Wildlife farming, or game ranching, collectively termed here as the wildlife sector, has changed over the past few decades in South Africa, leading to growth in conservation and green economy, but resulting in an increase in wildlife fencing and intensive wildlife management practices. To describe spatial changes in the wildlife sector, the fences, camps, and intensive farm portions of wildlife properties in southwest Limpopo, South Africa, were mapped using remote sensing data from 2007, 2012 and 2017. A ground-truth study in 2019 confirmed the accuracy of the remotely-sensed maps. The number of camps smaller than 100 ha significantly increased, especially very small camps <50 ha, from 2007 to 2017. Over the ten-year period, farm portions became proportionately more intensive. This intensification resulted in an increased number of intensive farm portions within protected areas, critical biodiversity areas, and ecological support areas. An increase in total length of fences and number of camps, and a decrease in the mean size of camps were subsequently observed. These changes coincided with the rise of intensive breeding in the wildlife industry market between 2012 and 2017, after which this part of the sector declined. The increase in fencing and intensive management practices in southwest Limpopo could have implications for biodiversity conservation and planning. The remotely-sensed maps may help ensure sustainable wildlife management practices by aiding conservation policy frameworks and monitoring infrastructure developments.

Giraffe (Giraffa spp.) population numbers and distribution have shown dramatic declines across their global range (>30%) over the past 35 years. A century ago, the population size in the wild was estimated at >1 million. At present, there are ∼117 000 individuals remaining, of which 50% are in southern Africa. With substantial giraffe populations in the region, opportunities exist to re-introduce and establish founder populations in areas where they have become locally extinct. We assessed the potential for re-introducing Angolan giraffe (G. giraffa angolensis) into Iona National Park (NP), Angola, where they historically occurred. Our study investigated home range extent and preferred forage species of an Angolan giraffe population in northwest Namibia to assess the suitability of Iona NP for giraffe in terms of spatial requirements and food sources. Overall home ranges of giraffe in northwest Namibia were larger than in more temperate areas, an important aspect to consider when determining suitable habitat in Iona NP. Although arid riparian woodlands along ephemeral rivers formed the main habitat, the tagged animals moved independently of water and generally avoided human settlements. Species richness and diversity of giraffe forage species were encouragingly higher in Iona NP compared to northwest Namibia. We conclude that Iona NP is suitable with regard to available forage and size of habitat for the potential re-introduction of giraffe.

Porcupines were recorded to ringbark Cordyla africana, and debark Trichilia emetica and Spirostachys africana, in Gonarezhou National Park, Zimbabwe, in 1972. Fifty years later (2022), debarking of all three species by porcupines had escalated, although ringbarking was effectively absent. By 2022, elephants had begun debarking C. africana, ignored T. emetica, used the foliage of S. africana sparingly, but had heavily impacted Acacia species in the surrounding woodland. Over 50 years, the population of C. africana had aged, without any regeneration; such that future representation of this species in riverine woodland is expected to decline. By contrast, regeneration of T. emetica and S. africana, and rapid growth of T. emetica to adult size in under 40 years, indicates that representation of these two species should increase.

The African black rhinoceros (black rhino) as a species is critically endangered on the Red List of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). This list categorizes threatened species assessed for risks of extinction. The IUCN Green Status is a new global standard of measurement created by IUCN to help show how a species is functioning within the ecological system it inhabits, and how much it has recovered thanks to conservation action. For the new Green Status, we provide an assessment of four conservation impact measures for the black rhino – conservation legacy, conservation dependence, conservation gain and recovery potential. Time sequences of estimates for four subspecies of black rhinos, collated from data provided by range States and various sources in the literature, provide the basis of this evaluation. Our findings reveal that in the absence of conservation interventions, the year 2022 would only have seen 296 black rhinos compared to 6487 reported, a legacy of 6191 individuals. If conservation interventions had been stopped in 2022, there would be 3354 black rhinos in 2032, i.e. there is a conservation dependence of 3133 rhinos. If conservation interventions continue, there will be 8943 black rhinos in 2032, a conservation gain of 2456 individuals, compared to the number in 2022. Various global change drivers contribute to available habitat for 20 952 black rhinos in 2122. Our analysis illustrated that the rhino recovery potential by 2022 was 14 465. For this to continue and materialize fully, the authorities will need to consider introducing ecological equivalent subspecies into available habitat, within ranges of extinct subspecies.

The use of telemetry for animal tracking studies has been a key component of wildlife research and monitoring for decades. The unique anatomy of giraffe, however, has presented special challenges for developing functional animal-borne tracking devices for these species. Since the first reported collaring of a giraffe in 1970, several modifications (from neck collars to ear tags, and head harnesses to tail units) and technological developments (Very High Frequency [VHF] to Ultra High Frequency [UHF], Global System for Mobile communication [GSM], and Low Range [LoRa] to Global Positioning System [GPS] satellite) have taken place. Here, we describe the evolution of tracking units used on giraffe and, where available, report their performance diagnostics, highlighting the applicability of such units for modern-day tracking studies with both improved data quality and improved animal welfare. Based on the data gathered, we make recommendations about which modern-day units to use regarding research and management goals.

Giraffe in southern Africa range across diverse anthropogenic land-use types and understanding their habitat requirements across these differently managed areas is key to their long-term conservation in increasingly complex multiple-use landscapes. We evaluated vegetation type preference, seasonal home range sizes, and daily distances travelled of two major southern giraffe populations in Zimbabwe – Hwange National Park (HNP) and Save Valley Conservancy (SVC) – by fitting a total of 27 solar-powered GPS satellite units. There was a difference in seasonal vegetation type selection as giraffe favoured bushlands and woodlands compared to other vegetation types. We used a continuous time movement modelling framework to generate 95% autocorrelated kernel density estimates for home range models and found significantly larger home ranges in HNP (573.9 km²; CI: 429.4–766.9 km²) compared to SVC (191.7 km²; CI: 131.5–279.5 km²). We also found differences in seasonal range sizes between study areas: SVC – (84.4 km²; CI: 55.8–127.5 km²) during the early dry season and (98.5 km²; CI: 65.1–149.1 km²) during the wet season; and, in HNP – (349.4 km²; CI: 181.6–672.2 km²) during the wet season and (637.9 km²; CI: 357.8–1137.0 km²) during the late dry season. Ranges varied significantly between sites (P < 0.01), with giraffe in SVC exhibiting significantly smaller ranges than in HNP across all three seasons (early dry: P < 0.01; late dry: P < 0.01, wet: P < 0.01). Daily distances travelled by giraffe were relatively consistent across both sites; however, seasonal variability was observed (P = 0.07). Whilst SVC giraffe daily distances travelled were relatively consistent across seasons, HNP giraffe in the wet season were travelled significantly less than in the early dry season (P < 0.05). Environmental changes appear to be the biggest drivers of variation amongst giraffe home ranges, vegetation type selection, and daily distances travelled between SVC and HNP. This was the first-ever in-depth study of giraffe spatial ecology in Zimbabwe and these results can better inform future conservation management in the country.

Increasing trends in elephant population numbers in South Africa contrast those in most other range states. Most of South Africa's elephants occur in Kruger National Park (Kruger). Elephant population estimates and trends in these are key aspects of evaluating their conservation status. Authorities in Kruger traditionally made use of elephants observed during total aerial surveys. This approach, however, has no measures of precision of the population estimates. Total aerial surveys also assume that sample errors and various biases have negligible impact on population estimates. We aimed to demonstrate and explore a sample-based methodology to obtain the most reliable population estimates and trends. Total and sample aerial surveys of elephants were simultaneously used to develop sample-based estimates with confidence intervals for the Kruger elephant time series. During 2020, sample errors resulted in an approximately 15% underestimate of the number of elephants in Kruger. The aerial survey that accounted for sample errors estimated 31 324 elephants (95% CI: 28 457–34 191) present in Kruger. Comparison with the 2013 sample-based estimate predicts annual exponential growth of 5.3% (95% CI: 3.7–7.0%). Correct estimates with precision are important to inform assessments of the conservation status of elephants and how this may change.

In Africa, offal is a cheap source of protein and is regularly consumed. The yields and proximate analyses of 15 giraffe (eight male, seven female) were evaluated. The only significant differences of offal weights between sexes were for the head with tongue (P = 0.011), feet (P = 0.006), and kidneys (P = 0.045), with each being heavier for males than females. However, as a percentage of the total dead weight, there were no significant differences between sexes. The study also looked at the proximate composition of the heart, liver, kidneys, and tongue. The moisture % averaged ∼76%, protein % averaged ∼17%, total fat % averaged ∼5% and the ash % averaged ∼1% for all organs across both sexes. While sex only had an effect on the ash content (P = 0.038), organ type had an effect on all parameters (P < 0.001). Red offal had a favourably high protein content as well as a low fat content, which, when combined with the high yields thereof per animal, indicates that giraffe offal can serve as a source of low-cost protein.

Community Based Natural Resource Management in Namibia is known as an exemplary conservation programme giving local communities rights over the use of wildlife resources. Monitoring of wildlife population numbers and trends is essential in conservancies to manage wildlife for sustainable benefits and reduced human–wildlife conflict. Nyae Nyae Conservancy conducts systematic wildlife monitoring, inclusive of carnivores. Monitoring carnivore presence and distribution is important because they are often the leading cause of livestock depredation in the area. Incidences of livestock depredation by carnivores are recorded in the conservancy, helping inform decision-making regarding the need to reduce or relocate problem-causing carnivores. To complement these incidence records, annual foot transect counts and spoor surveys of carnivores were introduced in 2017. This study compared the relative species richness, number of observations and their distribution detected by regular counts, spoor surveys, and human–wildlife conflict incidence reports for ten carnivore species in Nyae Nyae Conservancy. Between 2017 and 2022, there were an average of 17 physical sightings, 25 human–wildlife conflict incidents, and 208 spoor recordings of the ten target carnivore species per year. The highest annual species richness for physical surveys was five, while spoor of all ten species were only identified in 2019. In 2021 and 2022, a total of five carnivore species were involved in human–wildlife conflict incidents, the highest recorded during the study period. Over the six-year period, the relative abundance of species to each other correlated significantly between spoor surveys and human–wildlife conflict incidence frequency, while there was no relationship between spoor surveys and transect visual sightings, or between sightings and human–wildlife conflict incidence. The study indicates that spoor counts are effective in detecting the presence of carnivore species, but do not necessarily provide an accurate indication of the overall abundance and proportional abundance of carnivores.