Rationale
Listed as Least Concern in view of its wide distribution within the assessment region, the wide range of habitats it occurs in, its occurrence in many protected areas and generally high abundance. Additionally, the rocky habitats in which it occurs are unlikely to be transformed, it adapts readily to urban areas and there are no threats that could cause widespread population decline. Thus, no direct conservation interventions are necessary. However, local declines are possible due to bushmeat consumption. This is an important forage species for a number of predators and subpopulations should be sustained for ecosystem functioning. Indiscriminate reintroductions should be discouraged pending the outcome of more detailed phylogeographic research.
Regional population effects: Continuous distribution with the rest of the African range so rescue effects are possible. Molecular research within the assessment region suggests secondary contact and gene flow between the north-eastern and south-central parts of South Africa (A. Maswanganye and P. Bloomer unpubl. data).
Distribution
Rock Hyraxes are widely distributed across the continent and parts of the Middle East, excluding the Congo Basin forests (Olds & Shoshani 1982; Hoeck & Bloomer 2013). Within the assessment region, they occur across the inland escarpment and adjacent rocky areas wherever there is suitable habitat (Skinner & Chimimba 2005). They occur in all provinces, as well as Swaziland (Skinner & Chimimba 2005), and have been sighted across Lesotho (Lynch 1994). In the North West Province at least, they are most abundant in the Norite Koppies and Pilanesberg Mountain Bushveld types and appear to have expanded their their range, as they recorded at Wolwespruit Nature Reserve for the first time in 2013 (Power 2014), but were previously absent from this region (Newbery 1995). They have been observed on isolated koppies along the Molopo and in the calcrete hills of the Kalahari (P. Bloomer pers. obs.).
Threats
There are no major threats to this species. However, it is hunted locally for bushmeat which may lead to local subpopulation declines. Power (2014) notes that concerns over the species have been raised in the Magaliesberg by landowners who suspect that numbers have declined recently. However, this may be conflated with natural population fluctuation due to drought, disease and predator eradication. For example, entire subpopulations have become locally extinct due to drought (Barry & Mundy 1998) and sarcoptic mange may have caused local extinctions in the KwaZulu-Natal Province in the late 1990s (Wimberger et al. 2009).
Uses and trade
The Rock Hyrax is snared for skins and meat. This is not expected to impact on the population overall. However, local declines or extinction may occur. For example, in Lesotho they are hunted with dogs (Lynch 1994), and in Pietermaritzburg with small snares (K. Wimberger pers. obs. 2007).
Conservation
The species occurs in many large, well-protected areas across much of its range within the assessment region. No specific conservation interventions are necessary at present. Visser (2013) found low genetic diversity in two conservation areas in the Western Cape (Table Mountain National Park and Boulders Penguin Colony), likely due to the poor habitat connectivity of this region in addition to an anthropogenically influenced landscape. Thus protected area expansion and possibly reintroduction/translocation (see below) will benefit this species, especially biodiversity stewardship programmes that connect suitable rocky outcrops.
Reintroduction as a management tool has had mixed success: Since 2004, this species has been bought from local conservation authorities (for example, Ezemvelo-KZN Wildlife) by private landowners and reintroduced into various areas. Similarly in Gauteng, Rock Hyraxes have been removed from overpopulated urban nature reserves and reintroduced into areas where they are thought to have declined, sometimes with the dual benefit of ensuring the survival of threatened species such as the Verreauxâs Eagle subpopulation at Walter Sisulu National Botanical Gardens (âHyrax Operation Projectâ). However, post-release observations suggest that only three of six reintroductions remain self-sustaining today, providing the eagles with much needed dassie sustenance (B. van der Lecq pers. comm. 2012; Wimberger et al. 2009). Indeed, reintroduction attempts have been met with only limited success (Crawford 1984). More recently, Wimberger et al. (2009) described an unsuccessful reintroduction attempt where captive individuals (N = 16) and wild individuals (N = 9) were released into Umgeni Valley Nature Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal Province. After three months captive individuals showed no site fidelity and could not be found while wild individuals were dead within 18 days, mostly due to predation (Wimberger et al. 2009). This failure is attributed mainly to predation and group disintegration. Hyraxes are vulnerable to predation when foraging away from cover (Druce et al. 2006) which is similarly true of the post-release period. Indeed, 78% of the released individuals were probably eaten by Caracal. Small group sizes thus hinders vigilance (Hoeck 1975) and a lack of social cohesion (poor group composition) may also contribute to failure.
To improve the success of future reintroduction attempts, Wimberger et al. (2009) recommend an estimation of predator density in the release site and active predator deterrent (if predator density is high) for a period after release, or the consideration of another release site. Also, the use of soft releases and post release monitoring with radio telemetry are recommended.
Recommendations for land managers and practitioners:
- No special land management is necessary to sustain populations, given that they inhabit rocky, untransformed habitats and can utilise human structures. The eradication of predators may however cause higher population densities in affected areas (Fairall & Hanekom 1987). In such areas (or areas of naturally high population density), the reintroduction of predators is recommended as an holistic management strategy (and even necessary to maintain the natural vegetation; see Fairall & Hanekom 1987).
- Monitoring of the genetic diversity of populations in conservation areas of poor habitat connectivity across South Africa may inform appropriate conservation interventions. Given the low genetic diversity in two conservation areas of the Western Cape (Visser 2013), animal numbers/genetic diversity may have to be augmented via translocation of genetically closely related animals from surrounding (wild or protected) areas to curb any future loss of genetic diversity through population fluctuations. Conservation planning should also redress the lower landscape connectivity of certain areas under formal protection (for example, in the Western Cape: Tankwa Karoo National Park, West Coast National Park, Table Mountain National Park, Silvermine National Park, Cape Peninsula National Park, Boulders Penguin Colony, Betties Bay penguin colony and the Kogelberg Nature Reserve) and consider strategies that would establish corridors.
- Finally, post-release monitoring of reintroduction attempts is necessary to build an evidence base on reintroduction techniques (Wimberger et al. 2009).
Research priorities:
- A phylogenetic study is necessary for the genus across its African distribution to identify lineages with separate evolutionary histories. This may also inform a taxonomic revision of the genus Procavia.
- Studies of diseases between populations close to human settlements versus populations further away may be valuable. Additionally, the consequences of disease on population cycles could be investigated.
- The extent of use as bushmeat should be examined. Finally, an examination into the use of translocation as a reintroduction tool may be required as it has proven to be ineffective in the past (Wimberger et al. 2009).
Encouraged citizen actions:
- Report sightings on virtual museum platforms (for example, iSpot and MammalMAP), especially outside protected areas.
- Avoid feeding or keeping as pets.
