Large Carnivores

Este artículo es una extensa revisión sobre el pasado, presente y futuro del panorama que envuelve las estimaciones poblacionales de lobos en España. Lo que subyace detrás de estas estimas loberas es enrevesado y difícil de interpretar racionalmente. Lo peor de todo es que la gestión del lobo recae en administraciones sometidas al yugo del ruido mediático de ciertos sectores, y que acaban ignorando el importante papel ecológico de esta especie. Por tanto, la conservación efectiva y la restitución de la biodiversidad quedan en un plano totalmente testimonial.

1. Physical barriers contribute to habitat fragmentation, influence species distribution and ranging behaviour, and impact long-term population viability. Barrier permeability varies among species and can potentially impact the competitive balance within animal communities by differentially affecting co-occurring species. The influence of barriers on the spatial distribution of species within whole communities has nonetheless received little attention. 2. During a 4-year period, we studied the influence of a fence and rivers, two landscape features that potentially act as barriers on space use and ranging behaviour of lions Panthera leo, spotted hyenas Crocuta crocuta, African wild dogs Lycaon pictus and cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus in Northern Botswana. We compared the tendencies of these species to cross the barriers using data generated from GPS-radio collars fitted to a total of 35 individuals. Barrier permeability was inferred by calculating the number of times animals crossed a barrier vs. the number of times they did not cross. Finally, based on our results, we produced a map of connectivity for the broader landscape system. 3. Permeability varied significantly between fence and rivers and among species. The fence represented an obstacle for lions (permeability = 7Á2%), while it was considerably more permeable for hyenas (35Á6%) and wild dogs and cheetahs ( ! 50%). In contrast, the rivers and associated floodplains were relatively permeable to lions (14Á4%) while they represented a nearly impassable obstacle for the other species (<2%). 4. The aversion of lions to cross the fence resulted in a relatively lion-free habitat patch on one side of the fence, which might provide a potential refuge for other species. For instance, the competitively inferior wild dogs used this refuge significantly more intensively than the side of the fence with a high presence of lions. 5. We showed that the influence of a barrier on the distribution of animals could potentially result in a broad-scale modification of community structure and ecology within a guild of co-occurring species. As habitat fragmentation increases, understanding the impact of barriers on species distributions is thus essential for the implementation of landscape-scale management strategies, the development and maintenance of corridors and the enhancement of connectivity.

In a context of stark opposition between supporters and opponents to the wolf, the extent to which this particular predator is dangerous for humans is still an open question.
What lies beneath the negative perception of the wolf?
What should be the historian's contribution, based on historical sources and historical methods?
Thanks to a database of 4,700 cases of wolf attacks on human having occurred in France between 1580 and 1880, it is now possible to grasp the chronological evolution and spatial evolution of wolf related risks.
Undeniably real, though mostly belonging to a remote past, and statistically rare, though anthropologically intolerable, these attacks point to two opposite groups, predatory wolves occasionally preying on humans on one hand, rabid wolves striking indiscriminately a whole population on the other.
The attacks of the first kind occurred regularly in an unsafe environment, and gave rise to tales of "Ferocious Beasts" in times of dramatic crisis (1594-1600, 1691-1694, 1746-1750, 1764-1767, 1814-1819).
The second kind was spatially and chronologically less widespread, but sowed the seeds of mass hysteria, all the more persistent since the underlying sickness it forebode remained without a cure before the last third of the 20th century.
The conclusion between these two different realities gave Canis Lupus its negative aura, significantly dimmed recently however since it has entirely lost its material basis, at least in France.

Understanding the effect of anthropogenic disturbance, and its interaction with carnivores and their prey, is crucial to support the conservation of threatened carnivores, particularly in rapidly changing landscapes. Based on systematic camera-trap sampling of four protected areas in Riau Province of central Sumatra, we assessed the habitat occupancy and spatiotemporal overlap between people, potential carnivore prey, and four threatened species of medium-sized or large carnivores: Sumatran tigers (Panthera tigris sumatrae), Malayan sun bears (Helarctos malayanus), dholes (Cuon alpinus), and Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi). To assess spatial overlap of target species, we used single-species occupancy models and applied a Species Interaction Factor (SIF) to conditional two-species occupancy models. We also used kernel density estimation (KDE) to assess temporal overlap among these species. Our habitat use models showed that altitude (elevation) strongly influenced the occupancy of all large carnivores and potential prey species. Except for Sunda clouded leopards, the occurrence of large carnivore species was positively related to the spatial co-occurrence of humans (SIF > 1). In addition, we found that sun bears and dholes both exhibited high spatial overlap with tigers, and that sun bears alone exhibited high temporal overlap with people. Our findings contribute to an improved understanding of the contemporary ecology of carnivores and their prey in rapidly changing, southeast Asian landscapes. Such knowledge is important to the conservation and recovery of large carnivores in conservation hotspots that are increasingly dominated by humans across Sumatra, as well as globally.

Africa is home to the last intact guild of large carnivores and thus provides the only opportunity to investigate mechanisms of coexistence among large predator species. Strong asymmetric dominance hierarchies typically characterize guilds of large carnivores; but despite this asymmetry, subdominant species may persist alongside their stronger counterparts through temporal partitioning of habitat and resources. In the African guild, the subdominant African wild dogs and cheetahs are routinely described as diurnal and crepuscular. These activity patterns have been interpreted to result from the need to avoid encounters with the stronger, nocturnal spotted hyenas and lions. However, the idea that diel activity patterns of carnivore species are strongly shaped by competition and predation has recently been challenged by new observations. In a three-year study in the Okavango Delta, we investigated daily activity patterns and temporal partitioning for wild dogs, cheetahs, spotted hyenas and lions by fitting radio collars that continuously recorded activity bursts, to a total of 25 individuals. Analysis of activity patterns throughout the 24-h cycle revealed an unexpectedly high degree of temporal overlap among the four species. This was mainly due to the extensive and previously undescribed nocturnal activity of wild dogs and cheetahs. Their nocturnal activity fluctuated with the lunar cycle, represented up to 40% of the diel activity budget and was primarily constrained by moonlight availability. In contrast, the nocturnal activity patterns of lions and hyenas were unaffected by moonlight and remained constant over the lunar cycle. Our results suggest that other ecological factors such as optimal hunting conditions have shaped the diel activity patterns of subdominant, large predators. We suggest that they are ''starvation driven'' and must exploit every opportunity to obtain a meal. The benefits of activity on moonlit nights therefore offset the risks of encountering night-active predators and competitors.

Species interactions form food webs, impacting community structure and, potentially, ecological dynamics. It is likely that global climatic perturbations that occur over long periods of time have a significant influence on species interaction patterns. Here, we integrate stable isotope analysis and network theory to reconstruct patterns of trophic interactions for six independent mammalian communities that inhabited mammoth steppe environments spanning western Europe to eastern Alaska (Beringia) during the Late Pleistocene. We use a Bayesian mixing model to quantify the contribution of prey to the diets of local predators, and assess how the structure of trophic interactions changed across space and the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a global climatic event that severely impacted mammoth steppe communities. We find that large felids had diets that were more constrained than those of co-occurring predators, and largely influenced by an increase in Rangifer abundance after the LGM. Moreover, the structural organization of Beringian and European communities strongly differed: compared with Europe, species interactions in Beringian communities before—and possibly after—the LGM were highly modular. We suggest that this difference in modularity may have been driven by the geographical insularity of Beringian communities.

Introduction to See You On The Other Side podcast, episode 169, 8 November 2017 (interview by Mike Huberty and Allison Jornlin, Madison, Wisconsin).
Online at http://www.othersidepodcast.com/blog/2017/11/08/169-hunting-witchs-familiar-dr-martin-walsh-zanzibar-leopard/.

The ongoing refugee crisis in Europe has seen many countries rush to construct border security fencing to divert or control the flow of people. This follows a trend of border fence construction across Eurasia during the post-9/11 era. This development has gone largely unnoticed by conservation biologists during an era in which, ironically, transboundary cooperation has emerged as a conservation paradigm. These fences represent a major threat to wildlife because they can cause mortality, obstruct access to seasonally important resources, and reduce effective population size. We summarise the extent of the issue and propose concrete mitigation measures. The Rise of Transboundary Conservation Conserving biodiversity on an increasingly crowded planet will always involve a combination of applying ecological knowledge and skilful politics. The art of successful conservation lies in aligning the best available knowledge with the appropriate management actions and the current political and economic realities. Accordingly, conservationists must constantly adjust their strategies to the prevailing opportunities and constraints within a constantly shifting environment. The period from the early 1980s through the dawn of the 21st century was marked by a fortuitous convergence of situations. Environmental awareness among the general population was

Cooperative hunting is believed to have important implications for the evolution of sociality and advanced cognitive abilities. Variation in the level of hunt organisation amongst species and how their cognitive, behavioural and athletic adaptations may contribute to observed patterns of cooperative hunting behaviour, however, are poorly understood. We, therefore, reviewed the literature for evidence of different levels of hunt organisation and cooperation in carnivorans and examined their social and physical adaptations for hunting. Descriptions of group hunting were scarce for many species and often of insufficient detail for us to be able to classify the level of hunt organisation involved. However, despite this, reports of behaviour fitting the description of collaboration, the most advanced level of hunt organisation, were found in over half the carnivorans reported to hunt cooperatively. There was no evidence that this behaviour would require advanced cognitive abilities. However, there was some evidence that both social mechanisms reducing aggression between group members and information transfer amongst individuals may aid cooperative hunting. In general, the cooperative strategies used seemed to depend partly on the species' locomotor abilities and habitat. There was some evidence that individuals take on consistent roles during cooperative hunts in some species, but it was not clear if this reflects individuals' physical differences, social factors or life experiences. Better understanding of the social, cognitive and physical mechanisms underlying cooperative hunting, and indeed establishing to what degree it exists in the first instance, will require more data for multiple individuals and species over many hunts.

Africa's large predator guild (lion, Panthera leo; leopard, Panthera pardus; spotted hyaena, Crocuta crocuta; cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, and African wild dog, Lycaon pictus) occurs sympatrically with high dietary overlap. Temporal partitioning could facilitate coexistence, but there has been no study testing this or the factors that may influence the evolution of predator activity patterns. The activity patterns of Africa's large predators were reviewed, using published sources, and the degree of activity overlap was assessed. Six hypotheses were made based on three hypotheses of factors driving the evolution of predator activity patterns: increased foraging success, and scramble and interference competition. All predators exhibited a degree of crepuscular behaviour, supporting hypotheses relating to increased hunting success. Nocturnal predators exhibit decreased activity at the darkest times of night due to visual limitations. There was no support for the hypothesis that predators would be active at the same time as their main prey species. Although all members of the guild suffer intraguild predation, only subordinate members exhibited scramble competition avoidance by minimizing activity at the same times as their intraguild predators. Subordinate predators (wild dogs and cheetahs), frequently reported as suffering from kleptoparasitism, minimize simultaneous activity with major kleptoparasites (lions and spotted hyaenas). These latter top predators have high dietary overlap; however, they do not avoid interference competition by minimizing activity overlap. Thus, optimal activity patterns evolved to satisfy a diverse range of factors that differ amongst species. Competition avoidance is the primary cause of the temporal partitioning in activity between subordinate and top predators. Africa's carnivores have also evolved morphological adaptations to their activity patterns reflecting the length of time they have occurred in sympatry.

The leopard Panthera pardus is the most widespread large felid  and although diet in sub-Saharan Africa is diverse, preferred prey range between 10 and 40 kg. Leopard diet has been studied in savannah, tropical forest and recently in fynbos, and here we report on the diet of leopard ranging in a landscape comprised of Afrotemperate forest, plantations and pastureland. Presently human/leopard conflict in the region is relatively low; this may change, however, because of increased urban and agricultural development. Leopard diet is therefore of interest, and our study had the following aims: (i) to investigate the dietary composition of leopards; and (ii) to determine the prey preference of leopards.

From both ranching and conservation perspectives, livestock predation by large carnivores has traditionally been seen as a problem with the carnivores as its cause. For instance, much of the work done to reduce livestock-carnivore conflict has focused on keeping carnivores physically separated from humans and livestock, and on developing tools to manage the carnivores. A more holistic view is that carnivores are an inherent and valuable part of the system, some livestock predation is inevitable, and the root cause of excessive livestock predation is that conventional management has made livestock easier than wild prey for predators.
Coexistence of livestock and large carnivores in the context of resilient ranching requires synthesizing knowledge of rangeland, livestock, and wildlife. The coexistence field will be more holistic and effective by expanding from a direct focus on carnivores and predation-prevention tools to the context of livestock management and the broader social-ecological systems of ranches and rural communities. The weak link in North American large carnivore conservation is human tolerance. Developing human tolerance for carnivores includes preventing or mitigating livestock depredations, and ideally occurs in the context of building social-ecological resilience in ranching. Much of this takes the form of improving land health, and thus the capacity of the land to produce biological diversity and ecosystem services, including forage for both wildlife and livestock.
Progressive livestock management practices such as strategically planned and creatively managed grazing at high stock density, herding using low-stress livestock handling, and synchronized calving are intended to meet the needs of both plant communities and livestock, and are partly based on the patterns of wild ungulate herds in the presence of their predators. These practices can facilitate improved rangeland health, livestock production, and ranch profitability, but they have not been widely adopted.
Ranchers can apply many of the same management approaches that work for land health and livestock production to prevent conflicts with large carnivores. Livestock management, specifically holistic planned grazing, herding with low-stress livestock handling, and synchronized calving, can directly and synergistically reduce predation, while establishing a management context in which other predation-prevention practices and tools can be used more effectively.

Observations on extant mammals suggest that large body mass is selectively advantageous for a terrestrial predator on large herbivores.  Yet, throughout the Cenozoic, some
lineages of terrestrial mammalian predators attained greater maximal body masses than others.  In order to explain this evolutionary pattern, the following biomechanical constraint
on body mass is hypothesized.  The stress, set up in the humerus by the bending moment of the peak ground reaction force at maximal running speed, increased with
increasing body mass within a given lineage of terrestrial mammalian predators, resulting in a decreasing safety factor for the bone, until a predator could no longer attain the
maximal running speed of its smaller relatives.  The selective disadvantage of reduced maximal running speed prevented further increase of body mass within the lineage.
  This hypothesis is tested by examining the scaling of humeral dimensions and estimating maximal body masses in several lineages of terrestrial mammalian predators.  Among lineages with otherwise similar postcranial skeletons, those with the more robust humeri at a given body mass attained the greater maximal body masses.  Lineages with the longer deltoid ridges/deltopectoral crests of the humeri and/or the more distally located deltoid scars (suggesting the more distal insertions of the humeral flexors) at a given body mass also attained the greater maximal body masses.  These results support the existence of the proposed biomechanical constraint, although paleoecological data suggest that some lineages of terrestrial mammalian predators failed to reach the limits, imposed by this constraint, because of the small size of available prey.

For many centuries, men and wolves lived together on the same territory, engaged in a merciless battle. In European history, wolves were considered man’s worst enemy, and fear of the animal became embedded in our cultural heritage. France, Spain, Italy, the United Kingdom, and most European states took action against wolves. This hostility and the fear of wolves were mainly caused by their attacks on domestic livestock, which were harmful to many sectors of the economy, even beyond agriculture, up until the 19th century. However, we should not forget that wolf attacks against people themselves were not purely a matter of legend: for a long time, they really did happen. The frequency, and the geographical and temporal distribution of these dramatic incidents varied.
Research so far indicates that the French territory saw numerous tragic incidents of this kind. Although statistically, there were relatively few attacks, their psychological impact was particularly powerful. These aspects of the relationship between man and wolf prompted policies specifically aiming to lessen the “damage”, cut the risks, or simply eradicate these intolerable competitors. Thus, our cultural perception of wolves is based on a long and complex history, which has recently become subject to external influences, since wolves were eradicated.
The website Man and Wolf: 2000 Years of History aims to give the public access to the results of a national study begun in 2002. Firstly, we attempted to measure the real extent of the wolf threat from the Middle Ages to the 20th century, by collecting information on human victims in the territory that is currently France. By using a scientific process to produce university research, and transmitting calls for research from region to region (particularly among historians and genealogists), information on several thousand attacks was recovered. For over half of these, it was also possible to identify the victims and place them in their social and spatial context.

Aim: Understanding how habitat loss and overhunting impact large carnivores is important for broad-scale conservation planning. We aimed to assess how these threats interacted to affect jaguar habitat (Panthera onca) between 1985-2013 in the Gran Chaco, a deforestation hotspot.

Location: Gran Chaco ecoregion in Argentina, Paraguay and Bolivia. Methods: We modelled jaguar habitat change from 1985-2013 using a time-calibrated species distribution model that uses all occurrence data available for that period. We modelled habitat as a function of resource availability and hunting threats, which allowed us to separate core (high resource availability and low hunting threat), refuge (low resources but safe), attractive sink (high resources but risky) and sink (low resources and risky) habitat for 1985, 2000 and 2013.

Results: Jaguar core areas contracted by 33% (82,400 km 2) from 1985-2013, mainly due to an expansion of hunting threats. Sink and attractive sink habitat covered 58% of the jaguar range in 2013 and most confirmed jaguar kill sites occurred in these.

Since Solon’s Laws in the 6th century BC, societies have developed specific regulations to contain, hunt down, then eradicate wolves. In order to protect themselves, the public authorities have used an unequalled repressive arsenal. They have even devoted an institution to combating wolves, which supposedly goes back to the year 800 and still exists today: the wolf-hunting officers or louveterie.
    However, the wolf is also one of the few animals to have caused so much internal conflict between men. Seen as a public enemy of society, it has occupied many unfavourable statuses. Although hunting was for the privileged, the danger caused by wolves led to exceptions to the ban on carrying weapons, and to appeals for wolf hunts which were even encouraged by the authorities. The wolf became a focal point for social resentments resulting from antagonism about revenues, lifestyles, and ways of occupying space. Today, the animal’s transition to protected status has not resolved the endless conflict pitching men against wolves. It has even rekindled tensions since the natural return of wolves to France in 1992. With emotions running high, open-mindedness and knowledge of the realities call for compromises. Over the course of a remarkable conflict spanning over 2000 years, Man versus Wolf offers an authoritative summary to contribute to a topical debate.

In 2013, the wolf seems to have won the game. Since 1992, his eventful return in France, has rekindled old passions and sparked a new craze, though forgetful of history. As is set up a Sixth National Plan on the wolf (2013-2017) to initiate a "differentiated" management of the animal, the imperative of "regulation" has not disappeared: it is even heart of most of the policies advocated to account for recolonisation dynamics of the species. Regionalised and graduated responses are now on the agenda to protect both the predator and herds, challenging. In this reactivation, an institution that claims to be celebrating its 1200th anniversary Charlemagne: the louveterie which France seems to have exclusivity in the world. The approximately 250 wolves have returned to the territory have therefore resurrected the divisions that had pitted men for centuries. But then it was, for generations, know how to push the public enemy number one, before being able to exterminate the last few decades is the protection of canid that arouses more voltages. Each time, the latter, able to take advantage of any lack of social consensus, any contradiction in management decisions, to any weakness in the organization of agricultural activities, pulls out of the game.
The successful return - but still problematic - the wolf makes it necessary to open a historical perspective for the whole of France, which had Canis lupus over its continental territory, the North Sea coast to the Mediter- ranean, the Raz-Rhine. Structural, his presence was the wild symbol in nature that man hardly managed to dominate. With 10 to 15 thousand wolves at least in France, as it can be estimated for the late eighteenth century, the pressure of canine.
En 2013, le loup semble avoir gagné la partie. Depuis 1992, son retour mouvementé dans l’Hexagone, a rallumé des passions anciennes et a suscité un engouement nouveau, bien oublieux de l’histoire. Alors que se met en place un VIe Plan d’action national sur le loup (2013-2017) pour engager une gestion « différenciée » de l’animal, l’impératif de « régulation » n’a pas disparu : il est même au cœur de la plupart des politiques prônées pour tenir compte de la dynamique de recolonisation de l’espèce. Des réponses territorialisées et graduées sont désormais à l’ordre du jour pour protéger à la fois le prédateur et les troupeaux, véritable gageure. Dans cette réactivation, une institution qui se réclame de Charlemagne fête son 1200e anniversaire : la louveterie dont la France semble bien avoir l’exclusivité dans le monde. Les quelque 250 loups qui sont revenus sur le territoire ont donc fait resurgir les divisions qui avaient opposé les hommes, des siècles durant. Mais alors qu’il s’agissait, de génération en génération, de savoir comment repousser l’ennemi public numéro un, avant d’être en mesure de l’exterminer, depuis quelques décennies, c’est la protection du canidé qui suscite le plus de tensions. À chaque fois, ce dernier, habile à mettre à profit toute absence de consensus social, toute contradiction dans les choix de gestion, toute faiblesse dans l’organisation des activités agropastorales, tire son épingle du jeu.
Le retour réussi – mais toujours problématique – du loup rend nécessaire d’ouvrir une perspective historique pour l’ensemble de la France qui a connu Canis lupus sur tout son territoire continental, de la Mer du Nord à la côte médi- terranéenne, de la pointe du Raz au Rhin. Structurelle, sa présence était le symbole du sauvage dans une nature que l’homme ne parvenait guère à dominer. Avec 10 à 15 000 loups au moins dans l’Hexagone, comme on peut l’estimer pour la fin du XVIIIe siècle, la pression du canidé

Fayard - Pluriel - L’homme contre le loup - 110 x 178 - 4/6/2013 - 13 : 40 - page 8
8 L’HOMME CONTRE LE LOUP
était sans commune mesure avec ce qu’elle est aujourd’hui. Bien loin de se réduire à un secteur marginal dans l’écono- mie et dans l’espace, comme on le mesure en 2013 avec l’agro-pastoralisme de montagne, son impact s’étendait à tout le territoire – plaines et forêts, plateaux et marais, mon- tagnes et vallées – et, tant que l’économie reposait sur les animaux domestiques, à de nombreux champs d’activités, de l’agriculture alors dominante à la métallurgie, nichée aux portes des forêts, des transports, assurés au pas des chevaux, des mulets ou des bœufs, jusqu’aux placements des citadins, qui prisaient le « bail à cheptel » autant que le livret A aujourd’hui. On ne peut comprendre la place qu’occupe le loup dans notre culture si l’on ignore l’intensité de cette confrontation entre le loup et l’homme dans le temps comme dans l’espace. Plus de 1 500 communes en portent ici le témoignage.
La poursuite des recherches sur le sujet vient renforcer les analyses déjà présentées en 2011 dans la première version de cet ouvrage. Pour le seul aspect délicat, et récemment discuté, des attaques de loup sur l’homme, on aboutit pour l’heure à plus de 7 600 victimes dont 4 603 causées par des loups anthropophages et plus de 3 000 dues à des agressions de loups enragés, soit un doublement des premiers chiffres livrés dans l’Histoire du méchant loup, en 2007. Sans commune mesure avec les destructions opérées par l’homme lui-même contre l’animal – 6 500 pour la seule année 1796- 1797 –, ce corpus signale néanmoins, par sa perception par l’homme – une transgression anthropologique de première gravité lorsqu’elle s’accompagne de scènes parfois insoute- nables – et sa répartition aléatoire, l’ancrage de la peur viscérale que Canis lupus a longtemps suscitée.
Comprendre les raisons de cette peur et les effets qui en ont découlé dans l’histoire de l’humanité pour mieux contextualiser aujourd’hui l’impact du retour du loup en France, voilà une raison parmi d’autres pour découvrir ou redécou- vrir ce livre, désormais accessible à un large public.

Isotopic tracking of carnivore palaeoecology is a relatively new approach that yielded important results for the study of the non-analogue mammoth steppe biome. After describing the prerequisite to apply this approach and the possible complications, the main achievements will be described for extinct carnivore species such as scimitar-tooth cat Homotherium serum, cave lion Panthera spelaea, giant short-faced bear Arctodus simus, cave bear Ursus spelaeus s.l., as well as for ancient representatives of extant species such as brown bear Ursus arctos and wolf Canis lupus. Isotopic tracking showed that scimitar-tooth cats in Alaska were not a specialist proboscidean predators but rather generalist consumers of other large herbivores. The majority of cave lions analyzed so far were focused on reindeer, some individuals were specialized on cave bears, especially in contexts of competition with cave hyenas. Giant short-faced bears in Alaska were not pure herbivores and consumed meat from reindeer, muskoxen and possibly other predators, but may have still incorporated plant resources in their menu. In contrast, all cave bear populations studied so far for which a clear dietary reconstruction could be done were virtually pure herbivores, only a few cases are still unclear. Interestingly, brown bears used the opposite extreme of the dietary spectrum when competing with other large bears such as cave bears and giant short-faced bears, i.e. were more carnivorous in Europe and more herbivorous in Alaska. Finally wolves seem to have been outcompeted by hyenas but became dominant predators during the Lateglacial in Europe to the expense of the last cave lions. The results obtained through this approach are also relevant for improving conservation strategies of endangered extant large carnivores.

Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and caracals (Caracal caracal) have been used for hunting in the Near and the Middle East since antiquity. In Iran and India the caracal was mainly trained for hunting birds, but in Europe this practice was rare, and is documented only in southern Italy and Sicily by iconographic evidence as far back as the eleventh and twelfth centuries. However, no bone remains of the species have been found so far by the archaeozoological exploration of Italian medieval sites, nor are there any known literary references for the use of caracals for hunting.

Livestock – large carnivore coexistence practitioners can be more effective by expanding from a direct focus on carnivores and predation-prevention tools to the broader social-ecological context of ranches and rural communities, especially livestock management. Ranchers can apply many of the same approaches that work for rangeland health and livestock production to reduce conflicts with large carnivores. This paper synthesizes evidence from the rangeland, wildlife, and animal sciences into a cohesive argument: modeling livestock management after the grazing patterns and reproductive cycles of wild ungulates in the presence of their predators can improve rangeland health and livestock production—and increase the ability of ranching operations to coexist with native carnivores. The central anti-predator behavior of wild grazing animals is to form large, dense herds that then move around the landscape to seek fresh forage, avoid fouled areas, and escape predators. They also have their young in short, synchronized birthing seasons (predator satiation). Grazing management involving high stocking density and frequent movement, such as rotational grazing and herding with low-stress livestock handling, can improve rangeland health and livestock production, by managing the distribution of grazing across time, space, and plant species. Short calving seasons can increase livestock production and reduce labor inputs, especially when timed to coincide with peak availability of forage quality. Such livestock management approaches based on anti-predator behaviors of wild ungulates may directly and synergistically reduce predation risk—while simultaneously establishing a management context in which other predation-prevention practices and tools can be used more effectively.

The information about natural history and ecology of the puma (Puma concolor) in Central America is scarce, with few studies focused on diet and no information on predatory behaviour. Through the use of camera traps and direct observations, we recorded events of puma predation on wildlife and domestic species in Osa Peninsula- Costa Rica. We registered 19 different events of puma predation; 14 to domestics and five to wildlife, and we describe the predatory behaviour of this species, highlighting local participation in conservation.

Lo ecies de baja abundancia en la naturaleza en relación a sus presas. Su baja abundancia y característica críptica los hace un objeto de estudio difícil; por lo tanto es relativamente normal tener pocos registros cuando se hacen estudios poblacionales. El uso de cámaras trampa como técnica de investigación, ha resuelto muchas di cultades metodológicas, a partir de lo cual se han desarrollado estudios sobre la abundancia, densidad, patrones de actividad y uso de hábitat de diversas especies. El reconocimiento a nivel de individuos por medio de foto-capturas es una aplicación que con otros métodos requiere mucho esfuerzo humano. La presente propuesta tiene como objetivo la identi cación del tigrillo y del ocelote, a través de fotografías obtenidas con cámaras trampa. Con 18 foto-capturas de per l de tigrillo y 15 de ocelote, se midió la longitud total (LT) y se obtuvo la proporción en porcentaje de cuerpo y de cola. Con dichas medidas se obtuvo una proporción de 58,3 % (± 4,1 DE) de cuerpo y 41,7 % (± 4,1 DE) de cola para el tigrillo y de 70.5 % (± 2,1 DE) de cuerpo y 29,5 % (± 2,1 DE) de cola para el ocelote. Con estas proporciones se evidenció la diferencia entre ambas especies al no presentarse traslape de medidas. Adicionalmente las foto-capturas ayudaron a diferenciar individuos de la misma especie y el sexo.

Диана Златанова * Моделиране пригодността на местообитанията на мечката, вълка и риса в България Благодарности: На първо място искам да благодаря на научния ми ръководител доц. Даниело Пешев за предоставената възможност, за вярата му в мен, за подкрепата и ценното съдействие по време на изработване на тази дисертация.. На консултантите ми Валерия Салватори и Луиджи Бойтани специални благодарности за насоките и полезните съвети, както и на проф. д-р Джуро Хубер, д-р Джон Линел, д-р Йон Свенсон и други колеги от Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe за подкрепата и съветите. На д-р Томас Капеги от университета във Фрайбург, Германия благодарности за дългите дискусии в резултат на които възникваха интересни идеи. Специални благодарности и на ст. н. с. І ст., дбн Петър Генов от Института по Зоология при БАН за това, че повярва в мен и ми даде шанс за развитие в науката, както и за ценната морална и научна подкрепа през годините. Много благодаря за всичко! Специални и огромни благодарности на Венислава Рачева, моята вярна спътница в теренната работа и зад екрана на компютъра, която споделя всичките ми радости и мъки, окуражава ме,изслушва ме и е краен коректор на всеки текст. На екипа на Екологичния Научно-образователен Център (Катя, Ива и Вили) за търпението и моралната подкрепа през всичките години, които сме заедно и особено през годините в работа по тази дисертация. На директора д-р Иван Иванов за разрешението за работа в научната сфера. Специални благодарности и на координатора на проекта за проучване на мечката Александър Дуцов и на Костадин Вълчев от СДП Балкани, както и на Любомир Петров и Андрей Ковачев за многократната помощ, за събраните данни и за подкрепата и разбирането, които са ми оказвали. На Генади и Анна Гавриловиистински приятели в работата и в живота, на които винаги съм разчитала и винаги са ми помагали. На г-н Юлиян Русев от Държавна Агенция по горите и горските служители (и по специално на Сахак Сакакян, от РДГ Бургас) -благодарности за събраните детайлни данни за разпространението на вълка у нас. На Васил Пуров, д-р Райчо Гънчев и Боян Кировгорски служители, колеги в работата и приятели, които ми помогнаха много. Благодарности на Ивайло Ангелов и Марин Куртев от БДЗП за предоставените данни за щети от вълци в Източни Родопи и на Георги Георгиев от Риосв Смолян за предоставените данни за щети от мечка в Западни Родопи.

The hypothesis that giant short-faced bears of the genera Agriotherium and Arctodus were primarily carnivorous and preyed on large terrestrial mammals is examined.  It is argued that the shape and wear pattern of the cheek teeth and the presence of the premasseteric fossa on the mandible in these two ursids suggest a large amount of plant material in their diet.  Likewise, the absence of adaptations for either ambush or pursuit predation in their skull and postcranial skeleton suggest that they did not
prey on large terrestrial mammals.  Further support for this conclusion is provided by a comparison of the dental and skeletal morphology of Agriotherium and Arctodus to that of Hemicyon ursinus, an extinct ursid widely accepted to have been a predaceous carnivore.  However, it is also argued that the giant short-faced bears included a large amount of animal material in their diets, which was obtained by scavenging.

In the last few decades, some progress has been made towards a synthesis of the data on the presence of early hominins in Europe and their dispersals across the continent in the Early and Middle Pleistocene. The sites that have been documented present various datasets, including hominin fossils, large and small mammal remains, and archeological artifacts. In this paper, the main focus is on sites where clear evidence exists of the processing of large mammals by hominins, in the form of cut marks, percussion marks, and others. In this regard, the taxonomic diversity of the mammals is considered alongside the type of hominin activity. All these sites serve as background for the recent discovery of the earliest (MIS 11 or 9), and indeed the only Polish, example of Middle Pleistocene human butchering activity (at the Bełchat ow site). The study revealed that the filleting of meat, as found in Bełchat ow, was also the means of meat processing employed on the oldest site of those with evidence of butchery, which is located in fact in the transition zone of Europe and Asia. This means that processing, even in its simplest forms, could have been a strong influence on adoption of meat eating among members of the Homo genus, as has been discussed recently. This emphasizes the significance of human choice, and seems to have occurred regardless of the geographical setting of human activity. This paper also presents a paleogeographic synthesis of butchering for the European Early and Middle Pleistocene and summarizes our current understanding of food processing by hominins, by scrutinizing the data on large mammals affected by such processes.

As pressure from a growing human population increases around the world, greater levels of conflict between people and wildlife over shrinking available land may be inevitable. The conversion of Mudumalai Wildlife Sanctuary to Mudumalai Tiger Reserve (MTR) in India is a conservation initiative under "Project Tiger" scheme to facilitate greater habitat connectivity across the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. We interviewed local people in the MTR landscape to determine their interest and attitude towards resettlement and tiger conservation following MTR's new status designation. We found that non-tribal Mountain Chetties generally had negative attitude towards tiger conservation, Kurumbas were positive toward the idea, and Kattunaickers, and Irula people and other minor ethnic groups were found neutral. We found that literate respondents were less likely to collect firewood and more likely to exhibit positive attitude towards tiger conservation and the establishment of MTR. Households with higher milk production, and people with generally negative attitude towards wildlife conservation , were against the declaration of MTR. People employed in private sectors and those having negative perception towards wildlife conservation were more likely to show negative attitude towards declaration of MTR. Locals desiring resettlement post MTR declaration were literate, and interested in availing better livelihood resources. However, they usually suffered relatively high livestock loss to large carnivores, and high crop damage caused by elephant (Elephas maximus). Most respondents (74.3%) were interested in resettlement provided that basic amenities were available to them. We recommend that conservation authorities facilitate "choice-based resettlement" options, which account for local people's consent before making decisions on "re-settlement". This approach will avoid possible conflicts between forest managers and local people.

The trophy hunting of African leopards Panthera pardus pardus may generate revenue to help foster their conservation. However, leopards are sensitive to hunting and populations decline if overharvested. The practice therefore requires careful management grounded in robust estimates of population density/status. Camera-trap surveys are commonly used to establish leopard numbers, and may guide harvest quotas. However, such surveys are limited over wide spatial scales and many African governments lack resources to implement them.
In this thesis I explore the potential use of a harvest composition scheme applied to puma Puma concolor in North America, to monitor leopards. The method hinges on the susceptibility of different leopard cohorts to hunting and if this varies, then predictions can be made about harvest composition. Susceptibility is likely to be governed by space use, encounter rates with bait lures (a common method used to attract leopards to hunting hides) and hunter selectivity. Thus in this thesis I explore leopard susceptibility to these factors using a protected leopard population in northern Zululand, South Africa. In my first chapter I examine using scent lures in camera-trapping. Against a backdrop of a passive survey I show adult males, females and sub-adults are captured at similar rates compared to a passive survey using lures. The use of lures does not appear to violate closure assumptions or affect spatio-temporal patterning, but their use appears limited as density estimate precision is not improved. My second chapter examines ecological (likelihood of encountering a hunter) and anthropogenic (attractiveness to hunters) susceptibility of leopards to trophy hunting. I show that adult males are the most susceptible cohort to hunting (sub-adults least susceptible). I then take the incident rates from ecological and anthropogenic models and create a theoretical harvest composition using population parameters of protected leopards.
My third data chapter departs from hunting susceptibility and examines determinants of leopard trophy package price across Africa. I show that factors such as trophy quality, outfitter leopard hunting reputation and hunt success have little impact on price determination. Instead, overall outfitter reputation and the number of charismatic species in a package are positively correlated with price. These results have important consequences on several sustainable leopard hunting schemes proposed in the literature.

The majority of wild Sumatran tigers are believed to live in 12 Tiger Conservation Landscapes covering approximately 88 000 km². However, the actual distribution of tigers across Sumatra has never been accurately mapped. Over the past 20 years, conservation efforts focused on the Sumatran tigers have increased, but the population continues to decline as a result of several key threats. To identify the status of the Sumatran tiger distribution across the island, an island-wide questionnaire survey comprised of 35 respondents from various backgrounds was conducted between May and June 2010. The survey found that Sumatran tigers are positively present in 27 habitat patches larger than 250 km2 and possibly present in another 2. In addition, a review on major published studies on the Sumatran tiger was conducted to identify the current conservation status of the Sumatran tiger. Collectively, these studies have identified several key factors that have contributed to the decline of Sumatran tiger populations, including: forest habitat fragmentation and loss, direct killing of tigers and their prey, and the retaliatory killing of tigers due to conflict with villagers. The present paper provides management authorities and the international community with a recent assessment and a base map of the actual distribution of Sumatran tigers as well as a general overview on the current status and possible future conservation challenges of Sumatran tiger management.

Giant bear-dogs of the genera Amphicyon and Ischyrocyon (Carnivora, Amphicyonidae, Amphicyoninae) were the largest
carnivorans in North America during middle and late Miocene (17.5–8.8 Mya) with a dental and skeletal morphology that combined features found in living Ursidae, Canidae, and Felidae.  This study tests previously proposed models of diet and hunting behaviour of these extinct carnivorans.  Relative grinding area (RGA) of lower molars and wear pattern on upper molars suggest that bear-dogs were carnivorous.  Amphicyon and Ischyrocyon possessed skeletal features of both ambush (short distal limb segments) and pursuit (caudally bent olecranon process of ulna) living predators.  Therefore, bear-dogs probably pursued their prey (mediportal ungulates) for a longer distance but at a slower speed than do living ambush predators.  Upon catching up to its prey a bear-dog probably seized it with powerfully muscled forelimbs and killed it by tearing into its ribcage or neck with canines set in a narrow rostrum.

Confronté aux difficultés des différentes disciplines à dégager les propriétés interactives des relations hommes-loups, j'ai interrogé les Kirghiz sur leurs relations, dans la synchronie et la diachronie. J'ai adopté une démarche ethno-éthologique intégrant le comportement de l'animal et la manière dont il est perçu afin de déterminer ses influences sur les savoirs et les pratiques humaines.
Intelligent et doué d'intentionnalité, le loup se voit attribuer par les Kirghiz une intériorité similaire à la leur et apparaît comme un alter ego. Pratiques d'élevage et de chasse viennent confirmer cette conception et participent à son émergence. Il apparaît ainsi que les Kirghiz se trouvent engagés dans une interrelation faite d'interactions réciproques. L'impact de la chute de l'URSS sur les pratiques humaines puis sur les comportements des loups montre le caractère dynamique des interrelations et conduit à considérer la relation des Kirghiz avec les loups comme une co-évolution.

Considering the difficulties of disciplinary approaches to grasp the interactive properties of human-wolf relationships, I questionned the Kyrgyz on their relationships in synchrony and diachrony. I adopted an ethno-ethological approach which integrate the animal's behaviour and the way it is perceived in order to determine their influences on knowledge and practices.
Intelligent, endowed with intentionality and reflectivity, the wolf is credited by Kyrgyz with the same interiority as human one and thus appears as an alter ego. Kyrgyz's practices bears out their conception of the world and also takes part in its emergence. Thus, it appears that the Kyrgyz are engaged with wolves in an inter-relation founded on reciprocal interactions. The fall of USSR and its consequences on human practices and thus on wolves behaviour allows us to bring to light the dynamic property of Kyrgyz-wolves relationship and drives us to consider it as a co-evolution.

The expansion of conservation estate in South Africa has seen large predators increasingly reintroduced in order to restore ecological integrity, conserve threatened species and maximise tourism. Reintroductions occurred at fenced, ecotourism sites in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province. Lion Panthera leo reintroduction began in 2000 and has been highly successful with a population of 56 currently extant in the region arising from 35 reintroduced individuals. The African wild dog Lycaon pictus population has increased to 24 from a founder population of 11. Reintroduction of spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta also appears successful, although reintroductions of leopards Panthera pardus and cheetahs Acinonyx jubatus have been less successful. Here we review the successes and failures of the reintroductions that have occurred in the region and describe recommendations to assist future translocations. Ecological attributes of each species affected the success with which they were reintroduced. Soft-release techniques, adequate fencing, appropriate socioeconomic environment, the order of predator reintroduction with subordinate species released prior to dominant ones, adequate prey base and adequate monitoring all improved the success of reintroductions. Carrying capacity for large predators is unknown and continued monitoring and, we fear, intensive management will be necessary in virtually all modern day conservation areas.

Until recently, the diversity of human-wolves relationships and the associated conflicts have mainly been explained through the various socio-cultural contexts. The agency of wolves, notably their ability to adapt their behaviour to human practices, has been underestimated and so the intrinsic dynamic dimension of the relationships. Indeed, our surveys in several countries (Republic of Macedonia, Kyrgyzstan, France) showed that radical changes in husbandry or hunting practices have led to modifications in the socio-environmental context and the nature of human-wolf interactions, resulting in apparent changes in wolves' behaviours. These changes have often resulted in an increased vulnerability of local people to wolf damages, a reduced acceptance for wolves and increasing conflicts, even in countries where humans and wolves have continuously coexisted. Therefore, the diversity of human-wolf relationships is not only the result of various socio-cultural contexts but also emerges in diverse historical trajectories that engage both humans and wolves in specific social and ecological contexts. Considering wolves as active agents in the relationships appears necessary to understand conflicts and adopt appropriate management strategies, not only based on damage prevention but also implying direct pressure on wolves to make coexistence conceivable.