Alehegn Birkie, Kifle Zewdu
Department of Biology, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
PLoS One. 2025 Jun 30;20(6):e0323878. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323878. eCollection 2025.
Given the current rate of habitat loss, particularly in the tropics, reliable data on the population size and habitats of wild animals are crucial for initiating conservation and management activities in specific areas. Wildlife ecologists have not studied the ecology of most medium-sized mammals in detail. The rock hyrax (Procavia capensis) is one such medium-sized mammal that has not been well-studied in Ethiopia. Therefore, we conducted this study to determine the population size and examine local residents' attitudes toward the rock hyrax in the Zegie Peninsula, Ethiopia. We applied the strip-transect counting method to estimate the population size and determine the density of rock hyrax in the area. We used structured questionnaires and informant interviews to assess local people's attitudes. We counted a total of 469 rock hyrax individuals in the study area. Adults accounted for 72.4% of the population, while juveniles comprised 27.6%. Through extrapolation, we estimated a total population of approximately 2,184 rock hyraxes within the Zegie Peninsula, with a density of 36.5 individuals/km2. The juvenile-to-adult ratio was 1:2.6 in the area. Rock hyraxes were most frequently observed in lakeshore habitats, followed by residential areas. Most respondents held negative attitudes toward the species, citing environmental pollution (notably a bad smell) in the church and residential compounds due to hyrax pellets and urine, as well as damage to fruits and vegetables. Respondents also described a traditional belief that rock hyraxes possess magical powers enabling them to steal food when they see people eating. Additionally, most reported that hyrax body parts are used to prepare traditional medicines for human and cattle ailments. Key informants specified their use in treating cattle anthrax and leprosy (via pellets). Most respondents opposed hyrax conservation in the area. These findings provide a baseline for developing conservation management strategies to ensure the species' long-term survival.
鉴于当前栖息地丧失的速度，尤其是在热带地区，关于野生动物种群规模和栖息地的可靠数据对于在特定区域开展保护和管理活动至关重要。野生动物生态学家尚未对大多数中型哺乳动物的生态进行详细研究。岩蹄兔（Procavia capensis）就是这样一种在埃塞俄比亚未得到充分研究的中型哺乳动物。因此，我们开展了这项研究，以确定埃塞俄比亚泽吉半岛岩蹄兔的种群规模，并考察当地居民对岩蹄兔的态度。我们应用条带抽样计数法来估计种群规模并确定该地区岩蹄兔的密度。我们使用结构化问卷和信息提供者访谈来评估当地人的态度。我们在研究区域共统计到469只岩蹄兔个体。成年个体占种群的72.4%，而幼年个体占27.6%。通过推断，我们估计泽吉半岛内岩蹄兔的总数约为2184只，密度为每平方公里36.5只。该地区幼体与成体的比例为1:2.6。岩蹄兔最常出现在湖岸栖息地，其次是居民区。大多数受访者对该物种持负面态度，理由是教堂和居民区因蹄兔粪便和尿液造成环境污染（尤其是难闻气味），以及对水果和蔬菜造成损害。受访者还描述了一种传统观念，即岩蹄兔拥有魔力，能在看到人们进食时偷走食物。此外，大多数人报告说，蹄兔身体部位被用于制备治疗人类和牲畜疾病的传统药物。关键信息提供者明确指出其用于治疗牛炭疽和麻风病（通过粪便）。大多数受访者反对在该地区保护蹄兔。这些发现为制定保护管理策略以确保该物种的长期生存提供了基线。
