Abstract:
The term Wildlife Management Area (WMA) refers to an area set aside by village governments and gazetted by the Government for the purpose of conserving natural resources, improving the life standard of communities and alleviating poverty across rural areas in Tanzania. With an area of 771 km2, MBOMIPA is among the three WMA’s bordering Ruaha National Park in Iringa region with large number of animals. However, little has been documented on small mammalian carnivores (SMC) in the area. This study was therefore designed to assess communities’ knowledge and attitudes on trends and threats of SMC in the area. Structured questionnaires were used for collecting information from village game scouts, local tourist hunters (campsite attendants, hunters guide, drivers and tour guides). Eleven SMC species were reported in the current study, viz. Black backed jackal, Aardwolf, Bat eared Fox, Zorilla, Cape clawless otter, Striped weasel, African civet, Wild cat, Caracal, Honey badger, and Banded mongoose. Eighteen respondents reported an increase of SMC despite presence of many threats against their survival. Competition (20.8%) and fire (16.5%) were reported to be the leading factors threatening the SMC in the area. Information gathered from this study was considered important for wildlife managers when implementing conservation activities and future research on SMC.
