The aim of this study was to assess the patterns of attack related to such conflict, and their magnitude, in the eastern part of the Serengeti ecosystem. Other large carnivore species also come into conflict with humans as a result of habitat loss caused by human population growth (Kolowski & Holekamp, Reference Kolowski and Holekamp2006 Kissui, Reference Kissui2008). on communal lands and outside fenced areas (Lindsey et al., Reference Lindsey, Alexander, Du Toit and Mills2005). In southern Africa most conflict with wild dogs occurs outside protected areas e.g. Experience in East Africa shows that conflict between humans and wild dogs occurs in human-dominated landscapes when the contact between wild dogs and livestock increases (Thomas, Reference Thomas2000 Woodroffe et al., Reference Woodroffe, Lindsey, Romanach, Stein and Ranah2005). Wild dogs have been reported to prey on livestock near human communities (Rasmussen, Reference Rasmussen1999 Swarner, Reference Swarner2004). Attacks on livestock by wild dogs have been reported in this area since 2000, when packs began to reappear there (Masenga & Mentzel, Reference Masenga and Mentzel2005). These packs, with fewer than 100 adults in total, inhabited the north-eastern part of the ecosystem (Masenga, Reference Masenga2011). eight packs of wild dogs were reported in the Park during 2008–2009. Wild dogs were declared locally extinct in the Serengeti National Park in 1991 (Gascoyne et al., Reference Gascoyne, King, Laurenson, Borner, Schildger and Barrat1993 Creel et al., Reference Creel, Creel and Monfort1997 Stearns & Stearns, Reference Stearns and Stearns1999 Carbone et al., Reference Carbone, Frame, Frame, Malcolm, Fanshawe and Fitzgibbon2005). 8,000 individuals remaining in the wild (Swarner, Reference Swarner2004 Masenga & Mentzel, Reference Masenga and Mentzel2005 Woodroffe et al., Reference Woodroffe, Lindsey, Romanach, Stein and Ranah2005). It has disappeared from much of its former range (Rasmussen, Reference Rasmussen1999) and there are only c. The African wild dog Lycaon pictus is one of the species that has declined because of such conflicts (Woodroffe et al., Reference Woodroffe, Lindsey, Romanach, Stein and Ranah2005). It is a global problem (Ciucci & Boitani, Reference Ciucci and Boitani1998 Røskaft et al., Reference Røskaft, Bjerke, Kaltenborn, Linnell and Andersen2003, Reference Røskaft, Händel, Bjerke and Kaltenborn2007 Treves & Karanth, Reference Treves and Karanth2003 Rodney & Rinchen, Reference Rodney and Rinchen2004 Woodroffe et al., Reference Woodroffe, Lindsey, Romanach, Stein and Ranah2005) and the decline of many large wild carnivore species is at least partly attributable to revenge killing as a result of predation on livestock (Woodroffe et al., Reference Woodroffe, Lindsey, Romanach, Stein and Ranah2005).

Human–carnivore conflict over livestock presents a challenge for both wildlife conservationists and farmers (Diamond, Reference Diamond1997 Chen et al., Reference Chen, Baxter, Muir, Groenen and Schook2007 Kissui, Reference Kissui2008 Driscoll et al., Reference Driscoll, Macdonald and Brien2009). Cattle Bos primigenius were most frequently attacked by wild dogs and leopards during the long dry season and by lions Panthera leo during the long rainy season, whereas spotted hyaenas killed cattle most frequently during the short rainy season. Sheep and goats were most frequently attacked by most carnivores during the long rainy season. Attacks on livestock by wild dogs occurred most frequently in the afternoon and evening, whereas other carnivores generally attacked livestock at night. In both tribal areas sheep Ovis aries and goats Capra aegagrus hircus were subject to predation more frequently than cattle. In the Maasai tribal area there was a significant amount of predation by leopards Panthera pardus and spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta.

The annual rate of attack by African wild dogs Lycaon pictus was significantly higher (1.42 animals per 1,000 livestock) in the Sonjo tribal area than in the Maasai tribal area (0.72 animals per 1,000 livestock). Local enumerators systematically recorded incidents of carnivore predation on livestock and their data were quantified by us, with the aid of District Game Officers or trusted local people. During 2007–2009 we conducted a survey of attacks by wild carnivores on the livestock of the Maasai and Sonjo tribes in the eastern Serengeti ecosystem of northern Tanzania.

Striped wild dogs