Data from: Anthropogenic and environmental factors determine occupancy and rarity of large carnivores in the Omo valley, Southwest Ethiopia

Large carnivores in Ethiopia are declining in numbers and range due to human population pressure, habitat fragmentation and loss, compounded by low political interest for conservation. To conserve large carnivores, it is important to study the impact of these factors on their occupancy. For this purpose, un-baited camera traps were deployed in Chebera Churchura, Maze, and Omo National Parks and Tama Community Conservation Area using a 25 km2 grid for two months periods in each Protected Area from 2020 – 2022. We tested the effects of environmental and anthropogenic covariates on carnivore occupancy while accounting for imperfect detection using a multispecies occupancy model. We recorded all six large carnivores from Omo Valley. However, the number of large carnivores, and their level of detection, vary across the study sites; Omo National Park is the only Protected Area where all species were recorded. Maze National Park had the highest number of lion detections and lowest number of leopard and spotted hyaena detections, but its small size led to inconclusive results from any further analysis. Due to low densities, detections were insufficient to analyze occupancy of lion, cheetah, striped hyaena and African wild dog in Omo and Chebera Churchura National Parks and occupancy of any large carnivores in Maze and Tama. The mean marginal occupancy probability of leopard was highest in Chebera Churchura and lowest in Omo and this was the reverse for spotted hyaena. The occupancy of spotted hyaena and leopard were determined by prey in Omo and by elevation in Chebera Churchura National Parks. Furthermore, both species visit areas with human settlement in Omo and Chebera Churchura National Parks. Practical implication: we explore strategies to improve large carnivore conservation in the area. We highlight the limitations of camera trapping and the importance of conserving large carnivores in the larger landscape of Omo Valley. To investigate the occupancy of large carnivore across Omo Valley and the factors affecting it, we employed un-baited camera traps in Chebera Churchura, Maze, and Omo National Parks and Tama Community Conservation Area using a 25 km² grid for 60 days each from 2020 – 2022.  # Data from: Anthropogenic and environmental factors determine occupancy and rarity of large carnivores in the Omo valley, Southwest Ethiopia [doi.org](doi.org) ## Description of the data and file structure ### Files #### Omo\_ Leopard\_detection\_history\_and\_covariates.csv #### Omo\_Spotted\_hyaena\_detection\_history\_and\_covariates.csv #### CCNP\_leopard\_detection\_history\_and\_covariates.csv #### File: CCNP\_Spotted\_hyaena\_detection\_history\_ad\_covariates.csv Tsyon Asfaw1, Claudio Sillero-Zubiri2,3, Herwig Leirs1, Fikirte Gebresenbet4, Hans Bauer1,2* 1Evolutionary Ecology Group, Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, Antwerp, Belgium 2Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Biology, University of Oxford, Abingdon Road, Tubney, OX13 5QL, United Kingdom 3Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, Dinsho, Ethiopia. 4Department of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH, 03824, USA. This dataset is part of the Large Carnivore Occupancy Project in the Omo Valley, Southwest Ethiopia. The survey was conducted across four protected areas using an un-baited camera trap survey within a 25 km² grid-based design. However we presented here the detection histories of leopard and spotted hyaena and their associated covariates from two Protected Areas selected from Omo Valley, southwest Ethiopia **Contact**: Tsyon Asfaw [[asfawtsyn@gmail.com](mailto:asfawtsyn@gmail.com)] with any questions. This manuscript has been accepted for publication (01/09/2025): Asfaw, T., Sillero-Zubiri, C., Leirs,H., Gebresenbet, F., and Bauer, H. Anthropogenic and environmental factors determine occupancy and rarity of large carnivores in the Omo Valley, southwest Ethiopia. Ecological Solution and Evidence (Accepted). ESO-24-08-149.R1 Data files include: ### Omo\_ Leopard\_detection\_history\_and\_covariates.csv This file contains a data matrix representing the presence (1) and absence (0) of leopard at 36 camera trap stations deployed in Chebera Churchura National Park during the S30 sampling occasion. Each sampling occasion spans three days. The dataset also includes covariates used to analyze the factors influencing spotted hyena occupancy. Additionally, it records the presence (1) and absence (0) of leopards at each camera trap station over a 30-period sampling duration. All data were collected by Tsyon Asfaw and Hans Bauer. NA values indicate no data. | **Variables** | **Unit** | **Description** | | :------------------- | :---------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Camera Traps ID | Nominal | A total of 36 camera trap ID listed in the first column. Camera trap ID is a unique identifier for a total of 36 camera traps (e.g., FG1, HB2, CTHB12) deployed in Omo National Park. | | S1, S2, S3,...S30 | Nominal | Sampling occasion | | Leoprad | Presence | Presence (1) or absence (0) of leopard                                                                  | | DistRiv | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to the river | | Dense\_habitat | Catagorical | Dense habitat (1 is Forests with thick vegetation and 0 is Grass land) | | African\_Buffalo | Numeric | Abundance of African buffalo for each camera trap station | | Bush\_Duiker | Numeric | Abundance of bush duiker for each camera trap station | | Bushback | Numeric | Abundance of bushback for each camera trap station | | Common\_Warthog | Numeric | Abundance of common warthog for each camera trap station | | Eland | Numeric | Abundance of eland for each camera trap station | | Grant\_Gazelle | Numeric | Abundance of grant gazelle for each camera trap station | | Gunther\_dikdik | Numeric | Abundance of gunther dikdik for each camera trap station | | Klipspringer | Numeric | Abundance of klipspringer for each camera trap station | | Olive\_Babbon | Numeric | Abundance of olive baboon for each camera trap station | | Waterbuck | Numeric | Abundance of waterbuck for each camera trap station | | Lesser\_kudu | Numeric | Abundance of lesser kudu for each camera trap station | | Oribi | Numeric | Abundance of oribi for each camera trap station | | Topi | Numeric | Abundance of topi for each camera trap station | | SP | Numeric | Abundance of medium-sized mammalian prey for each camera trap station | | LP | Numeric | Abundance of large mammals prey for each camera trap station | | Sum\_Prey\_Abundance | Numeric | A sum of all prey abundance | | Min\_Dist\_Canal | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to canal | | Elevation | Numeric | Elevation | | Dist\_to\_Kuraz | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to Omo-Kuraz Sugar factory built up area | | Setup\_Date | Date | Camera trap setup date | |  Time | Time | Camera trap setup time | | Retrieval\_date | Date | Camera trap retrieval date | ### Omo\_Spotted\_hyaena\_detection\_history\_and\_covariates.csv This file contains a data matrix representing the presence (1) and absence (0) of spotted hyenas at 36 camera trap stations deployed in Omo National Park during the S30 sampling occasion. Each sampling occasion spans three days. The dataset also includes covariates used to analyze the factors influencing spotted hyena occupancy. Additionally, it records the presence (1) and absence (0) of leopards at each camera trap station over a 30-period sampling duration. All data were collected by Tsyon Asfaw and Hans Bauer. NA values indicate no data. | **Variables** | **Unit** | **Description** | | :------------------- | :---------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Camera Traps ID | Nominal | A total of 36 camera trap ID listed in the first column. A camera trap ID is a unique identifier for a total of 36 camera traps (e.g., CTHB06, CTHB13, CTHB15) deployed in Omo National Park. | | S1, S2, S3,...S30 | Nominal | Sampling occasion | | Leoprad | Presence | Presence (1) or absence (0) of leopard                                                                  | | DistRiv | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to the river | | Dense\_habitat | Catagorical | Dense habitat (1 is Forests with thick vegetation and 0 is Grass land) | | African\_Buffalo | Numeric | Abundance of African buffalo for each camera trap station | | Bush\_Duiker | Numeric | Abundance of bush duiker for each camera trap station | | Bushback | Numeric | Abundance of bushback for each camera trap station | | Common\_Warthog | Numeric | Abundance of common warthog for each camera trap station | | Eland | Numeric | Abundance of eland for each camera trap station | | Grant\_Gazelle | Numeric | Abundance of grant gazelle for each camera trap station | | Gunther\_dikdik | Numeric | Abundance of gunther dikdik for each camera trap station | | Klipspringer | Numeric | Abundance of klipspringer for each camera trap station | | Olive\_Babbon | Numeric | Abundance of olive baboon for each camera trap station | | Waterbuck | Numeric | Abundance of waterbuck for each camera trap station | | Lesser\_kudu | Numeric | Abundance of lesser kudu for each camera trap station | | Oribi | Numeric | Abundance of oribi for each camera trap station | | Topi | Numeric | Abundance of topi for each camera trap station | | SP | Numeric | Abundance of medium-sized mammalian prey for each camera trap station | | Spotted hyaena | Numeric | Abundance of large mammals prey for each camera trap station | | Sum\_Prey\_Abundance | Numeric | A sum of all prey abundance | | Min\_Dist\_Canal | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to canal | | Elevation | Numeric | Elevation | | Dist\_to\_Kuraz | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to Omo-Kuraz Sugar factory built up area | | Setup\_Date | Date | Camera trap setup date | |  Time | Time | Camera trap setup time | | Retrieval\_date | Date | Camera trap retrieval date | ### CCNP\_leopard\_detection\_history\_and\_covariates.csv This file contains a data matrix representing the presence (1) and absence (0) of leopard at 36 camera trap stations deployed in Chebera Churchura National Park during the S40 sampling occasion. Each sampling occasion spans three days. The dataset also includes covariates used to analyze the factors influencing spotted hyena occupancy. Additionally, it records the presence (1) and absence (0) of leopards at each camera trap station over a 40-period sampling duration. All data were collected by Tsyon Asfaw and Hans Bauer. NA values indicate no data. | **Variables** | **Unit** | **Description** | | :------------------- | :---------- | :------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | Camera Traps ID | Nominal | A total of 36 camera trap ID listed in the first column | | S1, S2, S3,...S30 | Nominal | Sampling occasion | | Leoprad | Presence | Presence (1) or absence (0) of leopard                                                                  | | Elevation | Numeric | Elevation | | Dense habitat | Catagorical | Dense habitat (1 is Forests with thick vegetation and 0 is Grass land) | | Aardvark | Numeric | Abundance of aardvark for each camera trap station | | African\_buffalo | Numeric | Abundance of African buffalo for each camera trap station | | Bush\_duiker | Numeric | Abundance of bush duiker for each camera trap station | | Bushbuck | Numeric | Abundance of bushbuck for each camera trap station | | Bushpig | Numeric | Abundance of bushpig for each camera trap station | | Common\_warthog | Numeric | Abundance of common warthog for each camera trap station | | Giant\_Hog | Numeric | Abundance of giant hog for each camera trap station | | Olive\_babbon | Numeric | Abundance of olive baboon for each camera trap station | | Waterbuck | Numeric | Abundance of waterbuck for each camera trap station | | Sum\_Prey\_Abundance | Numeric | A sum of all prey abundance | | DistRiver | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to the river | | DistSettlment | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to the human settlement | | Setup\_Date | Date | Camera trap setup date | |  Time | Time | Camera trap setup time | | Retrieval\_date | Date | Camera trap retrieval date | ### CCNP\_Spotted\_hyaena\_detection\_history\_ad\_covariates.csv This file contains a data matrix representing the presence (1) and absence (0) of spotted hyenas at 36 camera trap stations deployed in Chebera Churchura National Park during the S40 sampling occasion. Each sampling occasion spans three days. The dataset also includes covariates used to analyze the factors influencing spotted hyena occupancy. Additionally, it records the presence (1) and absence (0) of leopards at each camera trap station over a 40-period sampling duration. All data were collected by Tsyon Asfaw and Hans Bauer. NA values indicate no data. | Variables | Unit | Description | | :------------------- | :---------- | :-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Camera Traps ID | Nominal | A total of 36 camera trap ID listed in the first column. A camera trap ID is a unique identifier for a total of 36 camera traps (e.g., CTHB06, CTHB13, CTHB15) deployed in Omo National Park. | | S1, S2, S3,...S30 | Nominal | Sampling occasion | | Spotted hyaena | Presence | Presence (1) or absence (0) of leopard                                                                  | | Elevation | Numeric | Elevation | | Dense habitat | Catagorical | Dense habitat (1 is Forests with thick vegetation and 0 is Grass land) | | Aardvark | Numeric | Abundance of aardvark for each camera trap station | | African\_buffalo | Numeric | Abundance of African buffalo for each camera trap station | | Bush\_duiker | Numeric | Abundance of bush duiker for each camera trap station | | Bushbuck | Numeric | Abundance of bushbuck for each camera trap station | | Bushpig | Numeric | Abundance of bushpig for each camera trap station | | Common\_warthog | Numeric | Abundance of common warthog for each camera trap station | | Giant\_Hog | Numeric | Abundance of giant hog for each camera trap station | | Olive\_babbon | Numeric | Abundance of olive baboon for each camera trap station | | Waterbuck | Numeric | Abundance of waterbuck for each camera trap station | | Sum\_Prey\_Abundance | Numeric | A sum of all prey abundance | | DistRiver | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to the river | | DistSettlment | Numeric | Distance of each camera trap station to the human settlement | | Setup\_Date | Date | Camera trap setup date | |  Time | Time | Camera trap setup time | | Retrieval\_date | Date | Camera trap retrieval date |