Submissions by country

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1 5 April 07 Dear Kruger Park Census participants, Thank you for your participation in the 04/05 Kruger National Park Cheetah and Wild Dog Photographic census. We received an overwhelming response with exactly 680 Wild Dog sightings and 479 Cheetah sightings submitted for the census period (4 th September 04-5 th June 05). During the 008/009 census, 609 Wild Dog sightings and 304 Cheetah sightings were submitted over the same timeframe. The below bar graph indicates the nationality of the submitters. Submissions by country Sweden Spain Portugal Malawi Denmark Ireland India Brazil Bolivia Zambia Sweden Spain Singapore Rwanda Turkey Italy Israel Taiwan Czech Republic Kenya New Zealand Belgium Argentina Canada Austria Netherlands Switzerland France Australia USA United Kingdom Germany South Africa Number of submissions 955

2 The 008/009 census revealed that Kruger holds an estimated population of 5 Wild Dogs and 4 Cheetah. The larger number of Cheetah submissions received for the 04/05 census suggests that Kruger retains the top spot as protected area with the world s largest wild Cheetah population, although this still needs to be confirmed by the final analysis.. Kruger National Park (South Africa) ±4 (Marnewick et al. 04). Serengeti National Park (Tanzania) ±50 (Gros 00) 3. Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (Botswana/South Africa) ±04 (Funston 00) 4. East and West Tsavo National Park (Kenya) ±30 (Panthera/Kenya Wildlife Service, unpublished data) 5. Kalahari Central National Park (Botswana) ± (Stander 998) Due to the large number of entries received, we have experienced software issues and the analysis is not yet complete. We are attending to this issue and if it cannot be solved then we will have to resort to the tried and trusted method individually sifting through all the photographs, identifying individual Cheetah with the human eye. Please do be patient with us. The below map details the location of the 479 Cheetah sightings: Southern Kruger (south of the Sabie River) 54% of Cheetah sightings Central Kruger (between the Sabie and Letaba rivers) 35% of Cheetah sightings Northern Kruger (north of the Olifants River) % of Cheetah sightings Figure. Location of Cheetah sightings for the 04/05 Kruger National Park census. We are not sure if the high number of sightings recorded for the southern portion of the reserve can be attributed to:. a genuinely higher Cheetah density in southern Kruger. the high density road network in southern Kruger

3 The sparsity of sightings on relatively well travelled roads in the north seems to suggest that there is indeed a considerably lower density of Cheetah in the northern portion of the park. Although there were no sightings recorded north of Punda Maria, a female with cubs has regularly been observed by staff in close vicinity to the Pafuri Picnic spot. The 04/05 census confirms that the hotspot for Cheetah sightings in Kruger National Park is indeed the S8 dirt road that runs between Lower Sabie and Crocodile Bridge. Seven percent of all census sightings were reported on this 6km stretch of dirt road. The largest group of Cheetah observed was five. This same group of Cheetah, comprising an adult female and four sub adult cubs, were observed on six occasions in the vicinity of Shingwedzi Camp. Hopefully they will repopulate the north of Kruger! The largest male coalition was a group of four observed by a German national, Axel Urban, on the H-5 between Letaba and Olifants. The below map details the location details that location of the 680 Wild Dog sightings: Southern Kruger (south of the Sabie River) 69% of Wild Dog sightings Central Kruger (between the Sabie and Letaba rivers) % of Wild Dog sightings Northern Kruger (north of the Olifants River) 9% of Wild Dog sightings Figure. Location of Wild Dog sightings for the 04/05 Kruger National Park census. The distribution of Wild Dog sightings in this survey showed a gradient of decreasing density from south to north with many more sightings recorded in the southern region. This is consistent with the previous photographic census.

4 A total of 36 individuals were identified in 0 different packs and dispersal groups with an average pack size of 0 individuals. The Orpen pack was the largest pack with 30 individuals. Although scientific analyses of the data collected is still in progress, we are able to announce the winners of the photographic competition: Winner in the adult category (D700 camera & 8-40mm lens): Marc Cronje submitted Cheetah and 3 Wild Dog entries between October 9 th and the 0 th of June. He was by a long margin the biggest contributor to the census and submitted some fantastic photographs including the four below. Mark wins a Nikon D700.

5 Runners-up in the adult category (Free stay in Kruger National Park): The best Cheetah entry was submitted by Leon and Ricki van Niekerk. The following page includes a snapshot of their PDF submission. We received very few submissions from the northern portion of Kruger, which made this entry even more special. Friedrich von Hörsten submitted seven Wild Dog entries for five different packs in the southern and central portion of Kruger Park. We ve included two of his pictures that give excellent side profiles required for identification purposes.

6 Leon & Ricki van Niekerk

7 Friedrich von Hörsten Friedrich von Hörsten

8 The prize for third place is a Painted Wolf Wine Hamper. Barry Tanner takes this prize for his stunning photograph of an adult female Cheetah with three young cubs. In the below 8 category (D300 & 8-55mm lens): Barry Tanner Hamman Prinsloo submitted superb pics of a single male Cheetah as well as 4 photographs of two separate Wild Dog packs. Hamman Prinsloo

9 Please note that winners were selected according to the usefulness of their photographs for the census. Winners were not necessarily selected for the most beautiful photographs or for the most submissions. Clear side profiles (left and right) as well as photographs that enabled sexing of the animals were most valued. The Endangered Wildlife Trust would like to thank the following institutions for funding the census, namely Land Rover South Africa, Land Rover Centurion, Columbus Zoo and Aquarium, SANParks Honorary Rangers, Vaughan de la Harpe, Nikon, Painted Wolf Wines, Investec Property and GCCL. Without their support, the census would not have taken place. Once again, thank you kindly to everyone for their valuable contribution to the 04/05 KNP Cheetah and Wild Dog census. Kruger National Park continues to play an increasingly important role in the conservation of Wild Dog and Cheetah populations, especially as their numbers continue to decline elsewhere in Africa. Don t hesitate to contact the census co-ordinators should you have any queries. Kind regards, Grant Beverley Kruger Park Wild Dog co-ordinator Carnivore Conservation Programme Vincent van der Merwe Cheetah Metapopulation coordinator Carnivore Conservation Programme Endangered Wildlife Trust Endangered Wildlife Trust Cell Cell grantb@ewt.org.za vincentv@ewt.org.za Web: xxxxx