Dry-season motorbike movement patterns in four villages in Serengeti and Dodoma Districts, Tanzania: Does the movement patterns reflect the night usage in illegal hunting?

Abstract

In recent years, bicycle usage has been replaced by relatively inexpensive motorbikes imported from Asia, which currently are claimed to participate in illegal activities including charcoal transportation and bushmeat hunting. The current study recorded the usage of motorbikes during dry season in three villages surrounding the northwestern Serengeti ecosystem and compared the patterns with those observed in a control village (Ntyuka) located in Dodoma District, farther from any protected area, to confirm the possible usage of the motorbikes in illegal hunting. Nattambiso Village (highly patrolled area) and patterns observed at Ntyuka Village were similar. Interviewed anti-poaching personnel confirmed the usage of motorbikes in illegal hunting during the day and at night while all village leaders ignored the question relating to motorbike usage in illegal hunting. The movement patterns recorded and analysed from this study do not directly reflect the usage of motorbikes in illegal hunting but they demonstrate the differences that exist among villages with different law enforcement levels. A detailed study, including the application of advanced technology, should be conducted to reveal the day and the night usage of motorbikes in villages adjacent to protected areas. The abundance of resident herbivores in/and around the villages close to protected areas should be assessed too. All motorbikes operating in each village should be registered and the record kept available to public.