Reintroduction of Spotted Hyena (Crocuta crocuta) Within Their Former Range: A Home Range Establishment Case Study in Tswalu Kalahari Reserve

Top predators drive ecosystem functions. Reintroductions of top predators are a vital conservation management strategy to achieve this. Ten spotted hyenas (hyenas—Crocuta crocuta) were reintroduced to the Tswalu Kalahari Reserve (TKR). To determine how hyenas recolonised the TKR, we fitted five hyenas with satellite collars. We assessed home range development and stabilisation using Movement Kernel Density Estimation (MKDE), home range overlap and dynamic interactions between individuals using proximity analysis. From hourly locations, we compared movement rates between individuals. We found that hyena home ranges stabilised within seven months of release. The average home range for reintroduced hyenas was 307 km2 (SD = 124 km2). Home ranges overlapped ≤36% between individuals. Hyenas’ movements synchronised with each other at distances ≤ 10 km. The hyenas moved farther hourly in cooler seasons, and they displayed unimodal activity patterns (longest hourly movements in the afternoon and night). We found that hyenas reintroduced into the TKR (without other top predators) required <7 months to re-establish themselves, and their social dynamics are not strictly tied to those individuals with which they were reintroduced. In arid settings where there are no lions and resources are abundant, home ranges for reintroduced hyenas may be smaller than is typical for this species.