Article
Wire-snare bushmeat poaching and the large African carnivore guild: Impacts, knowledge gaps, and field-based mitigation
Authors
Matthew S. Becker, Scott Creel, Mwamba Sichande, Johnathan Reyes de Merkle, Ben Goodheart, Thandiwe Mweetwa, Henry Mwape, D. Smit, A. Kusler, Brian Musalo, Lengwe Mwansa Bwalya, Rachel McRobb
Publication
Biological Conservation
Abstract
Wire-snare poaching for bushmeat is increasingly recognized as a serious threat to the species comprising the large African carnivore guild (African lion, African wild dog, spotted hyena, cheetah and leopard), with impacts described primarily through prey depletion and snaring by-catch mortality or injury. However, the species-specific impacts of snaring on this guild and on intraguild dynamics are not well-understood. These guilds evolved through competition and predation and have a diverse array of behaviors, space use, movements, diet, morphology, and densities; thus, it is logical to expect snaring impacts through prey depletion and by-catch will also be variable, subtle, and complex, yet significant. Utilizing the scientific literature and ongoing, long-term research we: 1) Summarize and describe the known and potential impacts of snaring by-catch and prey depletion on specific species in the guild and on intraguild dynamics, 2) Identify knowledge gaps and propose areas of future research to better understand and address snaring threats, and 3) Describe a successful strategy collaboratively merging conservation science work with resource protection, that has been implemented across carnivore strongholds in Zambia to combat the immediate threats from snaring on large carnivore populations. Collectively, this work can help mitigate snaring impacts while longer-term community-based solutions to the bushmeat crisis are developed and implemented.
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