Ranger Silhouette (IMAGE) Princeton University Caption After years of examining conflict in Africa's protected areas, Princeton researchers report in the journal Nature that war has been a consistent factor in the decades-long decline of Africa's large mammals, but that wildlife populations rarely collapsed to the point where recovery was impossible. Above, an armed park ranger stands guard in Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park where large-animal populations have rebounded after being nearly wiped out during that country's civil war. Credit Photo by Robert Pringle, Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Usage Restrictions None License Licensed content Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.