Linking human settlements on the spatial-temporal distribution of the common eland (Tragelaphus oryx) in ngorongoro conservation area, Tanzania

Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is globally well-known for its biodiversity hot spot and tourist destination, NCA is a UNESCO World Heritage Site that practices multiple land uses where pastoralism and wildlife conservation co-exist. Conservation of the NCA ecosystem necessitates consistent ecological monitoring to safeguard the sustainability of wildlife which balances between human population and settlement is in line with wildlife existence in the NCA. Presently the NCAA is leading a relocation to permit natives to move and resettle outside of the NCA to diminish the carrying volume of individuals and their livestock. The common eland (Tragelaphus oryx) is among the herbivores residing in NCA. Information on the influence of the human population on the spatial-temporal distribution of the common eland is limited. This study; therefore, investigated the influence of human population growth, and settlement on the spatial-temporal distribution of the Common eland in the Ngorongoro conservation area. Data was collected early in the morning (0600–1130 HRS) and late evening (1700–1830 HRS) in both wet (April) and dry (September) seasons, in 2020 and 2021, Common eland distribution was computed and mapped using ArcGIS Software Version 10. 3. The distribution of common eland across habitats was significant (F=4.235, P=0.0302). (Table 1). In the wet season, the mean difference in the distribution of the common eland across vegetation types was significant (F=3.499, P=0.0185). A comparison of population growth shows a significant difference in human population increase from 174,278 in 2012 to 273,549 in 2022 in the twenty-one wards in the NCA (Graph 1-2). The study suggests rechecking the practicability of the multiple land uses in the NCA since the human population and settlements increased, they distress the ecology and even distribution of the common eland in the NCA.