Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Role-players in the livestock industry are concerned about the increase in large and foreign predators that have been killing off livestock producers’ animals recently. The culprits are mostly leopards, cheetahs, warthogs and honey badgers. In many cases these predators used to be scarce or non-existent in many of the areas in which they are now doing substantial damage.
Kobus Poggenpoel farms near Setlagole with his sons, Phillip and Kobus. When he started farming there some 30 years ago, leopards were rarely seen in the area. Nowadays, however, their numbers are plentiful and many are permanently roaming the area.
Recently, a leopard caught eight of their commercial calves and when they moved the herd two camps down, the leopard simply showed up there a few weeks later.
More offspring
On another farm in the same area, 22 different leopards have been identified over the past number of years. What is deeply concerning, says Poggenpoel, is that each female leopard raises two to three pups every year, and they then also settle in the same or a neighbouring area. If something isn’t done soon, the leopard population will grow to the extent where it won’t be feasible to farm livestock in the area anymore.
He believes that some of the leopards initially came from Botswana and were then simply not controlled. As more farms were abandoned and fewer workers lived there, human movement also diminished. No natural enemies were present and the leopards established them where calves proved to be easier prey than game.
The Poggenpoels try to keep cows and calves out of the areas where the leopards roam. Without cattle around, they will catch game, baboons and monkeys to survive. Leopards usually catch their prey on a weekly basis and will return to the carcass.
Cheetahs aren’t as big a problem in the Molopo but have become quite a nuisance in the Van Zylsrus vicinity of the Northern Cape. They catch new prey every time they become hungry. A group of cheetahs can easily decimate a herd of springbok. When young cheetahs are taught to hunt, they will often bite and kill several animals, eventually eating only one.
In 2019 the Predation Management Forum was created in response to the seriousness of the predator damage suffered by the livestock industry. The Forum’s name eventually changed to Predation Management SA (PMSA). It is a non-profit organisation offering a multi-sectoral platform for liaison and co-ordination between organisations from the livestock and game industry. Their primary aim is to tackle the predation problem.
Read more about predators and problem animals on South African livestock farms.
Foreign species are multiplying
Niel Viljoen has been researching predators for many years and was appointed by the PMSA as its predation specialist. He says it is very difficult to quantify the damage predators are causing among cattle herds. However, he believes that around 23% of the offspring in a livestock producer’s herds are killed by predators.
His greatest concern is the fact that larger predators’ numbers have grown significantly over the past five years, and that foreign species that rarely ever caught livestock, have now become a problem. The threat posed by jackal and caracal has remained relatively consistent, and there is proof that management systems allowing producers to actually farm alongside these animals, are really working.
Leopard, cheetah and brown hyena numbers, however, have increased significantly. In the Southern Cape’s foreshore areas honey badgers catching lambs have become an ever bigger concern than jackal. The problem will most likely escalate. The relatively safe area provided by a farm with very little human movement creates an ideal place for predator litters to become bigger, while the young are more likely to survive than in nature. Jackals nowadays have litters of up to 12 young as opposed to an average of six in the past, of whom not all reached maturity.
Warthogs are becoming a common site in the Free State and Karoo, and although they are mostly plant eaters they nowadays catch lambs and even attack adult sheep. Smaller warthogs are taught to catch lambs and will most likely continue doing so once they are grown.
Another problem with warthogs is that they damage and destroy structures such as jackal-proof fences. This, in turn, gives smaller predators easier access. The only solution, he believes, is culling the warthogs.
Subsidies can help
There is a popular view that farmers are simply out to kill predators. The fact is that many producers would prefer to use alternative control methods to killing. Unfortunately these methods are usually expensive, time consuming and difficult to implement. Rather than the state losing billions due to the damage livestock producers have to suffer because of predators, that money can be ploughed back into subsidies to help alleviate the problem.
Many years ago producers were subsidised so that they could erect jackal-proof fences. Combined with the call-and-shoot system, these fences ensured that producers were able to realise excellent weaning percentages in their herds. Meanwhile prices have escalated to the point where it simply isn’t affordable to maintain these fences anymore.
The permit system allowing agricultural producers to catch or shoot animals that continue causing damage has been rendered useless. In addition, the authorities tasked with managing the predator problem don’t have the manpower to relocate animals that have been caught. In short, producers’ hands are tied, especially when it comes to large and protected predator species. Even if a producer is willing to catch an animal himself, he cannot do it without a permit and cannot relocate the animal.
Viljoen regards isolation in protected camps along with the call-and-shoot method as the most effective way to control animals that keep causing damage.
Unfortunately producers don’t enjoy a lot of support or assistance. Many do their utmost to assist in protecting and managing these species correctly, but when they have to do it alone it becomes an uphill battle. Perhaps it is time for the hyper environmentally conscious to stop making noise, open their wallets, and rather contribute properly to the environmental protection they yearn for.
Improved livestock management
In an article on the management of predators, Siphiwe Tshabalala and Meyer van der Merwe of the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of the Free State, write that livestock losses can be mitigated if the focus is shifted from predator management to effective livestock management.
Donkeys, alpacas, and Anatolian shepherd dogs can often be used in isolation systems to prevent predators from entering areas and establishing themselves there. Anatolian shepherds are known for their ability to prevent warthogs from damaging fences in isolation camps and creating access for predators.
Further research is needed to determine the true impact of predator damage so that we can develop a better understanding of the indirect impact predator damage has on livestock production and performance. Such research can promote progressive management and policy discussions.
Bigger litters
In an article on his research into jackals, Dr Liaan Minnie, a lecturer at the School of Biology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Mpumalanga, writes that deadly control methods actually exacerbate the problem rather than solving it. This is because the jackal population compensates for increased mortalities by yielding bigger litters at a younger age. Neighbouring jackals will also move into areas that have become open and available due to deadly methods.
Some producers say that sometimes a jackal pair that does not kill small stock and are left to live in a certain area, will see to it that new jackals don’t invade that area. – Andries Gouws, Stockfarm
For more information, contact Kobus Poggenpoel on 082 946 9677 or pogtaxidermy@webmail.co.za, or Niel Viljoen at 082 381 8227 or nielviljoen@gmail.com.
