0:00:00.630,0:00:02.190
African cheetahs are one of the

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top predators that contribute

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to livestock depredation.

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Individual identification

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of cheetahs provides

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invaluable insight

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into home ranges

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and distribution, which

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inform conservation decisions to

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mitigate conflict

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between humans and these carnivores.

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The knowledge gap is

0:00:17.831,0:00:18.928
that the current status of

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cheetah populations is

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unknown due to inconsistencies

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in identification techniques.

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Our study plans

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to combine two methods:

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GPS collars and standardized

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photo identification

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to track cheetahs' whereabouts

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and expand the database

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of individuals with

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a confirmed identity.

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With this knowledge, we

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will be able to know how much

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of an impact they are having

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on the humans they share

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resources with.

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The aims of this project are

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to establish if cheetahs

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have overlapping territories

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and to determine the

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extent to which

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territories coincide with

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the homes of humans.

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Our team has spent several years

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surveying Kenyan wildlife parks

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and developing relationships

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with their staff and neighboring citizens.

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This past year, our team

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successfully sedated and collared

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a male cheetah

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whom we are still tracking.

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Our database already has

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dozens of identified cheetahs

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across Kenya, and we have shared this

0:01:06.496,0:01:07.786
information with conservancies to help

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them manage relationships

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with community members.

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We plan to primarily focus our

0:01:13.566,0:01:15.653
work on Loisaba, but if there are

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too few cheetahs, we always

0:01:17.046,0:01:18.416
have the opportunity to expand

0:01:18.416,0:01:20.126
our work to Mugie and Suiyan due

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to our established relationships

0:01:21.650,0:01:23.300
with these neighboring conservancies.

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The next phase of our

0:01:25.309,0:01:27.029
project involves conducting interviews

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to understand the needs and

0:01:28.469,0:01:30.109
hesitations of people living near parks.

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Combined with the cheetah data,

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we can use their answers to

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develop an integrative approach

0:01:35.077,0:01:36.906
to alleviate human-wildlife conflict.

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The societal impact

0:01:39.213,0:01:40.493
we strive for is to promote

0:01:40.493,0:01:41.733
the safety and prosperity of all

0:01:41.733,0:01:45.073
parties: humans, livestock, and wildlife.

0:01:45.273,0:01:46.308
This embodies Tufts’

0:01:46.308,0:01:47.548
mission of bringing different minds

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together to develop innovative

0:01:49.035,0:01:50.755
solutions for challenging problems.

0:01:51.025,0:01:52.380
Our next steps will

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involve applying to other funding

0:01:53.551,0:01:56.011
sources to continue this critical work.