During the wet season, larger groups were observed further away from the NCA crater whereas the opposite pattern was apparent during the dry season. Group sizes were generally larger during the wet season than during the dry season and varied seasonally with distance to NCA crater, streams, and human settlements. We analyzed how wild herbivore group sizes were affected by: (1) season, (2) distance to fully protected area (NCA crater) and to streams, (3) distance to human settlements, and (4) numbers of livestock. We recorded 176 single- and multi-species groups of wild herbivores in human-dominated landscapes of the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) during dry and wet seasons. Group sizes of wild herbivores can be indicators of ecosystem health and proxies for individual and population fitness, particularly in areas where human activities have become increasingly common.
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