Rationale
Both species are listed as Least Concern as they have a wide distribution within the assessment region, where they likely occur in most protected areas, are abundant in human-transformed areas, including agricultural areas and areas affected by human disturbances, and because there are no significant threats that could cause range-wide decline. Additionally, these species are known as prolific breeders with population numbers likely to recover quickly after a decline. Because of their reproductive characteristics, population eruptions often occur under favourable conditions. Landowners and managers should pursue ecologically-based rodent management strategies and biocontrol instead of rodenticides to regulate population explosions of this species.Regional population effects: For M. coucha, significant dispersal is unlikely because the bulk of the population occurs within the assessment region. There are two disjunct populations in AngolaâNamibia and Zimbabweâ Mozambique. For M. natalensis, dispersal is highly possible through contiguous habitat along north and northeastern borders and because they utilise transformed habitats.