Colour variation of African bovidae: consequences for conservation and the wildlife ranching industry

[摘要] English: Colour variant game species have become a common sight on game farms and at auctions, as a result of their oddity and high monetary value. Currently there are more than 40 colour variants of African Bovidae. Even though these colour variants have become very sought after and profitable to farm with, it has been warned that colour variants do not contribute to conservation since colour variants normally do not survive in nature. Consequently the intentional breeding of colour variants is causing concern, as they may be a threat to conservation. The objective of this study was to collect data to facilitate decision making in the game ranching and conservation industry.Statistical analysis showed that there were significant behavioural differences between four springbok colour variants studied. Black springbok were less active and utilised much more shaded areas compared to other colour variants or normal coloured animals. The darker coloured animals presented less body surface area to the sun during the warmest times of the day than the white springbok. Springbok were also found to form herds based on phenotype, preferring to associate with homogenous individuals. This phenomenon was likely due to the odd-prey effect.Wildlife auction turnover grew from R62 million to over R1 billion in the last ten years. In conjunction with this growth, record prices for animals are being recorded every year. However in most cases colour variant game are reaching much higher prices than the normal coloured nonspecific's. Colour variants also achieve annual growth which is greater than inflation often providing better return on investment than stock market shares. Even though a normal Kalahari springbok ram set a new record at R1.2 million it was far exceeded by coffee coloured springbok that sold for R4 million. Financial gain then seems to be the main motivator behind the breeding of colour variants as they have become sought after by game ranchers. There is however concern amongst various stakeholders that the breeding of colour variant wildlife is unsustainable. This is as a result of the increasing opposition against the selective breeding of these animals and a general disinterest in these animals from end-users which include hunters and eco-tourists. No significant proof could be found during this study that there will be large-scale interest in the consumptive or non-consumptive use of colour variants.Little published scientific data is available concerning colour variants and most of the available information is in the form of popular magazine articles, newsletters and websites. The lack of published scientific data has resulted in a debate concerning colour variants. Opinions on this issue are much divided and can also evoke strong emotional responses from those involved; particularly from ranchers that are concerned their livelihoods may be threatened by any control measures. Most wildlife ranchers feel that they should be allowed to breed with any animal that provides the best return on investment and that, since colour variants are a natural phenomenon, they do not threaten conservation. Survey results showed that although many respondents did not consider colour variants to be a threat to conservation the majority did not support breeding of such colour variant wildlife. The vast majority of respondents indicated that financial gain was the main reason for the popularity of colour variants. Many stakeholders also expressed great concern about potential damage being done to the conservation and eco-tourism image of South Africa as many, specifically foreign hunters, consider colour variants wildlife to be unnatural.The ultimate conclusion of this study is that the existence of colour variants does not pose a threat to conservation but it is rather the management of these animals which pose a potential threat to conservation of South Africa's wildlife as well as South Africa's conservation image.

[发布机构] University of the Free State