Mtega Gregory A, Shayo Victoria, Lyamuya Richard D, Mayengo Gabriel
Department of Ecological Monitoring, Ngorongoro Conservation Area Authority, Karatu, Tanzania.
Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute (TAWIRI), Arusha, Tanzania.
PLoS One. 2025 May 14;20(5):e0323994. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323994. eCollection 2025.
Globally, extension of road network is among the major threats affecting different fauna survival. Roads traversing protected areas, usually harm wildlife species (e.g., wildlife roadkill). Wildlife roadkill is of global conservation concern and has been reported to occur in different protected areas worldwide. Very little information on the problem is currently available in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA). The purpose of this study was to identify factors that affect wildlife roadkill in the NCA. The 82-kilometer main road from Lodoare to Golini served as the study's transects. Data was collected for a duration of one year from July 2021 to June 2022. Vehicle moving with a speed limit of 20km/hr were used during the data collection. The survey started early in the morning from 07:00 am to 06:00 pm and employed both direct and opportunistic encounter observations for recording wildlife roadkill incidences. The results revealed that 85 individual animals belonging to 21 families, i.e., 5 mammalian, 3 reptilian, and 10 bird orders were recorded killed within one year period in the area. These animals comprised 26 different species, which included 10 mammalian, 5 reptilian, and 11 bird species. Moreover, more birds (69.4%) than mammals (18.8%) and reptiles (11.8%) were found killed in the area. Additionally, the night jars (Caprimulgus europaeus; 30.6%) followed by black rat (Rattus rattus; 7.1%) and chameleon (Chamaeleo chamaeleon; 3.5%) were the most frequently recorded killed species in the area. Furthermore, wildlife roadkills did not differ significantly between seasons (p = 0.371) and time of day (e.g., morning vs. afternoon; p = 0.652) but differed significantly between their body size (e.g., small, medium, and large; p < 0.001) and habitat types (e.g., grassland, woodland, shrubland, wooded grassland, forest; p = 0.005). The study recommends punishments and penalties for overspeeding drivers and installing cameras, speed limits, and signboards along the highway to alert drivers to reduce speed. Further, providing regular education to road users on the impacts of roadkill within the ecosystem is critical.
在全球范围内，道路网络的扩展是影响不同动物生存的主要威胁之一。横穿保护区的道路通常会伤害野生动物物种（例如，野生动物被车辆撞死）。野生动物被车辆撞死是一个全球范围内备受关注的保护问题，据报道在世界各地的不同保护区都有发生。目前在恩戈罗恩戈罗保护区（NCA），关于这个问题的信息非常少。本研究的目的是确定影响恩戈罗恩戈罗保护区野生动物被车辆撞死的因素。从洛多阿雷到戈利尼的82公里主干道作为研究的样带。从2021年7月到2022年6月，持续一年时间收集数据。在数据收集期间，使用限速为20公里/小时的车辆。调查从早上7点开始，到下午6点结束，采用直接观察和机会性偶遇观察相结合的方式记录野生动物被车辆撞死的事件。结果显示，在该地区一年内记录到有85只个体动物死亡，它们分属于21个科，即5个哺乳纲、3个爬行纲和10个鸟纲。这些动物包括26个不同的物种，其中有10个哺乳类物种、5个爬行类物种和11个鸟类物种。此外，在该地区发现被撞死的鸟类（69.4%）比哺乳动物（18.8%）和爬行动物（11.8%）更多。另外，欧夜鹰（欧洲夜鹰；30.6%）之后是黑家鼠（黑鼠；7.1%）和普通避役（普通变色龙；3.5%），是该地区记录到的最常被撞死的物种。此外，野生动物被车辆撞死的情况在不同季节（p = 0.371）和一天中的不同时间（例如，上午与下午；p = 0.652）之间没有显著差异，但在它们的体型（例如，小、中、大；p < 0.001）和栖息地类型（例如，草原、林地、灌木丛、树木繁茂的草原、森林；p = 0.005）之间存在显著差异。该研究建议对超速驾驶者进行处罚，并在高速公路沿线安装摄像头、限速标志和指示牌，以提醒司机减速。此外，定期对道路使用者进行关于道路杀戮对生态系统影响的教育至关重要。
