Livestock grazing and geodiversity modulate wild herbivore distributions in an African community conservation area

The rapid decline of African wildlife populations demands immediate action to mitigate further losses and restore ecosystems. A key factor influencing wildlife distribution is the relationship between the energetic needs of species and the availability of forage, both in terms of quality and quantity. Community‐based conservation efforts, such as rotational livestock grazing systems in multi‐use landscapes, may present a promising approach for managing these dynamics by promoting habitat heterogeneity in space and time, but livestock may also compete with wildlife for forage. Here, we ask how rotational grazing with cattle influences wild herbivore distribution and densities, and whether facilitation or competition from livestock depend on herbivore size and forage quality. Furthermore, we examine how geodiversity mediates the effects of cattle grazing on wild herbivore distribution and abundance. We used data from 504 strip transects in the Maasai Mara during the long‐wet season (February–April 2024) where we recorded 33 981 individuals of 15 herbivore species. We show that rotational cattle grazing significantly affects the distribution patterns of wild herbivores, likely through modulating forage quality and quantity. Specifically, smaller herbivores, with relatively higher energetic demands, prefer recently cattle‐grazed areas with short grass, while larger herbivores favour taller grass areas with longer cattle‐free periods. However, a high‐resource area with a natural nutrient hotspot attracted small‐ to medium‐sized herbivores more than expected based on the time since cattle grazing, emphasizing the significance of landscape geodiversity in promoting habitat heterogeneity and shaping wildlife responses to livestock grazing. Our results underscore the importance of maintaining heterogeneity in vegetation structure as well as forage quality and quantity in rangeland ecosystems to support diverse large herbivore communities. Community‐based conservation strategies with rotational livestock grazing should therefore maintain cattle‐free zones and integrate geodiversity.