Wildlife flight response in hunting and non-hunting areas of Northern Zimbabwe

Hunting influences wildlife behavioural responses especially flight and vigilance behaviours, which reflect perceived predation risk. The objectives of the study were to evaluate how hunting pressure influences flight initiation distance (FID), vigilance behaviour, and activity of these species in different habitats. Field data was collected through direct observations during the dry (August-October, 2023) and wet (January-March, 2024) seasons. Observations were conducted using a vehicle in randomly established road transects across two sections of Hurungwe Safari Area namely Nyakasanga (hunting section) and Rifa (non-hunting section). A Wald Chi-square test was performed to test the effects of hunting and season on African elephants, African buffalos and impalas populations. The results reveal that in the dry season, wildlife in the Nyakasanga section exhibited significantly longer FIDs than those in the Rifa section ( P = 0.010). The chi-square test indicates that wildlife vigilance responses were spatially variable between the Nyakasanga and Rifa sections (χ² = 13.25, df = 6, P < 0.001). In Nyakasanga, wildlife had 27% chances to stop and stare at the vehicle while in Rifa, they had 45% chances to stop and stare. These findings highlight the influence of hunting activities on wildlife behavioural responses in hunting and non-hunting areas. The study recommends the implementation of management measures aimed at minimising disturbance and the development of adaptive wildlife management strategies that support the coexistence of consumptive and non-consumptive tourism conservation models within the Hurungwe Safari Area.