Research Article Analysis of the Spatial Relationship between Cattle and Wild Ungulates across Different Land-Use Systems in a Tropical Savanna Landscape Geoffrey W. Kinga , 1 John Mironga, 2 and Wilfred O. Odadi 1 1 Department of Natural Resources, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536–20115, Egerton, Kenya 2 Department of Geography, Egerton University, P.O. Box 536–20115, Egerton, Kenya Correspondence should be addressed to Geofrey W. Kinga; jefwaki@yahoo.com Received 24 November 2017; Accepted 3 January 2018; Published 4 February 2018 Academic Editor: B´ ela T´ othm´ er´ esz Copyright © 2018 Geofrey W. Kinga et al. Tis is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In many African savanna landscapes, domestic and wild herbivores cooccur across diferent land-use systems, but the role of land-use in shaping their spatial relationship is poorly understood. We evaluated the spatial relationship between cattle and wild herbivores categorized by body sizes and feeding habits across diferent land-use types, namely, private ranches (PR), transitional lands (TRL), and pastoral grazing areas (PGA), in Laikipia County, Kenya. Cattle and wild herbivores spatial distribution data were obtained from Kenya’s Department of Resources Survey and Remote Sensing (DRSRS). Spatial relationships between cattle and diferent wild herbivore guilds were analyzed using Ripley’s bivariate  12 function. In PR, wild herbivore guilds showed signifcant attraction to cattle at short distances. In TRL, wild grazers, mixed feeders, megaherbivores, and medium-sized ungulates exhibited signifcant attraction to cattle. Additionally, repulsion was observed between cattle and browsers at short distances under this land-use system. In PGA, wild grazers, mixed feeders, and megaherbivores repelled strongly with cattle at short distances while browsers and medium-sized ungulates were signifcantly attracted to cattle. Cattle and wild herbivores were more randomly and independently distributed in PR than in TRL and PGA. Tese spatial relationships imply better coexistence between cattle and wild herbivores in PR than in TRL and PGA. 1. Introduction Savannas are the most widespread ecosystems in the tropics and subtropics. Te tropical and subtropical savannas cover nearly a third of the world’s land surface and over 50% of Africa [1]. Sub-Saharan Africa supports approximately 162 million poor livestock keepers [2, 3], majority of which are found in savanna rangelands. Cattle population in the Sub- Saharan Africa is estimated at 191 million heads, more than 50% of these cattle are in East Africa [4–6]. In addition to supporting people and livestock production, African savanna rangelands are also important biodiversity reservoirs. Tese landscapes not only support large population of hoofed herbivores (ungulates) but also very diverse community of indigenous large mammals [7, 8]. Approximately, 46 species of extant ungulates are endemic to the African savanna biome, exceeding that of any other continent [7]. Notably, however, livestock (cattle, goats, and sheep) usually occur in savanna ecosystems in higher numbers than wild herbivores given the advantage of animal husbandry practices such as veterinary care, predator control, and supplementation of feed and water provision, thus putting even higher demands to the ecosystem [9]. Conversion of grassland ecosystems into croplands, aforestation, urbanization, and other detrimental human activities is a global problem [10]. Increasing human pop- ulation has led to increased need for food production and this has resulted in expansion of croplands; close to 20% of savanna grasslands in Africa has been converted to cropland and urban areas [9]. Furthermore, livestock production has also increased owing to the increasing demand for protein from the increasing human population, a trend Hindawi International Journal of Ecology Volume 2018, Article ID 2072617, 12 pages https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/2072617