Fifty-seven Trumpeter swans (Cygnus buccinator) were translocated to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge and the Bear River Club Company in northern Utah. The purpose of this effort was to encourage dispersal of the Rocky Mountain population of Trumpeter swans during the winter, and to reestablish a migratory route to southern wintering grounds. I assessed the success of the translocation by evaluating 13 translocation criteria proposed in the literature. In this study I addressed two of these criteria in detail by evaluating habitat quality at the translocation sites and by analyzing potential competitive interactions with Tundra swans (Cygnus columbianus). Habitat quality was determined by analyzing the spatial distribution of sago pondweed (Potamogeton pectinatus) tubers in wetland sediments before the fall and after the spring migration of Tundra swans. Sixty-four transects were established within the study sites with 10 sediment cores per transect. Geostatistical procedures were employed to account for autocorrelation between samples. Tuber biomass was not randomly distributed within the studied wetlands. In fact, discrete areas of high values appeared to exist before and after swan foraging . It is not likely that sago pondweed tubers are limiting swan abundance in this system. Thus, the habitat quality of the study sites is sufficient for Trumpeter swan translocation. Potential competitive interactions with Tundra swans were evaluated by examining differences in resource utilization patterns of the two species. I measured body size differences, dietary overlap, resource availability, and the efficiency of extracting available resources. Trumpeter swans appear to benefit from a larger body size and a longer neck because they are more efficient in extracting tubers from the sediment, and are able to exploit tubers to a greater sediment depth than Tundra swans. However, Trumpeter swans incur higher traveling costs due to the larger body size. The trade-off between higher foraging efficiency of Trumpeter swans and higher traveling efficiency of Tundra swans may be a potential mechanism for coexistence. Lack of support by governmental and non-governmental agencies did not allow for more than one year of translocation. Even though the Trumpeter swan translocation in 1996 was successful, I concluded that the Utah translocation program failed because the translocation did not meet translocation goals.

Although the opportunistic feeding habits of leopards were evident in this study, scat analysis showed that ungulates were by far the predominant food, with impala being the most frequent item. The fact that cattle calves were only taken up to ± 100 days old, emphasize the relevance of a proper stock management program to prevent stock losses. In addition, where such measures were impractical, temporary physical barriers such as electric fencing showed potential for application. Modification on different capture techniques were investigated not only to capture leopards for radio collaring but also for the elimination of problem leopards. The effective home range size of a resident male and female leopard in the Naboomspruit area were calculated at 303 km2 and 157 km2 respectively. A density of one leopard per 53 km2 are suggested for the Naboosmpruit study area. Both leopards were predominantly nocturnal with some crepuscular activity. Translocation experiments revealed different results. The conducting of translocations in farming areas, where problem leopards are involved are however not suggested. Leopard density and distribution patterns showed that numbers are relative safe, and that populations are currently to a large extent linked, which makes natural gene flow a possibility. Although suitable areas for leopards thus exist, these may not be available as homogenous units in the future, due to increasing human pressure. / Dissertation (MSc (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2006. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted