University of Zurich
Dispersal is an important process governing the persistence of wild animal populations. Upon reaching sexual maturity, individuals usually disperse from their natal home range to search for suitable habitat and mates for reproduction. As such, dispersal promotes gene flow among populations, allows rescuing small and isolated populations, and enables the colonization of unoccupied habitats. In human-dominated landscapes, however, dispersing animals find it increasingly difficult to cross densely populated areas that separate suitable habitats. For this reason, the identification and preservation of wildlife corridors has become of utmost importance for conservation authorities worldwide.
In southern Africa, the governments of Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe have agreed to preserve an unprecedented network of wildlife corridors, connecting up to 35 already-existing national parks, game reserves and other protected areas. The Kavango-Zambezi Conservation Area (KAZA) spans roughly 520,000 square kilometers, making it the world’s largest terrestrial conservation area. But do the boundaries of the KAZA match the dispersal behavior of the species it seeks to protect? Researchers at the University of Zurich sought to answer this question by studying the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus), the most endangered and most mobile species in the KAZA.