BioBoundaries mimic natural territorial scent signals, effectively communicating to wild dogs and thus discouraging them from venturing into human settlements
GAZETTE REPORTER
A ground-breaking project in Botswana using synthetic scent marks to deter predators like African wild dogs from straying outside protected areas is expected to help keep them safely separated from livestock, reducing the risk of lethal control by farmers.
Known as the BioBoundary initiative, the initiative has been recognised as one of four finalists in the inaugural Wilderness Impact Challenge, a prestigious competition that supports conservation efforts.
BioBoundaries mimic natural territorial scent signals, effectively communicating to wild dogs that certain areas are occupied, discouraging them from venturing into human settlements.
Non-lethal deterrent
This project is spearheaded by Dr Peter Apps, a senior researcher at Botswana Predator Conservation (BPC). If successful, BPC could win the $100,000 award, enabling large-scale implementation of this non-lethal deterrent method, which capitalises on predators’ natural scent communication by replicating their chemical signals synthetically.
The BioBoundary project is particularly crucial in areas where perimeter fences are ineffective or non-existent. By keeping wild dog packs within protected areas and preventing them from denning near borders, the initiative reduces the risk of retaliatory killings by farmers.
A recent research paper, titled “A Description of a New Discovery: African Wild Dog Packs Communicate with Other Packs by Posting Scent-Mark Messages at a Shared Marking Site,” highlights that habitat fragmentation, human-wildlife conflict, and infectious diseases pose significant threats to African wild dogs.
Studies
The study further indicates that human activity ranks among the top three causes of mortality for these predators across all populations.
Dr Apps recalls the years of meticulous research conducted by BPC, a programme under Wild Entrust, to decode African wild dog scent-marking behaviour. “Field research centred on BPC’s research camp in the Santawani area, with coordinated chemical analyses undertaken at the BioBoundary laboratory in Maun,” he explains.
Multiple studies confirm that carnivores, including wild dogs, use scent-marking to communicate. These animals deposit scent through scratching, rubbing, urination and defecation. However, due to the vast home ranges of wild dogs, locating scent marks can be challenging.
Apps and his team discovered that wild dogs repeatedly use specific marking sites shared among neighbouring packs – an observation previously unrecognised.
Over 120 volatile compounds
“We had to start from scratch to determine exactly how wild dogs communicate via scent,” says Apps. “We found that they revisit the same sites to receive and respond to messages left by their neighbours. These chemical signals carry important information that influences their movements.”
Through gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analyses at the BioBoundary laboratory, researchers identified over 120 volatile compounds in wild dog scent. The next challenge is pinpointing the compounds responsible for the “Keep Away!” message to be included in artificial BioBoundary scent-marks.
140 entries
Early research indicates that predators react similarly to both natural and synthetic scent signals, making the formulation and application of BioBoundaries economically feasible. The next phase involves testing wild dogs’ responses to synthetic scent components at marking sites using camera traps. Successful components will then be incorporated into experimental BioBoundaries, refined, scaled up, and deployed in conservation areas.
Selected from 140 entries, the BioBoundary project’s inclusion in the final four of the Wilderness Impact Challenge highlights its potential as a game-changing solution for predator conservation and human-wildlife conflict mitigation.