Background Assessing wildlife movements and habitat use is important for species conservation and management and can be informative for understanding population dynamics. The African buffalo ( Syncerus caffer ) population of Ruaha National Park, Tanzania has been declining, and little was known about the movement, habitat selection, and space use of the population, which is important for understanding possible reasons behind the decline. A total of 12 African buffalo cows from four different herds were collared with satellite transmitters. Movements were assessed over 2 years from 11 animals. Results The space use of the individual collared buffaloes as an approximation of the 95% home range size estimated using Brownian bridge models, ranged from 73 to 601 km 2 . The estimated home ranges were larger in the wet season than in the dry season. With the exception of one buffalo all collared animals completed a wet season migration of varying distances. A consistent pattern of seasonal movement was observed with one herd, whereas the other herds did not behave the same way in the two wet seasons that they were tracked. Herd splitting and herd switching occurred on multiple occasions. Buffaloes strongly associated with habitats near the Great Ruaha River in the dry season and had little association to permanent water sources in the wet season. Daily movements averaged 4.6 km (standard deviation, SD = 2.6 km), with the longest distances traveled during November (mean 6.9 km, SD = 3.6 km) at the end of the dry season and beginning of the wet season. The shortest daily distances traveled occurred in the wet season in April–June (mean 3.6 km, SD = 1.6–1.8 km). Conclusion The Great Ruaha River has experienced significant drying in the last decades due to water diversions upstream, which likely has reduced the suitable range for buffaloes. The loss of dry season habitat due to water scarcity has likely contributed to the population decline of the Ruaha buffaloes.

In association with a study investigating the apparent decline of African buffalos (Syncerus caffer) in Ruaha National Park, Tanzania, 40 buffalos were screened for selected diseases. Bovine tuberculosis was detected in 23%, and exposure to Brucella abortus and Rift Valley fever virus in 18% and 8%, respectively, of buffalos tested.

This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in the environment of pastoralists and villagers in the Iringa district, adjacent to the Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. Utilising specific qPCR assays, bothMycobacterium bovisandMycobacterium tuberculosiswere detected in cattle faeces, boma soil, water and household dust.M. boviswas also found in goat faeces and goat boma soil. This is the first report of faecal shedding ofM. bovisin goats and the first molecular survey of faecal shedding in cattle. The prevalence of both bacterial species varied by village, area, season and sample type. Geographical and temporal correlations across sample types were suggestive of cross species transmission. This non-invasive test has previously been rigorously validated for screening other mammals; in this study it has successfully been applied to detectM. bovisandM. tuberculosisin livestock faeces and the environment.

This study was designed to investigate the prevalence of members of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) in the environment of pastoralists and villagers in the Iringa district, adjacent to the Ruaha National Park in Tanzania. Utilising specific qPCR assays, both Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis were detected in cattle faeces, boma soil, water and household dust. M. bovis was also found in goat faeces and goat boma soil. This is the first report of faecal shedding of M. bovis in goats and the first molecular survey of faecal shedding in cattle. The prevalence of both bacterial species varied by village, area, season and sample type. Geographical and temporal correlations across sample types were suggestive of cross species transmission. This non-invasive test has previously been rigorously validated for screening other mammals; in this study it has successfully been applied to detect M. bovis and M. tuberculosis in livestock faeces and the environment.

Presented at the 9th international wildlife ranching symposium: wildlife - the key to prosperity for rural communities, held on 12-16 September 2016 at Hotel Safari & the Safari Court, Windhoek, Namibia in conjuction with the IUCN 2nd African Buffalo Symposium.

The number of African buffaloes (Syncerus caffer Sparrman, 1779) inhabiting Ruaha National Park, Tanzania, is thought to be declining, but little data exist to determine whether the population is actually in decline. As an initial phase of collecting population data, we conducted demographic surveys, faecal egg counts and gastrointestinal parasite identification in Ruaha's buffalo herds in September 2011 and 2013. Most herds encountered in the two surveys appeared to be in good health, but with fewer calves in 2013 compared with 2011. The herd-level body condition score was positively associated with the number of calves per 100 cows after adjusting for year, and the lower number of offspring in 2013 could possibly be associated with a below average rainfall in the 2012–2013 rainy season. Mean herd-level egg counts ranged from 83 to 140 and from 28 to 113 eggs per g faeces in 2011 and 2013, respectively. Haemonchus, Nematodirus, Cooperia and Oesophagostomum spp., as well as coccidian oocysts, were detected in the population. Monitoring herd demographics and baseline health parameters over time will provide insight into population performance, increase the understanding of population stressors and contribute to buffalo conservation within Ruaha National Park and other protected areas of Africa.

East African pastoralists and their livestock are vulnerable to alterations in resource availability and disease transmission and frequently face poor access to livestock health services. Government veterinarians tasked with guiding health services must prioritize livestock health risks and allocate limited resources across disparate ecosystems with different disease threats. To identify livestock diseases of concern and strategies for improving herd health and resilience, we conducted community focus groups with pastoralists and interviewed pastoralist household leaders, village extension officers, and government veterinary officials in south-central Tanzania, an area experiencing rapid population growth and environmental change. All participants discussed pastoralist access to livestock health services, livestock disease priorities, and means to improve livestock health. Perceptions of diseases of importance differed among pastoralists, extension officers, and government veterinarians. Spatial differences in diseases of concern among study area pastoralists emphasized the need for locally adaptable livestock health service delivery. Although pastoralist strategies to improve livestock health differed by ethnic group, many pastoralists as well as extension officers and government veterinarians identified livestock health education and training for pastoralists and extension officers as a critical need. Policies designed at the regional, rather than the local, level may not reflect the disease concerns of the entire area. To effectively address veterinary health problems and make livestock herds more resilient to environmental change, conditions at the local level must be considered. Education targeted to pastoralist households and extension officers could achieve greater flexibility in the livestock health system and provide more reliable information about local conditions for governmental policymakers.

Bovine tuberculosis (bTB), caused by Mycobacterium bovis, is a disease of zoonotic concern, especially in countries with no control programs in livestock and where routine pasteurization of milk is not practiced. In Tanzania, bTB is widespread in livestock and has been diagnosed in humans; however, herd bTB testing is primarily carried out for bTB-free certification in commercial dairy herds at the expense of the dairy cattle owner. For rural livestock holders, such an expense is prohibitive, and consequently there is no control of bTB in most areas. Although effective long-term solutions to control bTB in livestock are desirable, there is a need to assess the effect of preventive measures on reducing human exposure to bTB in such settings. We utilized locally relevant cattle herd characteristics and management data from the Health for Animals and Livelihood Improvement (HALI) project in south-central Tanzania to build a Reed-Frost model that compared the efficacy of alternative methods aimed at reducing the exposure of humans to infectious milk from a typical pastoralist cattle herd. During a 10-year simulation period, the model showed that boiling milk 80% of the time is necessary to obtain a reduction in liters of infectious milk approximately equivalent to what would be obtained with a standard 2-year testing and removal regimen, and that boiling milk was more effective than animal test and removal early in the time period. In addition, even with testing and removing infected cattle, a residual risk of exposure to infectious milk remained due to imperfect sensitivity of the skin test and a continuous risk of introduction of infectious animals from other herds. The model was sensitive to changes in initial bTB prevalence but not to changes in herd size. In conclusion, continuous complimentary treatment of milk may be an effective strategy to reduce human exposure to M. bovis-infected milk in settings where bTB is endemic and a comprehensive bTB control program is yet to be implemented.