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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

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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

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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

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work on Loisaba, but if there are

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too few cheetahs, we always

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have the opportunity to expand

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our work to Mugie and Suiyan due

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to our established relationships

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with these neighboring conservancies.

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The next phase of our

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project involves conducting interviews

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to understand the needs and

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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

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to alleviate human-wildlife conflict.

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The societal impact

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we strive for is to promote

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the safety and prosperity of all

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parties: humans, livestock, and wildlife.

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This embodies Tufts’

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mission of bringing different minds

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together to develop innovative

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solutions for challenging problems.

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Our next steps will

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involve applying to other funding

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sources to continue this critical work.