Sustainable cattle management by communities supports African wildlife

Abstract

Community-based conservation (CBC) initiatives aim to reconcile biodiversity protection with local livelihoods, yet their effectiveness in protecting wildlife remains uncertain, often hinging on local management1,2. We evaluated a globally significant CBC model in Kenyas Greater Maasai Mara Ecosystem (GME), where conservancies, run jointly by Maasai landowners and the tourism sector, employ rotational cattle grazing to support both wildlife and pastoralism3,4. Using a [~]1200 km2 grid of 180 camera traps across gradients of livestock pressure in Maasai Mara National Reserve and three conservancies in 2018, we collected and analysed over 2 million images with a customised AI-powered pipeline. We found a positive impact of observed cattle pressure on mammal community occupancy and species richness, except for at the highest levels of cattle grazing. However, sheep and goat grazing and proximity to infrastructure had a negative impact. These results provide evidence that wildlife and pastoralism can coexist under community-led stewardship5, but only with active management and targeted control of emerging threats. AI tools such as our image classifier may contribute to more adaptive community-led management of these areas6. As conservation policy shifts beyond formal protected areas, our findings support CBC as a scalable model for conserving biodiversity within working landscapes, offering a pathway to meet global targets while maintaining local livelihoods7.