DOI: 10.5061/dryad.bcc2fqzd1
title: Kruger National Park medium to large mammal species herd sizes & distances to the road - fieldwork data

description: The dataset consists of systematically recorded presences, from a
 vehicle, of medium to large mammal species within the Kruger National
 Park. There is 401 tar and 369 dirt road points within the
 dataset. Each dataset point has data on species
 presence, estimated proximity of the animals to the road and herd
 sizes. Each point also has the following data: estimated cloud
 cover percentage, surface wetness, rain, co-ordinates, vegetation biome
 (savanna), road surface, distance to the nearest natural water source and
 the total number of vehicles passing that point within a 10 minute period.
description: Data was collected during two field sessions, one in 2017 and one
 in 2019 (both of which in July, during the Austral winter). Neither
 rainfall nor temperature data differed substantially between the two field
 sessions. Visitor numbers to the park were also similar between the
 12-month periods that spanned the field sessions. Two
 observers systematically recorded the presence of medium-sized to
 large mammals, stopping every 1 km along tar and dirt roads, between 7h30
 and 15h00. The main tar roads, connecting the main rest camps, were
 sampled, and equivalent distances of dirt road that ran, as far as
 possible, parallel to the tar road, were selected. Dirt road loops, which
 often lead to watering holes, were avoided. This ensured that there was no
 association between road type and distance to natural water sources
 (ANOVA, P = 0.85, f = 0.04, df = 1). Furthermore, none of the roads
 sampled crossed through any of the rest camps or other human settlements.
 Data was only recorded in the dominant vegetation type, namely savanna, as
 other vegetation types (e.g. forest and azonal vegetation) were too dense
 to sight animals more than a few meters from the vehicle. In general,
 savanna vegetation consists of open landscapes with good visibility and,
 within savanna vegetation, there was no noticeable difference in the range
 of sight between tar and dirt roads. In total, 401 tar
 road records and 369 dirt road records were obtained over a total period
 of two months. At each stop all observed medium to large mammal species
 during a 10 minute interval were recorded. The distance of the closest
 individual of each species to the road was categorised into one of two
 distance categories – close (&lt; 20 m from the road) and far
 (&gt; 20 m from the road). All visible individuals were counted when
 fewer than 30 were visible, while larger group/herd sizes (&gt;30)
 were estimated to the nearest interval of 10 animals based on sub-counts
 of groups of 10 individuals and extrapolating across individuals visible.
 Group/herd size was also categorised into one of two categories (&lt;
 6 individuals and &gt;= 6 individuals), based on an evident binomial
 distribution in group/herd sizes. Traffic volume was recorded as the
 number of vehicles passing us from either direction during the 10 minute
 interval. Lastly, the GPS coordinate of the stop (Garmin GPSMAP 62s) was
 recorded and the percentage cloud cover was estimated. Afterwards,
 distances between sampling points and nearest natural water source were
 measured using ArcGIS 10.8 (ESRI, Inc.). Artificial water sources are not
 static and were ignored, since their locations and status (open/closed)
 could not be determined.
description: 0m to the road was grouped into &lt; 20m category.