A confirmed human fatality due to envenomation by the Kunene Coral Snake (Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi) in Namibia.

Shield-nose and Coral snakes (Aspidelaps spp.) are medium sized venomous snakes found throughout southern Africa. Little is known about the venom of these snakes and its clinical relevance, as human bites are uncommon. Neurological signs and symptoms usually develop following bites by this genus but evaluations of the severity are inconclusive. We report on the first confirmed human fatality by the Kunene Shield-nose Snake (Aspidelaps lubricus cowlesi) in a child. Envenomation by Aspidelaps and other snakes considered lesser-venomous - especially those possessing neurotoxic venom - should be treated with caution as they may result in life-threatening envenomation without established clinical management protocols.

Ranging behaviours across ecological and anthropogenic disturbance gradients: a pan-African perspective of giraffe (Giraffa spp.) space use.

Animal movement behaviours are shaped by diverse factors, including resource availability and human impacts on the landscape. We generated home range estimates and daily movement rate estimates for 149 giraffe (Giraffa spp.) from all four species across Africa to evaluate the effects of environmental productivity and anthropogenic disturbance on space use. Using the continuous time movement modelling framework and a novel application of mixed effects meta-regression, we summarized overall giraffe space use and tested for the effects of resource availability and human impact on 95% autocorrelated kernel density estimate (AKDE) size and daily movement. The mean 95% AKDE was 359.9 km2 and the mean daily movement was 14.2 km, both with marginally significant differences across species. We found significant negative effects of resource availability, and significant positive effects of resource heterogeneity and protected area overlap on 95% AKDE size. There were significant negative effects of overall anthropogenic disturbance and positive effects of the heterogeneity of anthropogenic disturbance on daily movements and 95% AKDE size. Our results provide unique insights into the interactive effects of resource availability and anthropogenic development on the movements of a large-bodied browser and highlight the potential impacts of rapidly changing landscapes on animal space-use patterns.

Evaluating expert-based habitat suitability information of terrestrial mammals with GPS-tracking data.

Aim: Macroecological studies that require habitat suitability data for many species often derive this information from expert opinion. However, expert-based information is inherently subjective and thus prone to errors. The increasing availability of GPS tracking data offers opportunities to evaluate and supplement expert-based information with detailed empirical evidence. Here, we compared expert-based habitat suitability information from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with habitat suitability information derived from GPS-tracking data of 1,498 individuals from 49 mammal species. Location: Worldwide. Time period: 1998-2021. Major taxa studied: Forty-nine terrestrial mammal species. Methods: Using GPS data, we estimated two measures of habitat suitability for each individual animal: proportional habitat use (proportion of GPS locations within a habitat type), and selection ratio (habitat use relative to its availability). For each individual we then evaluated whether the GPS-based habitat suitability measures were in agreement with the IUCN data. To that end, we calculated the probability that the ranking of empirical habitat suitability measures was in agreement with IUCN's classification into suitable, marginal and unsuitable habitat types. Results: IUCN habitat suitability data were in accordance with the GPS data (> 95% probability of agreement) for 33 out of 49 species based on proportional habitat use estimates and for 25 out of 49 species based on selection ratios. In addition, 37 and 34 species had a > 50% probability of agreement based on proportional habitat use and selection ratios, respectively. Main conclusions: We show how GPS-tracking data can be used to evaluate IUCN habitat suitability data. Our findings indicate that for the majority of species included in this study, it is appropriate to use IUCN habitat suitability data in macroecological studies. Furthermore, we show that GPS-tracking data can be used to identify and prioritize species and habitat types for re-evaluation of IUCN habitat suitability data.

Integrating small mammal community variables into aircraft-wildlife collision management plans at Namibian airports.

Understanding ecosystems within and around airports can help to determine the causes and possible mitigation measures for collisions between aircraft and wildlife. Small mammal communities are an important component of the semi-arid savanna ecosystems of Namibia, its productivity and its ecosystem integrity. They are also a major direct attractant for raptors at airports. The present study compared the abundance and diversity of small mammals between Namibia's 2 main airport properties (Hosea Kutako International Airport and Eros Airport), and among areas of land used for various purposes surrounding the airports. A total of 2150 small mammals (3 orders, 11 species) were captured over 4 trapping seasons. Small mammal abundance was significantly higher at the end of the growing season than during the non-growing season. The grass mowing regimen in current management plans at the airports resulted in a significant reduction of small mammal abundance at Hosea Kutako during the non-growing season only, thus indicating that annual mowing is effective but insufficient to reduce the overall abundance of mammal prey species for raptors. Small mammal numbers were significantly higher at Hosea Kutako Airport compared to the cattle and game farming land surrounding the airport, while no differences in small mammal densities or diversity were found for areas with different land uses at and surrounding Eros. The study suggests that the fence around Hosea Kutako provides a refuge for small mammals, resulting in higher densities. It also indicates that different surrounding land use practices result in altered ecosystem function and productivity, an important consideration when identifying wildlife attractants at airports.