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CCB, in collaboration with Birdlife Botswana and the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), continued its vital work in mitigating human-wildlife conflict around the village of New Xade. This pilot project was part of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP)’s Kgalagadi and Ghanzi Drylands Ecosystem Project (KGDEP), with CCB implementing innovative strategies at selected cattleposts around New Xade, where human-wildlife conflict posed significant challenges to local farmers.
The initiative began earlier this year with an introductory Kgotla (community meeting) session to build partnerships with pastoral farmers. Following this, CCB conducted an in-depth baseline survey, revealing that livestock depredation by carnivores was a widespread issue across all surveyed cattleposts. This did not surprise us, as these cattleposts farm livestock in open, unfenced areas not far from the famed (and unfenced) Central Kalahari Game Reserve, in areas rich with wildlife diversity, including large carnivores like lions, leopards, African wild dogs and cheetahs.
Three cattlepost syndicates — Xlaibori, Thari ya Motsadi, and Tsogamaroko — were selected for the trial based on their high levels of reported depredation. Located near the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, these sites are crucial for testing new mitigation strategies.
Initiatives chosen for the pilot study included:
Training workshops were conducted to equip patrollers with essential skills in animal behaviour, bush survival, tracking and conflict reporting. Each patroller was compensated, and contracts outline their responsibilities, fostering accountability and commitment.
Results from the pilot project have been very promising: farmers are now more proactive in managing their livestock, and there have been no reported depredation incidents at the Xlaibori and Tsogamaroko cattleposts since the patrols began. However, challenges remain, including instances of herders not being present to secure cattle and GPS tags being damaged from aggressive livestock behaviour.
Overall, the pilot project's successes suggest strong potential for ongoing human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Farmers are enthusiastic about the results thus far, and CCB has been able to secure funding from the Lion Recovery Network to sustain and expand these efforts, particularly in adjacent cattleposts which have been also suffering with high levels of human-lion conflict.
As part of the KGDEP project, CCB was also engaged to develop a toolkit to help farmers reduce their livestock losses to carnivores, fostering human-wildlife coexistence. The 44-page toolkit is currently being printing for distribution to the farmers of the Ghanzi and Kgalagadi Districts by year-end. We are hopeful that these initiatives will help support the farmers in western Botswana to protect their livestock from predation, freeing them from the burden of human-wildlife conflict and helping secure these important wildlife corridors for cheetahs and other wildlife.
The initiative began earlier this year with an introductory Kgotla (community meeting) session to build partnerships with pastoral farmers. Following this, CCB conducted an in-depth baseline survey, revealing that livestock depredation by carnivores was a widespread issue across all surveyed cattleposts. This did not surprise us, as these cattleposts farm livestock in open, unfenced areas not far from the famed (and unfenced) Central Kalahari Game Reserve, in areas rich with wildlife diversity, including large carnivores like lions, leopards, African wild dogs and cheetahs.
Three cattlepost syndicates — Xlaibori, Thari ya Motsadi, and Tsogamaroko — were selected for the trial based on their high levels of reported depredation. Located near the Central Kalahari Game Reserve, these sites are crucial for testing new mitigation strategies.
Initiatives chosen for the pilot study included:
- Horse Patrols: Two riders patrolled grazing areas in the evenings to round up cattle and return them to their kraals (livestock enclosures) before nightfall, minimizing their vulnerability to predators. A total of nine patrollers were hired by CCB to take part in this project.
- Supplementary Feeds: Salt licks were provided to encourage livestock to return to kraals early each evening before nocturnal carnivores start to hunt. The patrol horses also receive supplementary feeds to ensure they are well-nourished for their duties.
- GPS Tagging Technology: Livestock movements were monitored using GPS tags, allowing farmers to receive alerts when cattle venture too far from their home kraals or crossed into protected areas.
Training workshops were conducted to equip patrollers with essential skills in animal behaviour, bush survival, tracking and conflict reporting. Each patroller was compensated, and contracts outline their responsibilities, fostering accountability and commitment.
Results from the pilot project have been very promising: farmers are now more proactive in managing their livestock, and there have been no reported depredation incidents at the Xlaibori and Tsogamaroko cattleposts since the patrols began. However, challenges remain, including instances of herders not being present to secure cattle and GPS tags being damaged from aggressive livestock behaviour.
Overall, the pilot project's successes suggest strong potential for ongoing human-wildlife conflict mitigation. Farmers are enthusiastic about the results thus far, and CCB has been able to secure funding from the Lion Recovery Network to sustain and expand these efforts, particularly in adjacent cattleposts which have been also suffering with high levels of human-lion conflict.
As part of the KGDEP project, CCB was also engaged to develop a toolkit to help farmers reduce their livestock losses to carnivores, fostering human-wildlife coexistence. The 44-page toolkit is currently being printing for distribution to the farmers of the Ghanzi and Kgalagadi Districts by year-end. We are hopeful that these initiatives will help support the farmers in western Botswana to protect their livestock from predation, freeing them from the burden of human-wildlife conflict and helping secure these important wildlife corridors for cheetahs and other wildlife.
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