The re-introduction of Lichtenstein’s hartebeest to Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, south-eastern Zimbabwe

Summary

Lichtenstein's hartebeest (Alcelaphus buselaphus lichtensteinii), Least Concern globally but reduced in Zimbabwe from around 38 animals on Lone Star Ranch in 1976 to a single known survivor by 1993 after drought, was reintroduced to Malilangwe Wildlife Reserve, formed in 1994 for biodiversity restoration. A 1996 habitat study confirmed the reserve's seasonally waterlogged dambo grasslands remained suitable despite severe 1980s-90s droughts, prompting managers to import a breeding nucleus of 30 hartebeest from Zambia in 1996 and 1998 into a 500-hectare fenced enclosure, where the population grew at close to the maximum intrinsic rate of about 30% annually, reaching 72 by 2002 before a mortality event reduced it to 61. Free-ranging releases began in 2004 (24 animals) and continued in 2007 (33 more, after which the enclosure was dismantled), while a second, smaller nucleus of six animals grew more slowly and was retained as insurance. Annual helicopter census data showed the free-ranging population initially grew to 81 by 2007 but then declined steadily to an estimated 60 by 2012, driven by unsustainable predation of adult females by lions and other carnivores; researchers calculated the population would go extinct within about six years without further supplementation. Difficulties included elephant damage to enclosure fencing, leopard predation on juveniles, dangerous lion incursions (one of which mauled the reserve's wildlife manager), and balancing predator-focused ecotourism against the antelope's predation sensitivity. The project rates itself only partially successful, since the free-ranging population is not self-sustaining and depends on continued supplementation from captive stock.