Species diversity and habitat association
While earlier research on human-large carnivore conflicts in the area has shown the existence of large carnivores (Simon et al. 2023), this is the first to account empirical data on the ecology of large carnivores. We made this research in the MzNP, Ethiopia and found four large carnivores in the area. The high abundance record in the savannah grassland habitat in the study area might be attributed to suitable habitat conditions with prey accesses, that favored by all large carnivores in the MzNP. Thus, we evidenced all of four large carnivores were shown high record in the savannah grassland habitat.
Though the distribution and abundance of some large carnivores, such as Panthera pardus are poorly understood in Ethiopia (Westerberg et al. 2017), studies have shown that the leopards are occupying habitat patches outside protected areas (PAs), but possibility of higher mortality rates by humans is suspected (Gubbi et al. 2019) than in PAs. It is also likely that the illegal trade in leopard body parts (Samrat et al. 2014) is thriving, with leopards being poached and supplied from outside PAs. Studies have shown that it occurs in woodland, grassland savannah, shrub land, forest, mountain habitats, and semi-desert and desert habitats (Pitman 2014; Balme et al. 2019). This is aligning with the present study which we found in all habitats in the study area with exceptions in riverine forest during the dry season. On the other hand, another study depicted that it occurs in the mountainous area and have been existing in a larger cave in the northern Ethiopia during the spring (Westerberg et al. 2017). This indicates the season determines the habitat preference of the species.
Panthera leo have been an important element in the Ethiopian ecosystems that range from evergreen montane forests to open savannah grassland to semi-arid and arid lowland areas (Yirga et al. 2014). It requires large areas of intact land with ample prey, permanent water and sufficient cover for raising their cubs (Gebretensae and Messele 2022). They can also live in forested, shrubby, mountainous, and semi-desert habitats (Gebretensae and Messele 2022). We found Panthera leo in all habitats in the study area with varied distribution between habitats. The distribution of resources in the area may differ in terms of both quantity and quality, which would benefit species at different levels. This could explain why species differently occur between different areas. Similarly, Yirga et al. (2015) reported Crocuta crocuta coexist closely with people in Ethiopia, where the natural prey base is very low and they feed on readily available livestock and human organic waste. However, another study suggested the Crocuta crocuta inhabit an extraordinarily diverse array of habitats, including savannah, deserts, swamps, woodland, and montane forest (Holekamp and Dloniak, 2011). It is also suggested the Crocuta crocuta have adapted to living in urban areas, and also humans have adapted to living with hyenas in Ethiopia (Young et al. 2020). These given that a number of ecological and human factors determine the habitat preference of carnivores.
The previous report has showen that the Acinonyx jubatus are habitat generalists, ranging across a wide variety of habitats from desert to grassland savannahs to thick bush (Durant et al. 2014, 2017). According to reports, they can be found in game farms, rural and communal areas, protected natural areas, agricultural regions, and settlement areas (Durant et al. 2017). Though it has been reported in Somali Adadle woreda, Eastern Ethiopia (Ibrahim et al. 2022) and Bale Mountain National Park (Sebsibe 2022) for its presence, the empirical data on Acinonyx jubatus‘s ecology is not available through the Ethiopian protected and non-protected areas.
We found cheetah in two habitat types i.e. the savannah grassland and scattered tree habitat during the study period. This might be the limitation of our study which we made this survey in the national park. They can live in a variety of habitats, including desert, grassland savannahs, and dense bush (Myers 1973; Caro 1994; Kingdon 1997).
Population density estimate
The population estimate which we made for each species and total population were higher for wet season than the dry season. This might be due to the indirect evidences; particularly the footprints showed better visibility and recorded more in the wet season than in the dry. Thus, the Panthera leo was accounted for high relative abundance and density, while the Acinonyx jubatus showed the lowest during the survey period. The highest record in relative abundance and density credited to better access to prey sources and preying techniques which the Panthera leo use compared to other large carnivores in the area. The present survey showed the highest density estimate 30 and 33 individuals/100 km2 for Panthera leo during the dry and wet seasons compared to the previous estimate, which reported 1.88 and 1.82 individuals/100 km2 for year 2011 and 2012 in Kafue National Park, Zambia (Midlane et al. 2015). This could be a case of a species’ preferred habitat conditions combined with the suitability of other environmental variables.
In Ethiopia, Yirga et al. (2013) reported a density of 52 individuals of Crocuta crocuta/100 km2 in Wukro district Northern Ethiopia, and Deneke et al. (2022) found 134 and 69 individuals/100km2 and 55 and 75 individuals/100 km2 in farm and forest during 2019 and 2020, respectively in Damota community managed forest, Southern Ethiopia. Graf et al. (2009) found a density of 33 individuals/100 km2 in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, South Africa. Comparing to the studies conducted elsewhere, our survey result showed the lowest density estimate and as high as than that of Holekamp and Dloniak (2011) who found 7 individuals/100 km2 in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe.
These differences attributed to the differences in prey abundance, distribution and other environmental conditions, as indicated by Karanth and Sunquist (2015) and Deneke et al. (2022). Given, carnivore population density and size can be influenced by a range of environmental factors (Jones et al. 2021). According to Hayward et al. (2007), the biomass of preferred prey and biomass of preferred prey weight determines the population density of carnivores. The densities of lion and spotted hyena are positively correlated with prey biomass (Périquet et al. 2015). Indeed, we illustrate that the population abundance and density of large carnivores differs between seasons and habitat types in the present survey. This indicates the variation in prey access between seasons and habitats. In consistent with this, Carbone and Gittleman (2002) showed that higher carnivore population density is primarily controlled by high prey biomass. Likewise, Davis et al. (2021) suggested that the detection of leopard and spotted hyena was significantly associated with the detection of preferred prey in Kasungu National Park, Malawi. Comparing to the present survey, Charlotte et al. (2021) reported small population estimate for all study species in the area. Similarly, Hinde et al. (2023) found the lowest density estimate in mixed-use landscape Western Cape, South Africa (Table 8).
Table 8
Comparison of the large carnivores’ population density estimate study conducted in different areas of Africa
Study area | Source of information | Estimated density/100km2 | Species | Sampling techniques used |
Mpumalanga Province, South Africa | (Balme et al. 2019) | 3.5 | Panthera pardus | Camera trapping |
Boland Mountain Complex, South Africa. | Amin et al. (2022) | 1.7 | Panthera pardus | Camera trapping |
Central Tuli, South East Botswana | Vissia et al. (2022) | 13 | Panthera pardus | Camera trapping |
Northern and western of Zimbabwe | Loveridge et al. (2022) | 0.7–12.2 | Panthera pardus | Camera trapping |
MzNP, southern Ethiopia | Present study | 14–21 | Panthera pardus | Transect line survey, call-up survey and spoor tracking |
Northern and western Zimbabwe | Loveridge et al. (2022) | 2.7 | Panthera leo | Camera trapping |
MzNP, southern Ethiopia | Present study | 30–33 | Panthera leo | Transect line survey, call-up survey and spoor tracking |
Northern and western Zimbabwe | Loveridge et al. (2022) | 1.56 | Crocuta crocuta | Camera trapping |
In Wukro district northern Ethiopia | Yirga et al. (2013) | 52 | Crocuta crocuta | Call-up survey |
In Damota community managed forest, southern Ethiopia. | Deneke et al. (2022) | 75 | Crocuta crocuta | Distance sampling |
MzNP, southern Ethiopia | Present study | 20–23 | Crocuta crocuta | Transect line survey, call-up survey and spoor tracking |
Western Cape, South Africa | Hinde et al. (2023) | 0.64 | Panthera pardus | Camera trap survey |
Ruaha-Rungwa landscape in central southern Tanzania | Charlotte et al. (2021) | 12.5 | Panthera pardus | Systematic camera trap survey |
Ruaha-Rungwa landscape in central southern Tanzania | Charlotte et al. (2021) | 1.9 | Panthera leo | Systematic camera trap survey |
Ruaha-Rungwa landscape in central southern Tanzania | Charlotte et al. (2021) | 6.59 | Crocuta crocuta | Systematic camera trap survey |
Ruaha-Rungwa landscape in central southern Tanzania | Charlotte et al. (2021) | 0.48 | Acinonyx jubatus | Systematic camera trap survey |
MzNP, southern Ethiopia | Present study | 9-9.8 | Acinonyx jubatus | Transect line survey, call-up survey and spoor tracking |
In Xonghile Game Reserve, southern Mozambique. | Strampelli et al. (2020) | 2.6 | Panthera pardus | Camera trap survey |
The difference in the population density estimate may result from a confluence of factors, including habitat quality, season, survey effort, sampling methods, and other ecological aspects. Our results highlights that the population estimates for leopard showed higher than studies conducted elsewhere in Africa with estimated density 0.14 and 0.21/km2 for dry and wet seasons respectively. However comparing to Hunter et al. (2013), our findings show smaller who reported 0.15–0.3 individuals/km2 in particular conditions.
Another study shown for Acinonyx jubatus’, densities rarely exceed 0.02/km2 and have been recorded as low as 0.0002/km2 (Belbachir et al. 2015). During the present survey, we recorded Acinonyx jubatus 0.009/km2 and 0.01/km2 for the dry and wet seasons respectively in the MzNP, Ethiopia. This was shown that relatively higher than a density estimate made by Belbachir et al. (2015). On the other instances, the Crocuta crocuta and Panthera leo better responded to our call-ups in Daho and Gamo Dubusha stations. The difference in responding between call-ups station might be attributed the variation in sound transmission because of the visibility and habitat cover. Compared to Yirga et al. (2021), the Panthera leo responded more during the present survey, and conversely none of call-up has been responded by Panthera leo in some of Ethiopian protected areas, such as Awash National Park, Nechisar National Park, Chebera-Churchura National Park, Mago National Park, and Kaffa Biosphere Reserve (Yirga et al. 2021). However, no responses were received for Panthera pardus or Acinonyx jubatus throughout our survey time. It is thought that these species were not attracted to the sound utilized during our call-up survey.
In conclusion, this study gives important empirical ecological data on large carnivores’ diversity, relative abundance and habitat preferences in the Maze National Park, Ethiopia. The Park was considered home for many of wild fauna. As pioneer ecological investigation on large carnivores in the area, these findings could provide opportunity and baseline information for further research. We found the savannah grassland and the grassland with scattered tree habitats contributed high in comprising the species population abundance and diversity in the Park area. We recommend these habitats which contribute for species conservation should be given more emphasis and maintained at healthy status for sustainable conservation of the species. However, due to logistical and financial limitations, we were unable to perform research on some ecological elements, such as the population structure, activity budget, dietary ecology and so on. We thus suggest more research in these areas in future to fill the gaps.