Improving livestock health by conserving top predators
Zoonotic diseases can decimate livestock industries, contribute to famine and malnutrition, and drive human disease outbreaks. In Africa, where wildlife and livestock interaction is common, fences are commonly used to prevent disease spillover. Widespread fencing is costly and ecologically damaging, disrupting critical wildlife migration patterns. This project offers a natural, environmentally-friendly alternative: conserving top predators as a natural form of disease control. By regulating wild herbivore populations, predators like lions may reduce the risk of disease transmission to livestock. Focusing on the Okavango Delta in Botswana, researchers will quantify how lion predation on Cape buffalo influences the spread of bovine tuberculosis to cattle, and share their findings with local farmers through a community-based education program to discourage lion killings.