Published July 2, 2025 | Version v1
Dataset Open

Contrasting properties of predation and scavenging networks governed by megaherbivores in an African savannah

Creators

  • 1. ROR icon Wageningen University & Research
  • 2. ROR icon University of Alicante
  • 3. Kenya Wildlife Trust
  • 4. Universidad de Granada

Description

This dataset on predation and scavenging events by a mammalian carnivore guild was collected between April 2014 and November 2022 using a search-encounter method (see Broekhuis & Gopalaswamy, 2016 and Elliot & Gopalaswamy, 2017 for details). In brief, whenever a predation or a scavenging event was observed, the species of carnivore and prey/carcass, GPS location, date and time were recorded using an application built in Cybertracker v3 (http://www.cybertracker.org/index.php ). Note that one event corresponds to a single carnivore species; when a carcass was visited by several carnivore species (e.g., the species killing the prey and others scavenging the remains), several events could be included in the dataset. 

Technical info

Variables

  • ID: Unique identifier for the event.

  • Date: Date when the event was recorded.

  • Time: Time when the event was recorded.

  • Carcass ID: Unique identifier for the carcass.

  • Predator: The predator or scavenger species present at the carcass at the time of observation.

  • Killed.scavenged: Indicates whether the event was a predation (the prey was killed by the predator) or a scavenging event (the prey was already dead when the scavenger arrived, but was being consumed).

  • Prey: Species of the dead animal.

Files

Batista-Nunes et al_Data.csv

Files (79.6 kB)

Name Size Download all
md5:e45218e3117d9fd4ab68ad6655daaeb5
79.6 kB Preview Download

Additional details

Funding

African Wildlife Foundation
BAND foundation
Vidda Foundation
WWF-UK
Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia

References

  • Broekhuis, F., and A. M. Gopalaswamy. 2016. "Counting cats: Spatially explicit population estimates of cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) using unstructured sampling data." PLoS ONE 11: e0153875.
  • Elliot, N. B. and A. M. Gopalaswamy. 2017. "Toward accurate and precise estimates of lion density." Conservation Biology 31: 934-943.