international studbook hartmann's mountain zebra - Marwell Zoo

Hartmann’s mountain zebra Conservation & Research
Once more I would like to introduce a research project on Hartmann’s mountain zebra in the wild. This is a
summarised proposal. For more details or the project budget, please contact the authors. Should you know of
any projects going on in the field or in zoos, please let me know, so I can include this information here.
Identifying key conservation management areas for Hartmann’s mountain zebras
(Equus zebra hartmannae)
Pilot Project
Dr. Tara Harris and Mr. Jeff Muntifering
Minnesota Zoo
Apple Valley, Minnesota, USA
January 2009
Contacts: tara.harris@state.mn.us OR jrmunti@yahoo.com
Rationale: Mountain zebras (Equus zebra) are a unique and lesser known zebra species, inhabiting dry and
mountainous regions of Namibia and South Africa. They are listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN (Redlist
2008) because their populations are thought to number ~9,000 mature individuals and Hartmann’s mountain
zebra (Equus zebra hartmannae) populations are thought to be declining overall. Whereas numerous
scientific publications have focused on the Cape mountain zebra (Equus zebra zebra) in South Africa, very
little is known about Hartmann’s mountain zebra, which are almost exclusively located in Namibia.
Currently, mountain zebras are found in scattered populations throughout Namibia, with the majority
occurring in national parks, in conservancies managed by local communities, and on private lands. Yet, little
is known about their seasonal space use, population performance, or whether they are able to move among
fragmented populations.
Thousands of Hartmann’s mountain zebras persist in the Kunene Region of northwestern Namibia under
extremely harsh environmental conditions. In this area, they are hunted for trophies, commerce, and
subsistence, and are also a subject of tourist activities. To construct effective long-term conservation
measures for mountain zebras in the Kunene Region, it is first important to understand their basic behavioral
and ecological traits, including movement patterns and habitat use.
Long-term objective: Our overall aim is to identify key conservation areas for Hartmann’s mountain zebras
and to work with the Namibian government, local people and conservation NGOs to craft a regional
conservation action plan for this subspecies to inform land use and management practices. We will attempt
to identify areas within and around the protected areas that are critical for mountain zebra conservation and
management. In particular, we seek to identify key seasonal movement and habitat use patterns across the
study area and determine whether gene flow is occurring across seemingly fragmented mountain zebra
populations.
Pilot project objective: Because so little is currently documented about Hartmann’s mountain zebras, it is
first necessary to conduct a pilot project to gather information for the larger project. First, we will identify
and engage collaborators in Namibia and South Africa for assistance in achieving the larger project
objectives. We will also bring together all available spatial data (environmental and human use) in the region
(for habitat assessments) and survey local people and researchers that have lived/worked in the study region
to find out what local knowledge exists about mountain zebra seasonal movements and breeding, as well as
current land use practices that may influence mountain zebra movements and population persistence. We will
collect a limited number of fecal samples from wild mountain zebras and establish the genetic sampling and
analysis methods. Lastly, we will attempt to locate and collect preliminary data on mountain zebra groups
and will search for congregations of animals during critical periods, if possible.
AII