Shamwari Game Reserve was the first enclosed conservation area in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa to reintroduce free ranging lions, cheetahs, leopards and wild dogs back into their historic range. At that time (2000 – 2001), little information was available on the ecology and behaviour of these predators in the habitats of the Eastern Cape, and management decisions were based on assumptions and unfounded comparisons with extant populations but from quite different habitats. The aim of this study was therefore to obtain a better understanding of the feeding ecology and space use of the predator guild, and the carrying capacity of Shamwari Game Reserve to enable more informed management decisions. In addition, the reserve is a photographic based tourism venture and understanding both the ecological and financial sustainability of the predator guild was important. The diets of the predators were similar to those reported in other studies; larger predators killed a greater range of prey species than did smaller predators and a small number of prey species made up the majority of the kills. The larger predators had a higher mean kill mass than the smaller species and prey selection was influenced by prey size, prey abundance and prey habitat preference, and risk associated with hunting the species. Diet was flexible and responded to natural and management induced changes in prey abundance. There was a considerable overlap in space use by the lions, cheetahs and leopards with their core areas being centred on and around the Bushmans River. Space use was driven by resource distribution and landscape attributes, and by the presence of other predators of the same or different species. The long term viability of wild dog within the reserve was explored and the results confirmed that there was neither the required space nor the ecological processes and the wild dogs were removed from the reserve. A carrying capacity of the reserve for the predator guild was determined using the Maximum Sustainable Yield method to assess the potential prey species off take and a resultant density of 3.3 to 6.6 lion female equivalent units per 10 000 ha was established. The natural carrying capacity of the reserve with respect to predators will not sustain the tourism objectives and consequently prey supplementation was necessary to maintain predator density at levels high enough to sustain tourism. Under these conditions the large predator guild is still sustainable financially although careful, responsible management is needed to provide ecological sustainability.

The reintroduction of lions, cheetahs and African wild dogs to Kwandwe Private Game Reserve in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa created the opportunity to study the biology and behaviour of these large carnivores in an enclosed system. The research focused on space utilisation and feeding ecology of the predators, using standard observational methods. Changes in the structure of the carnivore guild, and changes in the prey base that occurred during the study were used as natural experiments to examine factors affecting space use and diet. In general, the diets of the predators were similar to previous studies and prey abundance was more important than prey species size in determining prey selection. Changes in the abundance of certain prey species was matched by a dietary switch in lions from kudu to warthog and an increase in the proportion of springbok kills by the cheetahs. There was no significant difference in the proportions of prey species detected by ad hoc or continuous observations. Core areas occupied by the predators were significantly smaller than home ranges except when females were denning. Home ranges overlapped both within and between species, but there was very little overlap of core areas. An increase in the number of lion prides in the area during the study resulted in an increase in overlap of home ranges of lions and cheetahs, but did not result in a change in home range size. Space use by female cheetahs with cubs increased as the cubs grew older. The use of thicket vegetation by cheetahs decreased with an increase in the number of lion prides. Minimum Daily Energy Expenditure, energy intake and net benefit were calculated for the predators using data from continuous observations. All predators exhibited a large net benefit and the net benefit for single female cheetahs was greater than for the members of the coalition. Net benefit for the alpha pair of African wild dogs was lower than that of the pack.