Brown hyaena (Parahyaena brunnea) are ‘near-threatened’, scavenging carnivores, endemic to southern Africa with an estimated population size of < 10 000 mature individuals (International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List (Wiesel 2015)). This species range countries including Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Angola and Zimbabwe (Mills & Hofer 1998; Wiesel 2015).

The largest population of brown hyaena is found in Botswana (Wiesel 2015), a country that hosts one of the most diverse carnivore assemblages (also known as ‘carnivore guild’) in Africa. The brown hyaena occurs over most of Botswana, except the Okavango Delta and sections in the north (Wiesel 2015). The range includes a diversity of human land uses such as conservation areas (Keeping 2014; Maude & Mills 2005) and agricultural areas (Boast & Houser 2012; Kent & Hill 2013; (Muir 2009 & Schiess-Meier et al. 2007). Similar to most large carnivores, brown hyeana are in decline due to habitat loss and fragmentation, human expansion, unsustainable trophy hunting with human persecution being a significant threat in the range countries for this species (Mills & Hofer 1998; Wiesel 2015).

Botswana’s large carnivore guild consists of a interspecific dominance hierarchy, including dominant competitiors (lions and spotted hyaeanas) and subordinate competitors (cheetahs, African wild dogs and brown hyaenas) (Marker & Dickman 2005; Mills 2015) and leopards (i.e. the large carnivore least affected by interspecific competition). The interactions among carnivore guild members as well as their interactions with prey species are important components of biodiversity (Dalerum et al. 2008; Mills 2005). Conservation of the intact carnivore guild has a higher priority than the conservation of individual species (Woodroffe & Ginsberg 2005).

Botswana has two large conservation zones with the potential to conserve the intact carnivore guild (Winterbach, Winterbach & Somers 2014). The southern and northern Conservation Zone (CZ), both provide variable prey densities for large carnivores, with the highest prey densities in the northern
CZ, within the Okavango Delta and along the Kwando/Linyanti/Chobe river system (Winterbach et al. 2014).

It has been suggested that the long-term conservation of brown hyaenas is not limited to conservation zones but also depends on the agricultural areas in Botswana (Boast & Houser 2012; Kent & Hill 2013). These areas do not have the potential to conserve the intact carnivore guild (Winterbach et al. 2014), however, can provide an opportunity to conserve the subordinate competitor species including brown hyaenas (Boast & Houser 2012; IUCN/SSC 2007; Kent & Hill 2013; Klein 2007; Maude & Mills 2005; Winterbach et al. 2015). Research by Winterbach et al., 2017 used track counts, camera traps and questionnaires, supplemented by published, unpublished and reports between 2005 – 2016 to estimate the Botswana brown hyaena population. They calculated the Botswana’s population at 4642 (3133–5993) animals (46% of the global populations), with 6.8% of the population in the Northern Conservation Zone, 73.1% in the Southern Conservation Zone, 2.0% in the smaller conservation zones.

The study by Winterbach et al., 2017 also showed that a significant proportion (18.1%) of the brown hyaena population in Botswana occurred in agricultural areas. For example, estimates showed more brown hyaenas on commercial farms than all of the Northern Conservation Zone. Therefore, it has been suggested that agricultural zones should be priorities not only for brown hyaena conservation but are also critical to maintain links with populations in Nambia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Although due to data collection span over a decade of research, there is a risk that population
densities may have changed as a result of ecological factors or changes in land use. Despite Botswana’s importance for brown hyena conservation, accurate density estimates are lacking in conservation zones and agricultural zones. Terrafou Conservancy, which is located within the south-east agriculture zones in Botswana and during our 2023 expedition, the preliminary camera trap survey, Brown Hyaena was recorded on-site on several sampling occasions. The Hyaena project, therefore, using indirect methods (camera arrays, capture-recapture and distance sampling models) aims to provide the first detailed population estimate in Terrafou Conservancy for Brown Hyeana and better understand their habitat utilization and promote educational activities to minimize human-hyaenid conflict.