The relative importance of trophy harvest and retaliatory killing of large carnivores : South African leopards as a case study

dc.contributor.authorSwanepoel, Lourens Hendrik
dc.contributor.authorLindsey, Peter Andrew
dc.contributor.authorSomers, Michael J.
dc.contributor.authorVan Hoven, Wouter
dc.contributor.authorDalerum, Fredrik
dc.contributor.emailfredrik.dalerum@zoology.up.ac.zaen_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-04T09:58:50Z
dc.date.available2014-11-04T09:58:50Z
dc.date.issued2014-10
dc.description.abstractThere are considerable challenges in the conservation of large carnivores, caused by large area requirements, low reproduction rates and low population densities coupled with their tendency to cause conflict with humans. Trophy hunting is one strategy to increase support for large carnivore conservation. Leopards,Panthera pardus, rank among the most soughtafter trophies in South Africa.However, trophy hunting has been suggested as partly responsible for leopard population declines, and leopards are also killed in retaliatory actions. In this study we used a stochastic population model to evaluate the relative influences of retaliatory killing and trophy harvest on leopard population persistence, and to assess the sustainability of the current leopard trophy harvest in South Africa. There was a stronger effect of variation in retaliatory killing than of harvest on population persistence. Although we found low extinction risks for South African leopards within 25 years, high risks of population declines across a wide range of simulation scenarios call for concern regarding the viability of the South African leopard population.We suggest that conflict mitigation may be more effective in promoting leopard persistence than restricting trophy harvest, and that accurate estimates of retaliatory killing are necessary for assessments of harvest sustainability.en_US
dc.description.librarianam2014en_US
dc.description.sponsorshipInternational Foundation for Science grant no. D/4984-1, Wild Foundation grant no. 2008-011, Wilson Foundation, University of Pretoria and the Endangered Wildlife Trust. L.H.S. was further supported by National Research Foundation of South Africa (NRF) grant no. 74819, F.D. was supported by a research fellowship from the University of Pretoria, M.S. by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence for Invasion Biology and F.D. and M.S. were supported by the NRF.en_US
dc.description.urihttp://www.sawma.co.za/en_US
dc.identifier.citationSwanepoel, LH, Lindsey, P, Somers, MJ, Van Hoven, W & Dalerum, F 2014, 'The relative importance of trophy harvest and retaliatory killing of large carnivores : South African leopards as a case study', South African Journal of Wildlife Research, vol. 44, no. 2, pp. 115-134.en_US
dc.identifier.issn0379-4369
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/42489
dc.language.isoenen_US
dc.publisherSouthern African Wildlife Management Associationen_US
dc.rightsSouthern African Wildlife Management Associationen_US
dc.subjectTrophy huntingen_US
dc.subjectCarnivoreen_US
dc.subjectAdaptive managementen_US
dc.subjectSimulation modelsen_US
dc.subjectPopulation viability analysisen_US
dc.subjectLeopards (Panthera pardus)en_US
dc.subjectSouth Africa (SA)en_US
dc.titleThe relative importance of trophy harvest and retaliatory killing of large carnivores : South African leopards as a case studyen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US

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