Effects of chemical immobilization on survival of African buffalo in the Kruger National Park

Oosthuizen, W. C.; Cross, P. C.; Bowers, J. A.; Hay, C.; Ebinger, M. R.; Buss, P.; Hofmeyr, M.; Cameron, E. Z.

Abstract:

Capturing, immobilizing, and fitting radiocollars are common practices in studies of large mammals, but success is based on the assumptions that captured animals are representative of the rest of the population and that the capture procedure has negligible effects. We estimated effects of chemical immobilization on mortality rates of African buffalo (Syncerus caffer) in the Kruger National Park, South Africa. We used a Cox proportional hazards approach to test for differences in mortality among age, sex, and capture classes of repeatedly captured radiocollared buffalo. Capture variables did not improve model fit and the Cox regression did not indicate increased risk of death for captured individuals up to 90 days postcapture [exp (??) = 1.07]. Estimated confidence intervals, however, span from a halving to a doubling of the mortality rate (95% CI = 0.56-2.02). Therefore, capture did not influence survival of captured individuals using data on 875 captures over a 5-year period. Consequently, long-term research projects on African buffalo involving immobilization, such as associated with research on bovine tuberculosis, should result in minimal capture mortality, but monitoring of possible effects should continue.

Genre:

Article

ProdID:

70033007

Citation Author:

Oosthuizen, W. C.; Cross, P. C.; Bowers, J. A.; Hay, C.; Ebinger, M. R.; Buss, P.; Hofmeyr, M.; Cameron, E. Z.

Citation Contributing Office:

Citation Datum:

Citation Day:

Citation Edition:

Citation Editor:

Citation End Page:

153

Citation Issue:

Citation Keywords:

Citation Language:

English

Citation Larger Work Title:

Journal of Wildlife Management

Citation LatN:

Citation LatS:

Citation LonE:

Citation LonW:

Citation Month:

Citation No Pagination:

Citation Number Of Pages:

Citation Online Only Flag:

Citation Phsyical Description:

Citation Projection:

Citation Public Comments:

Citation Publisher:

Citation Series:

Citation Series Code:

Citation Series Number:

Citation Search Results Text:

Effects of chemical immobilization on survival of African buffalo in the Kruger National Park; 2009; Article; Journal; Journal of Wildlife Management; Oosthuizen, W. C.; Cross, P. C.; Bowers, J. A.; Hay, C.; Ebinger, M. R.; Buss, P.; Hofmeyr, M.; Cameron, E. Z.