existing resources than domestic livestock, and high production can be 
maintained without adversely affecting the carrying capacity of the 
habitat. Therefore on such lands the wild animals offer a greater 
potential for sustained production of meat and other animal products 
than domestic livestock. 
Evidence for this conclusion comes from comparisons between 
domestic livestock and wildlife as to standing crop, carrying capac¬ 
ity, meat production, reproductive rates, growth rates, diets, and 
water requirements. 
Standing Crop and Carrying Capacity 
On managed grasslands in East Africa the standing crop of domestic 
livestock averages roughly one animal weighing 1,000 pounds per 20 to 
30 acres or 21,000 to 32,000 pounds per square mile. In East African 
acacia-savanna land owned by the Masai tribe the stocking rates of 
domestic livestock range from 11,200 to 16,000 pounds per square mile. 
In bush country denied access to cattle because of tsetse fly the 
standing crop of goats and sheep ranges from about 2,000 to 8,000 
pounds per square mile. In contrast, identical acacia-savanna land 
supports a standing crop of 70,000 to 100,000 pounds per square mile 
of wild ungulates, and bush country grazed by wild ungulates exclus¬ 
ively carries some 30,000 pounds per square mile (Table 1). 
To determine carrying capacity of an area one must start with the 
condition of the land rather than the numbers of animals. An area may 
carry a very high biomass but this means nothing unless it is corre¬ 
lated with the condition and trend (i.e., improvement or impairment of 
condition) of the land. The carrying capacity of land varies from year 
to year depending on climatic and other factors. Therefore any figures 
on carrying capacities must be considered approximations. However, 
from the standpoint of habitat condition and trend, the high standing 
crops of wildlife noted above appear within the carrying capacity of 
the land. The standing crops of domestic livestock, although sub¬ 
stantially lower than those of wildlife, appear in virtually every 
case to exceed the carrying capacity of the land. 
Productivity 
There are several ways in which productivity of wildlife and 
domestic livestock may be measured. Reproduction, growth rates and 
3 
