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Balfour, D.; Kerley, G.I.H.
Introduction - The need for, and value of a scientific assessment of livestock predation in South Africa
2018 Book Chapter
For two millennia attempts have been made to prevent predation on livestock, but the problem is still with us. The arrival of domestic livestock in southern Africa about 2000 years ago (Pleurdeau et al., 2012) would have initiated a then novel form of human-wildlife conflict, this driven by the killing of livestock by indigenous predators, and attempts by pastoralists to protect their livestock. The archaeological record appears to be silent on how early pastoralists tried to protect their livestock, although Horsburgh (2008) identified many jackal _Canis mesomelas_ remains in archaeological sites - could these represent retalia- tory killings? More recently, early historical records from the 15th Century onwards (e.g. material in Skead, 2011) provide some hints. These include early descriptions of the use of dogs, herding of livestock, as well as retaliatory attacks on predators.
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