Population Management: Activity 1 Managing Cattle Herds
Script
Slides
Slide #2
Slide #3
Speaker Notes
This is a map of Africa. Notice where East Africa is
located and some of the countries that are in East
Africa. This portion of Africa is part of the
grasslands biome.
Life among rural East African people revolves
around cattle.
Some of the roles that cattle serve in East Africa
traditional culture are:
• Cow dung provides fertilizer.
• Cows serve as work animals.
• Cows provide meat and milk.
• Bridal dowries are paid in cattle.
Slide #4
Wildlife populations are a valued resource in East
Africa because of the ecotourism industry boosts
the economy. (Tourism based on exotic and
natural environments—especially when there are
conservation efforts in place).
Slide #5
Emphasize:
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Cattle and wildlife in East Africa rely on
grasslands for survival.
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Proper management of cattle herds size
and grazing rights both populations can
thrive in the East African grassland
habitat.
Slide #6
Goal of this Lesson:
1. What issues do ranchers face when trying
to maintain healthy herds?
2. How does knowing about population
dynamics help ranchers and
conservationists balance the needs of
cattle and wildlife that live in the same
space?
Slide #7
Please create this 3-2-1 Chart in your science
notebook. (Turn your notebook so it is
hamburger style).
The purpose is to capture some key ideas as we go
through them and make a personal connection
with the information.
Top Box—Title: “3 Major Issues”
Middle Row – “Two ways to address the issue: “
Bottom Row – “Connection to what you knew
before”
Slide #8
What do you think the 3 major issues for ranchers
and cattle are?
Discuss any ideas that would answer this question.
Slide #9
What kind of predators do you think there are?
Discuss any ideas that would answer this question.
Slide #10
Any ideas on what they could to prevent these
predators from eating their cattle?
Discuss any ideas that would answer this question.
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Slide #11
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Identify the possible predators on the land
so that proper methods are used to keep
the animals safe.
Install kraals (Cattle let out in the day for
grazing and returned to the kraal at night).
Install wire fencing with electrical wires.
Use guard animals such as dogs or
donkeys to protect the herds.
Practice good herd management –
Balance the grass/food consumption
between cattle and wildlife.
Slide #12
Record the two ways in the 3-2-1 Chart
Slide #13
This is a video of a innovative boy who decided to
create something to help ranchers.
Slide #14
What are some things that ranchers can do to
make sure that the cattle stay healthy? What are
some ideas that you can think of?
Slide #15
As you watch the video answer this question:

Slide #16
What are the main concerns of local
ranchers regarding cattle’s health?
After watch the 2nd video with a partner discuss
the answer to this question:
What are the main concerns of local ranchers
regarding cattle’s health?
Give a few minutes to discuss with a partner.
Slide #17
Cattle ranchers have 3 maintain concerns when
trying to maintain a healthy cattle populations:
– Making sure the grass is healthy
and abundant
– Access to water (frequently)
– Keeping cattle safe from predators
Slide #18
If the ranchers maintain cattle populations that
are the appropriate size for the amount of land
and rotate the cattle to graze (allowing the plants
recovery time) there is a better chance of having
enough forage for the their cattle.
Slide #19
How can a rancher insure that there is enough
forage for the cattle?
Forage is food or provisions.
Discuss any ideas that the class may have.
Slide #20
Cattle are grazers and eat grass.
Terms to know:
– Grazing rights is a legal term
referring to the right of a user to
allow their livestock to graze in a
given area.
– Overgrazing happens when
animals or cattle graze excessively
to the point that it damages the
vegetation/grass.
Slide #21
When grazing is manged properly grazers help the
grassland ecosystem thrive.
Even though cattle eat grass they actually play a
key role in keeping grassland eccsystems healthy.
How do you think cattle help keep the
grass/grasslands healthy?
Slide #22
Have the table teams use Round Robin strategy to
list ways they think cattle might benefit the
grass/grasslands.
 Use the white boards or a piece of paper
to list the information.
 Discuss as a class after about 5 minutes.
Compare your list to this one provide.
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Their hooves make seed to soil contact
which helps dormant seeds to germinate
and establish.
They break soil crusts that keep seeds
from growing.
They trample standing vegetation into
mulch to protect soil and keep it most.
They turn vegetation into high-quality
fertilizer.
They prune stale growth keeping forage
plants at peak production (also leaves
more suitable parts of grasses for wildlife.
They prune plants which causes roots to
self-prune and become soil.
Slide #23
On your 3-2-1 Chart write two ways that cattle
help maintain the food supply in a grassland
habitat.
Slide #24
Why do you think ranchers are concerned about
accessing water?
Discuss initial ideas with the class.
Slide #25
This video discusses how ranchers cope with
drought.
Reflect on the initial student responses and
explain that April and November are the only rainy
season in East Africa so drought is a big threat.
Show the video Population Management #2:
Drought.
Slide #26
Explain that some ranchers move around based on
the weather to access water for the cattle and
some utilize grass/banks/areas of grass that have
been reserved for the dry season.
Show the video Populations Management #3:
Seasonality
Slide #27
On your 3-2-1 Chart record two methods ranchers
use to try to provide their herds with access to
water.
Slide #28
On your 3-2-1 Chart reflect and write a sentence
about how this information relates to something
you already knew.
Slide #29
To maintain healthy cattle and wildlife populations
on their land, ranchers have to balance their
desire for bigger herds with what the land can
support. To balance the herd size with what the
land can support, the ranchers must use
information from conservationist’s research to
evaluate population dynamics and figure out the
right number or cattle for the amount of land,
water and forage available.
Carry Capacity = the number of animals that a
given area of land can support.
If the population is greater than the carrying
capacity, the population will get smaller until it is
at or below carrying capacity. (show next slide
video).
Slide #30
As you watch the video think of:
How can science help land managers work with
cattle owners to balance the water needs of their
cattle, wildlife, and irrigated agriculture?
Show Population Management #4: Science
Slide #31
How can science help land managers work with
cattle owners to balance the water needs of their
cattle, wildlife, and irrigated agriculture?
Discuss the answers t this question as a class.
Slide #32
Explain that conservationist have developed
formulas based on relevant variables that ranchers
can use to determine how many cattle their land
can support.
To determine carry capacity of land and figure out
appropriate herd size a rancher must consider:
• How much food each cow needs based on
weight
• Total amount of grass on land
• How much grass is available for forage
(based on the take-half, leave-half rule)
Slide #33
Evaluation
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Open up your science notebook to the
next available page.
Draw 3 columns down the page.
1st column -write why cattle populations
are important to the people in East Africa.
2nd column - describe the issues cattle
ranchers face when trying to maintain
healthy herds.
3rd column - summarize what a rancher
needs to consider when calculating
appropriate herd size.