyaena) is an understudied large carnivore with no known historic range map. Knowledge of the past and present extent of its easternmost distribution beyond 85° east longitude is dubious. Through a comprehensive review of historical evidence and contemporary records, we investigated striped hyena presence in Bengal, i.e., Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal in South Asia. We found 14 historical records, with the oldest one dating to 1876. Our review establishes Bangladesh as a former striped hyena range country and the striped hyena as one of the first large carnivores to go extinct in Bangladesh. We identified northern Bangladesh as part of its historical range (until ~1965), and south-central Bangladesh as a possible part of its historical range. In West Bengal, India, hyenas were historically present up to the southern tributaries of the Brahmaputra River, but the present range is reduced. The area south of the Damodar River is its last refuge in Bengal. We also found 15 contemporary records (2010–2021) in Bengal, from sites situated on the eastern limit of the Chota Nagpur Plateau. These records noted 25 sightings including 9 deaths due to poaching, train accidents, and retaliatory killings. Our review demonstrates that hyenas are currently present up to 87° east longitude, which extends the currently documented easternmost range for the species by almost 1,000 km. We recommend methods which can be applied to delineate the historical extent of striped hyenas elsewhere as well as for other poorly understood species.

Conservation policy and practice can sometimes run counter to their mutual aims of ensuring species survival. In Kenya, where threatened predators such as lion deplete endangered prey such as Grevy's zebra, conservation practitioners seek to ensure species success through exclusive strategies of protection, population increase and preservation. We found strong selection for the endangered Grevy's zebra by both lion and hyena on two small fenced conservancies in Kenya. Despite abundant diversity of available prey, Grevy's zebra were selected disproportionately more than their availability, while other highly available species such as buffalo were avoided. Lions were therefore not alone in presenting a credible threat to Grevy's zebra survival. Conservation practitioners must consider interlinked characteristics of prey selection, resource availability and quality, the interplay between carnivore guild members and landscape scale population trends performance in wildlife management decisions.

How can taxonomists best resolve the challenge of curating and analyzing large phylogenomic datasets that produce incongruent but highly supported topologies? Betancur-R et al. used a recently established hypothesis-testing procedure on a large dataset of genes and species to study the evolutionary relationships of characiform fishes, finding that past conclusions of non-monophyly may have been problematic and establishing monophyly with high confidence. The new findings highlight the importance of using dense taxon sampling to resolve conflicting relationships with phylogenomic data.