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Introduction: Aberrant positioning of the ulnar nerve volar to the transverse carpal ligament is a rare anatomic variation. Case Presentation: We present the case of a 55-year-old female with unique ulnar nerve anatomy that was discovered introperatively during carpal tunnel release. The ulnar nerve was running directly adjacent to the median nerve in the distal forearm and as the median nerve traversed dorsal to the transverse carpal ligament (flexor retinaculum) to enter the carpal tunnel the ulnar nerve continued directly volar to this structure before angling towards Guyon’s Canal. The unique ulnar nerve anatomy was successfully identified, carefully dissected and managed with a successful patient outcome. Conclusion: Variations of the anatomy at the level of the carpal tunnel are rare but do exist. Awareness of these anatomic variations and adequate visualization of the ulnar nerve along with the surrounding structures is crucial to avoid iatrogenic injuries during carpal tunnel release.

Human-carnivore conflict is a leading cause of large carnivore declines and minimizing these conflicts is vital to maintaining viable carnivore populations. Often, however, conservation agencies and governments do not have a proper understanding of conflicts prior to establishing mitigation programs or are unable to collect the appropriate data to verify claims of livestock loss. We investigated livestock depredation events in the Eastern Panhandle of the Okavango Delta, Botswana between October 2014 and December 2016 and compared these investigations with concurrent Problem Animal Control (PAC) information from the Botswana Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP) compensation program. Only animals killed in livestock enclosures or while being herded qualify for reimbursement through the compensation program, but DWNP is typically unable to verify claims. We identified wildlife sign at the depredation event location and collected information from the livestock owner to determine the species responsible for the attack, time of the attack, the livestock lost, and the husbandry methods employed. In total, 116 livestock were killed and 13 more injured in 102 confirmed wild carnivore attacks. Most (90%) attacks occurred while livestock were unattended and freely grazing in multi-use, communal areas. Cows, oxen (castrated male cows) and calves (Bos taurus and B. t. indicus) were killed most often and African lions (Panthera leo) were responsible for 74% of investigated attacks, while African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) accounted for 13%, leopard (Panthera pardus) 8%, and spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta) 5%. Valuation of verified losses totaled ∼$30,000 over the study period. There were 50% more events reported to DWNP for compensation than we confirmed through independent investigations. In its current form, the compensation program does not seem sustainable, nor does it enable the verification of claims. While compensation programs should not be abandoned, programs designed to provide monetary reimbursement for losses caused by predators should require timely reporting and in-depth investigation of depredation events. Additional conflict mitigation strategies should target increasing livestock husbandry methods in the area, with a specific focus on herding. Keywords: Livestock depredation, Conflict, Compensation, Panthera leo, Crocuta crocuta, Herding

Across Africa, lions (Panthera leo) are heavily persecuted in anthropogenic landscapes. Trans-disciplinary research and virtual boundaries (geofences) programmed into GPS-tracking transmitters offer new opportunities to improve coexistence. During a 24-month pilot study (2016–2018), we alerted communities about approaching lions, issuing 1,017 alerts to four villages and 19 cattle posts. Alerts reflected geofence breaches of nine lions (2,941 monitoring days) moving between Botswana's Okavango Delta and adjacent agro-pastoral communities. Daily alert system costs per lion were US$18.54, or $5,460.24 per GPS deployment (n = 13). Alert-responsive livestock owners mainly responded by night-kraaling of cattle (68.9%), significantly reducing their losses (by $124.61 annually), whereas losses of control group and non-responsive livestock owners remained high ($317.93 annually). Community satisfaction with alerts (91.8%) was higher than for compensation of losses (24.3%). Study lions spent 26.3% of time monitored in geofenced community areas, but accounted for 31.0% of conflict. Manual alert distribution proved challenging, static geofences did not appropriately reflect human safety or the environment's strong seasonality that influenced cattle predation risk, and tracking units with on-board alert functions often failed or under-recorded geofence breaches by 27.9%. These insufficiencies prompted the design of a versatile and autonomous lion alert platform with automated, dynamic geofencing. We co-designed this prototype platform with community input, thereby incorporating user feedback. We outline a flexible approach that recognizes conflict complexity and user community heterogeneity. Here, we describe the evolution of an innovative Information and Communication Technologies-based (ICT) alert system that enables instant data processing and community participation through interactive interfaces on different devices. We highlight the importance of a trans-disciplinary co-design and development process focussing on community engagement while synthesizing expertise from ethnography, ecology, and socio-informatics. We discuss the bio-geographic, social, and technological variables that influence alert system efficacy and outline opportunities for wider application in promoting coexistence and conservation.

Lion predation on cattle causes severe human–wildlife conflict that results in retaliatory persecution throughout the lion’s geographic range. Cattle closely resemble the body size, shape, and herding patterns of preferred lion prey species. We studied cattle depredation patterns in Botswana’s Okavango Delta and tested whether lions exhibited specific preferences based on cattle demographic characteristics (sex and age), as well as morphological traits (body mass, horn length, and pelage patterns). We also tested whether human disturbance of kills influenced lion energy intake and whether depredation circumstances influenced loss levels. Lions predominantly killed cattle at night (87.1%) and exhibited no preference for either sex. Overall, bulls and calves were most preferred, whereas heifers were significantly avoided, as were cattle with uniform colour patterns. Cattle with mottled pelage patterns were most preferred, especially among free-roaming herds. Preferences were context-specific, with lions preferring inexperienced calves during enclosure attacks (including multiple cases of surplus killing) and free-roaming bulls and oxen. About 13% of adult cattle had no horns, and these were preferentially targeted by lions, while cattle with short horns were killed in accordance with their availability and long horned cattle were highly avoided. The contemporary morphology of Tswana cattle that resulted from unnatural selective pressures during domestication does not offer effective antipredatory protection. Human disturbance of feeding soon after kills occurred reduced cattle carcass consumption by >40% (or about 30 kg per carcass per lion). Lions killed significantly more cattle in nonfortified enclosures than in the veldt, although this was influenced by surplus killing. Our results suggest that cattle predation by lions is driven by availability and cavalier husbandry practices, coupled with morphological features associated with facilitating easy husbandry. Cattle no longer exhibit the key features that enabled their ancestors to coexist with large predators and are now reliant upon humans to perform critical antipredator activities. Hence, the responsibility for mitigating human–wildlife conflict involving lions and cattle lies with people in either breeding traits that minimise predation or adequately protecting their cattle.

The leopard’s (Panthera pardus) broad geographic range, remarkable adaptability, and secretive nature have contributed to a misconception that this species might not be severely threatened across its range. We find that not only are several subspecies and regional populations critically endangered but also the overall range loss is greater than the average for terrestrial large carnivores. To assess the leopard’s status, we compile 6,000 records at 2,500 locations from over 1,300 sources on its historic (post 1750) and current distribution. We map the species across Africa and Asia, delineating areas where the species is confirmed present, is possibly present, is possibly extinct or is almost certainly extinct. The leopard now occupies 25–37% of its historic range, but this obscures important differences between subspecies. Of the nine recognized subspecies, three (P. p. pardus, fusca, and saxicolor) account for 97% of the leopard’s extant range while another three (P. p. orientalis, nimr, and japonensis) have each lost as much as 98% of their historic range. Isolation, small patch sizes, and few remaining patches further threaten the six subspecies that each have less than 100,000 km2 of extant range. Approximately 17% of extant leopard range is protected, although some endangered subspecies have far less. We found that while leopard research was increasing, research effort was primarily on the subspecies with the most remaining range whereas subspecies that are most in need of urgent attention were neglected.

The geographic distribution and habitat association of most mammalian polymorphic phenotypes are still poorly known, hampering assessments of their adaptive significance. Even in the case of the black panther, an iconic melanistic variant of the leopard (Panthera pardus), no map exists describing its distribution. We constructed a large database of verified records sampled across the species' range, and used it to map the geographic occurrence of melanism. We then estimated the potential distribution of melanistic and non-melanistic leopards using niche-modeling algorithms. The overall frequency of melanism was ca. 11%, with a significantly non-random spatial distribution. Distinct habitat types presented significantly different frequencies of melanism, which increased in Asian moist forests and approached zero across most open/dry biomes. Niche modeling indicated that the potential distributions of the two phenotypes were distinct, with significant differences in habitat suitability and rejection of niche equivalency between them. We conclude that melanism in leopards is strongly affected by natural selection, likely driven by efficacy of camouflage and/or thermoregulation in different habitats, along with an effect of moisture that goes beyond its influence on vegetation type. Our results support classical hypotheses of adaptive coloration in animals (e.g. Gloger's rule), and open up new avenues for in-depth evolutionary analyses of melanism in mammals.