Browsing by Author "Roskaft, Eivin"

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    Attitudes of Maasai pastoralists towards the conservation of large carnivores in the Loliondo game controlled area of Northern Tanzania
    (Academic Journals, 2014) Lyamuya, Richard D.; Masenga, Emmanuel H; Mbise, Franco Peniel; Fyumagwa, Robert D.; Mwita, Machoke N.; Roskaft, Eivin
    Attitudes towards the conservation of lions, leopards, cheetah, spotted hyenas and African wild dogs were assessed in the Loliondo Game Controlled Area of northern Tanzania in January 2013. Our survey encompassed 181 individuals each representing onehousehold, of which 30 were chosen randomly from six Maasai pastoralist villages. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to acquire the required information from the respondents. We found that the majority of the Maasai pastoralists, particularly females, expressed negative attitudes towards the conservation of large carnivores. The reasons given for disliking carnivores differed between the sexes, but the most common reasons were that the carnivores attacked the respondents’ livestock at night and also purposefully and frequently attacked people. The Maasai pastoralists who had been to school, mostly males, expressed more positive attitudes than those who had not been to school. Those who liked at least two carnivore species had received greater benefits from conservation programs than those who liked only one or disliked all carnivore species. Therefore,to supportthe conservation ofwild dogs and otherlarge carnivores at large, we recommend that where possible, female Maasai should be allowed to access Protected Areas (PAs) resources during the time of hard ship or drought to improve their livelihood. In addition, they should be empowered by being involved in conserving large carnivores as “carnivore guardians”, exposed to ecotourism activities and be educated. Furthermore, conservation performance payments for carnivores should be institutionalized in the area.
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    Influence of multiple linear infrastructure on diversity of small mammals in Mikumi national park, Tanzania
    (Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2019) Kisanga, Agnes Carol; Nyahongo, Julius William; Mtemi, Wambura M.; Roskaft, Eivin
    The need for rapid development in developing countries has led to establishment of major public infrastructure even in biodiversity rich protected areas. Mikumi National Park in central Tanzania is traversed by five such major infrastructures namely an optic fibre, a busy public road, an oil pipeline, power lines and railways. We assessed diversity and abundance of small terrestrial mammals of the order Eulipotyphla and Rodentia as indicator groups in relation to impacts of such infrastructure. Animals were live trapped during wet (February-April) and dry (July- September) seasons in 2018 from three established plots along the three transects set perpendicular to each of the four infrastructures. In 10102 trap nights, we captured 453 small mammals of nine species of which Mastomys natalensis constituted 75.4 % of total catch. Diversity and abundance varied between seasons, infrastructure and plots location. Dry season had significantly higher diversity than wet season and the railway site had higher diversity than the other infrastructure. The intermediate plots (500 m from infrastructure) had significantly higher abundance of animals than immediate (0-50 m) and distant (1000 m) plots. The differences in these results can be attributed by seasonal fluctuations of animal populations, and intensity of disturbance in each infrastructure and plot. It is important to examine impacts of future infrastructure developments using small mammals.