Reducing Human/Predator Conflicts in Africa and Elsewhere:
Could We Learn From the Past?

The Nyanga Pit Circles were prevalent in the fifteenth century in Zimbabwe: Adaptation of such strategies could reduce predator losses in today's Africa.

By Gareth Patterson

On a recent visit to the vicinity of the Nyanga Mountains in Eastern Zimbabwe, I learned of the Pit Circle culture. Upon seeing these structures, I immediately wondered if modern adaptations of pit circles could reduce human/predator conflict in settlements bordering African National Parks and Game Reserves as well as other areas.

At the turn of the fifteenth century AD, people believed to be of Tonga origin, arrived in the Nyanga district through the Lower Zambezi Valley. The immigrant Sena speaking Tonga communities erected sunken stone-lined pit structures in which they kept livestock, predominantly at night, to protect their stock from predators and from livestock rustlers.

Zimbabwe, Pit Circles: 1) tunnel entrance 2) hut mound 3) hut 4) store 5) shaft hut 6) pit 7) revetment 8) drain 9) mud wall hut 10) ground slope 11) original ground level

The pits, constructed to house small and medium sized livestock, were beautifully lined with close fitting stones without mortar. These pits were almost always situated on sloping ground and were only partly dug in forming the center of an artificial platform (living area) some twenty meters wide which is retained by a stone wall on the lower slope. The pit itself would have been entered by herding livestock through a low tunnel, walled and roofed, with flat stones. The tunnel was usually curved so that the exit was not visible from the entrance.

Halfway along, a gap opened through the roof of the tunnel into a floor of a hut above, which provided a method of closing the tunnel with poles so that rustlers could not enter the pit without alerting the occupants of the hut above. The poles also acted as a barrier, preventing predators from entering the pit.

The Nyanga Pit Circles were no doubt a unique form of livestock protection from predators and humans in Zimbabwe during the fifteenth century. These stone structures would have been an effective way of protecting goats, sheep, and small cattle at night from spotted hyena, jackal, cheetah, and cats such a carcass and serval and possibly from lion and leopard.

These pits were useful for the following reasons:

a) They were a deterrent from "non-leaping" predators such as hyena due to their depth (approx. four meters).

b) They provided a stockade which is impossible for livestock to stampede out of when they sense the presence of predators (unlike the thorn bomas in use today).

c) Because of the depth, livestock could not be "lifted," thus they were an effective deterrent to livestock thieves.

d) They were constructed entirely from naturally occurring stone.

e) They provided an effective means for dung collection that was used in agricultural field, hut building, etc.

f) Though labor intensive in construction, they resulted in livestock protection for decades.

With adaptation, I believe the Pits could also be a deterrent to livestock killing lion and leopard.

Adaptation of the Pit Culture for Use Today

One of the biggest continual threats to Africa's declining predator populations, from lions to jackal and the smaller cats, is death by retaliating livestock owners. Where ineffective non-predator proof kraals or bomas exist, predators enter and kill livestock at night. Losses also occur when livestock, sensing predators nearby, panic, break out of the boma, and are attacked by predators. Ironically, the killing of a territorial "resident" predator actually exacerbates the problem: A vacuum territory is formed, which might in turn be claimed by an individual of the species who might be even more inclined to kill livestock than the former. Livestock owners will inevitably seek revenge by any of the following means:

a) Hunting down the predator/s

b) Setting an ambush for the predators' return to a carcass (i.e., by placing wire snares around the vicinity of the carcass)

c) Poisoning the carcass, which in turn kills the livestock killer, other gathering scavengers, including raptors such as vultures and eagles--predominantly the Bataleur and Tawny eagles. Cattle dip is used in many areas as the poison to kill predators.

It is my belief that with sufficient research, the fifteenth century Nyanga Pit culture could be adapted to various local conditions and to varying African cultural beliefs for application in today's Africa.

At the very least, a well-planned pilot pit project, working in consultation with the local community, would be of merit. Careful and respectful communication and consultation with the people of the community would be essential to the success of a pilot pit project. Traditional African religions embrace the belief that the ancestors look over the community. Ancestors, spirit shades, are an integral part of traditional, everyday life; hence, the sensitivity to this factor would be essential when consulting and working with the community on the establishment of a pilot pit project.

If an established pilot pit project proved to reduce livestock losses, other livestock owners might wish to employ similar livestock protection and "employ" the knowledge of the builders of the initial pit project.

With adaptation, the Pit Circle could have effective application in places even outside Africa. The fact that this pit culture could be adapted, and that it might be adopted, indicates that a pilot program would be extremely worthwhile, which could result long-term in the lessening of predator killing by livestock owners due to the lessening of livestock killing by predators.

Would the Nyanga Pit Culture prove effective in today's Africa and would livestock communities adopt such a culture? The answer lies in attempting to establish a pilot pit project and meticulously learning from this exercise.

Should anyone like to discuss the aspects of the Pit Circles with Gareth, please e-mail him at lionmanofafrica@home.com.

Model of Pit Circle (Front View)

Model of Pit Circle (back of the circle with livestock entering the tunnel beneath the hut)

Model of Pit Circle (view from above)

Model of Pit Circle (with hut removed to show where sliding door/poles encloses the animals in the Pit Circle)

Model of Pit Circle (with mud/dung flooring removed to show slabs above the tunnel Arrow indicates when sliding door/poles would be positioned to enclose the animals in the Pit Circle)