The species ranges of most large carnivores in Africa have shrunk considerably in recent decades, due mainly to habitat conversion associated with growing human populations. Carnivore numbers are also declining rapidly due to their active persecution by local ranchers and pastoralists on whose livestock the carnivores sometimes prey. Dr. Kay Holekamp of Michigan State University aims to decrease or eliminate carnivore persecution by reducing livestock depredation, documenting the resource needs of large carnivores residing in the Masai Mara National Reserve, and teaching pastoralist children about the importance of the persistence of large carnivores for the long-term welfare of their own communities.

Conservation of large mammalian carnivores is a top national priority in Kenya; most tourists come to Kenya specifically to see these animals in their natural habitat, and tourism is Kenya's second most important source of foreign exchange after agriculture. Large carnivores thus effectively represent a critical source of revenue and employment in Kenya. The long-term welfare of all Kenyans is closely tied to the successful conservation of Kenya's large carnivores. Furthermore, when large carnivores are removed from ecosystems, cascades of worrisome events start to occur, indicating that nature is out of balance. This is precisely where Dr. Holekamp's research makes its greatest contribution; her research team is uniquely positioned to learn more about the demography, movements, and conflict with humans of the carnivore species in most urgent need of protection in eastern Africa so that we as a society can conserve these extraordinary animals for future generations.

Dr. Holekamp's areas of impact include:

• Conservation Efforts: The long-term goal of Dr. Holekamp's research is to conserve and protect Africa's carnivores. The Serengeti-Mara ecosystem in eastern Africa is one of the only places left on earth where a complex guild of mammalian predators remains intact. The guild contains lions, hyenas, cheetah, leopards, wild dogs, and many smaller species; these are some of the most magnificent and interesting creatures on earth. Because large carnivores provide so many critical ecosystem services, their removal often has devastating effects on entire ecosystems. Therefore, Dr. Holekamp and her team have been conducting daily ecological monitoring from 4-wheel-drive research vehicles in the Mara since early 1988. Their most immediate goals are to determine why carnivore numbers are declining, and to halt this decline by collecting continual data about the habits and demography of the carnivore species currently in decline. They also hope to deploy camera traps in local pastoralist villages to identify which individual predators are killing livestock so that these individuals can be translocated elsewhere. At present, instead of targeting the culprit carnivore in cases of livestock depredation, local pastoralists conduct mass poisonings that kill a wide array of animals, but large carnivores are particularly hard-hit. Therefore, Dr. Holekamp and her team work closely with leaders of the Masai communities surrounding the Reserve to help them improve their husbandry techniques to reduce depredation by wild carnivores.

• Analyzing Mammalian Behavior: As part of the conservation effort, Dr. Holekamp and her research team routinely monitor movements of individual carnivores by immobilizing and fitting them with radio collars and tracking them via GPS technology. The team would monitor the animals' growth, take blood for performing serological analysis to observe their disease exposure, and collect fecal matter from which the team can assay concentrations of stress hormones as well as learn about their diet and parasite loads. Dr. Holekamp and her team also study membership in social groups for each species, and track changes in group size, as well as sources of mortality, while recording all births, deaths, immigration and emigration.

• The Spotted Hyena: Dr. Holekamp and her students have been working with wild spotted hyenas in Kenya for many years. The hyenas are particularly fascinating because they appear to violate so many different "rules" of mammalian biology. For example, their females look and act more like males than 'normal' mammalian females, and they do not succumb to the same diseases that kill other mammals living in the same habitat with them. Dr. Holekamp believes that, by studying these animals as apparent exceptions, we can discover what the "rules" really are, and also gain insight into the evolution of social behavior and social cognition in mammals.