The announcement inspired a social media furore (to the point that #Hosana trended on Twitter). It also reopened several complex conservation/tourism concerns for public dissection, analysis and, on occasion, misinterpretation. For the authors of this article, with deep personal connections to Hosana and Sabi Sand Game Reserve, his death inspired a desire to tackle some of these issues head-on.
Hosana’s end at the hands of a counter-poaching unit (CPU) may have lit the fire, but much of what follows comes from years of observing, questioning and researching conventional beliefs in old habits and established practices. The concerns raised extend beyond Hosana and deal with complex topics like guide, tracker and field-staff training, habituation, tourism ethics, and human-wildlife conflict. Given the intricacy of the issues at play, we have attempted to address each topic thoroughly to avoid misinterpretation and false conclusions.
When named and known leopards are killed in conflict with humans, the automatic assumption appears to be that habituation must be at fault – often with conflicting ideas of what that means. We set out to investigate the validity of this assumption as systematically and scientifically as possible to avoid questionable leaps of logic, speculation and hysteria. We approached scientific organisations, experienced guides, trackers and reserve managers and sifted through multiple research papers to examine the question from every angle.
We found that, unsurprisingly, human-wildlife conflict continues to be one of the leading causes of anthropogenic leopard mortalities (Viollaz 2016). However, there is no evidence that habituated leopards are disproportionately affected. Nor is there any indication that habituated leopards are more likely to be dangerous to people or livestock in South Africa. However, we did confirm that there is a dearth of appropriate training for wildlife encounters offered to most field operatives and counter-poaching units across the country. This is a danger to the humans working within wild spaces and the wildlife they are trying to protect.
Leopard conservation in South Africa
The following article makes continuous reference to the Sabi Sand Game Reserve (hereafter the Sabi Sands) in South Africa. This is not an indictment of the reserve. The area has one of the highest densities of leopards on the continent and is the “home of leopard habituation” as we know it. It is an invaluable reference point for this discussion. Our conclusions are specific to South Africa, where national parks and reserves are fenced. While many of the issues raised could be applied to national parks, private reserves and private concessions in other parts of Africa, our research was region-specific.
Leopard habituation
Hosana’s death inspired considerable discussion on social media around habituation, rehashing a well-worn topic that is often debated with little appreciation of what precisely it entails. So what does habituation mean?
It is crucial to be pedantic here because, otherwise, far too much bad behaviour falls under the label of “habituation”. At its simplest definition in this context, we are referring to the habituation of leopards as the removal of the strongest feelings of fear and the desire to escape from safari vehicles (and their associated sounds, smells and so on). Repeated exposure teaches the animal not to be afraid.
Habituation should not be confused with either taming or attracting animals. We would argue that the regular feeding of wildlife by visitors (as often occurs in public campsites in national parks, resulting in aggressive “problem” animals) is taming or attraction, not habituation. When a wild animal begins associating humans or vehicles with a basic need (such as food) and loses all fear, that animal has been partially tamed. Similarly, driving too close to animals or interfering with their behaviour is not bad habituation; it is bad guiding.
When “done right”, habituation results in an animal that simply ignores the humans in vehicles around it and continues to behave naturally, allowing it to be viewed with minimal impact. From the animal’s perspective, it does not expend valuable time and energy getting away from people. The importance of this cannot be overstated because most wild animals are carefully balanced on a knife-edge of survival, and running and hiding to avoid vehicles only adds to this strain and distraction.
Leopard habituation was essentially pioneered during the late 1970s at Londolozi Private Game Reserve in what is now the Sabi Sands (Hess, 1991). Through the exceptional tracking skills and abundant patience of a few individuals, a kind of trust was established. It gave rise to generations of leopards comfortable with vehicles and established the reserve as one of Africa’s top leopard-viewing destinations (Hess, 1991; Hancock, 2000; Kure, 2003).
Young cubs learn by observing their habituated mothers’ reactions, so tourist-filled vehicles quickly become nothing to fear. Thus, over time, the habituation process in a reserve with a long history of leopard viewing gets easier and less intrusive. However, these are wild animals, so nuances and variations are inevitable. Leopards have distinct personalities, and specific individuals (even those from the same litter) may either prove impossible to habituate or be extremely confiding. Habituation can also be specific: a leopard that will lie in the shade of a green safari vehicle may be extremely unsettled by a white car following behind it.
Bad impressions or experiences are remembered, which is why habituation requires that each guide work respectfully with each animal to reinforce the message that humans in vehicles are not a threat. Detailed observation of their behaviour is essential: “listening” to the animal, watching their body language, switching off the vehicle while they are alert or hunting, keeping a comfortable following distance and so on. The aim is to be an impartial observer, and habituation makes that easier. However, months of careful habituation work can be undone very quickly by a few insensitive guides (which we address at a later stage).
