A Case of Offspring Adoption in Leopards,<i>Panthera pardus</i>

Balme, Guy A.; Hunter, Luke; Britz, Natasha de Woronin

doi:10.3957/056.042.0101

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Only one other cub (aged six months) was abandoned by its mother, but it was adopted by another female leopard (its grandmother) and survived to independence (Balme et al. ). African rock pythons Python sebae preyed on three cubs in their dens, and a 12‐month‐old cub died after being bitten by a Mozambique spitting cobra Naja mossambica .…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive success of female leopards Panthera pardus: the importance of top‐down processes

Balme

Batchelor

Britz³

et al. 2012

Mammal Review

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Long‐term studies on large felids are rare and yet they yield data essential to understanding the behaviour of species and the factors that facilitate their conservation. We used the most extensive data set so far compiled on leopards Panthera pardus to establish baseline reproductive parameters for females and to determine the demographic and environmental factors that affect their lifetime reproductive success. We used comprehensive sightings reports and photographs from ecotourism lodges in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve, South Africa, to reconstruct life histories for 44 female leopards that gave birth to 172 litters over a 32‐year period. Leopards appeared to exhibit a birth pulse; most litters were born in the wet season, particularly in December. Mean age at first parturition (n = 26, mean ± standard error = 46 ± 2 months, range = 33–62) was older than previously recorded, possibly due to elevated intraspecific competition. Average litter size was 1.9 ± 0.1 (n = 140, range = 1–3) and declined with maternal age. Age of litters at independence (n = 52, 19 ± 1 months, range = 9–31) was inversely related to prey abundance but did not affect the likelihood of recruitment of offspring. Interbirth intervals differed following successful litters (in which at least one cub survived to independence; n = 55, 25 ± 1 months, range = 14–39) and unsuccessful litters (n = 46, 11 ± 1 months, range = 4–36), as did the time taken to replace litters. Variation in lifetime reproductive success was influenced mainly by differences in cub survival, which was related to maternal age and vulnerability to infanticide. Cub survival (37%) declined as females got older, perhaps because mothers relinquished portions of their home ranges to philopatric daughters. Male leopards were responsible for many (40%) cub deaths and females appeared to adopt severalstrategies to counter the risk of infanticide, including paternity confusion and displaying a period of reduced fertility immediately after a resident male was replaced. Our results suggest that the reproductive success of female leopards is regulated primarily by top‐down processes. This should be taken into account in management decisions, particularly when managers are considering the implementation of invasive activities such as legal trophy hunting.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reproductive success of female leopards Panthera pardus: the importance of top‐down processes

Balme

Batchelor

Britz³

et al. 2012

Mammal Review

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“…The Sabi Sand Game Reserve (SSGR) is one of the best protected leopard populations globally. It is also one of the best known, both from an ecotourism (Hancock, ; Hes, ; Kure, ) and a scientific (Balme et al, ; Balme & Hunter, ; Balme, Hunter, & Braczkowski, ; Balme, Hunter, & de Woronin Britz, ; Balme, Miller, et al, ; Balme, Pitman, et al, ; Balme, Robinson, et al, ) perspective. Despite this, there is no robust estimate of leopard density in the SSGR, and it is therefore difficult to gauge how the population relates to others in leopard range.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Big cats at large: Density, structure, and spatio‐temporal patterns of a leopard population free of anthropogenic mortality

et al. 2019

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Human impact is near pervasive across the planet and studies of wildlife populations free of anthropogenic mortality are increasingly scarce. This is particularly true for large carnivores that often compete with and, in turn, are killed by humans. Accordingly, the densities at which carnivore populations occur naturally, and their role in shaping and/or being shaped by natural processes, are frequently unknown. We undertook a camera-trap survey in the Sabi Sand Game Reserve (SSGR), South Africa, to examine the density, structure and spatio-temporal patterns of a leopard Panthera pardus population largely unaffected by anthropogenic mortality. Estimated population density based on spatial capture-recapture models was 11.8 ± 2.6 leopards/100 km 2 . This is likely close to the upper density limit attainable by leopards, and can be attributed to high levels of protection (particularly, an absence of detrimental edge effects) and optimal habitat (in terms of prey availability and cover for hunting) within the SSGR. Although our spatio-temporal analyses indicated that leopard space use was modulated primarily by "bottom-up" forces, the population appeared to be self-regulating and at a threshold that is unlikely to change, irrespective of increases in prey abundance. Our study provides unique insight into a naturally-functioning carnivore population at its ecological carrying capacity. Such insight can potentially be used to assess the health of other leopard populations, inform conservation targets, and anticipate the outcomes of population recovery attempts. K E Y W O R D Scarnivore ecology, carrying capacity, Panthera pardus, population regulation, spatial capture-recapture

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“…Age classes were allocated to all leopards sampled following Fattebert et al [37], with cubs (< 1 year), subadults (1-3 years) and adults (> 3 years). Wild leopards were aged according to the nature of tooth wear and a combination of morphological cues as described by Stander [38] and Balme et al [39] respectively. Captive leopards were aged according to the information provided by their ex situ managers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Molecular characterisation and morphological description of two new species of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) infecting leukocytes of African leopards Panthera pardus pardus (L.)

Netherlands

Smit

2020

Parasites Vectors

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Background: The African leopard Panthera pardus pardus (L.) is currently listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature) red list of threatened species due to ongoing population declines. This implies that leopard-specific parasites are also vulnerable to extinction. Intracellular apicomplexan haemoparasites from the genus Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 have been widely reported from wild carnivores in Africa, including non-specific reports from leopards. This paper describes two new haemogregarines in captive and wild leopards from South Africa and provides a tabular summary of these species in relation to species of Hepatozoon reported from mammalian carnivores. Methods: Blood was collected from nine captive and eight wild leopards at various localities throughout South Africa. Thin blood smears were Giemsa-stained and screened for intraleukocytic haemoparasites. Gamont stages were micrographed and morphometrically compared with existing literature pertaining to infections in felid hosts. Haemogregarine specific primer set 4558F and 2733R was used to target the 18S rRNA gene for molecular analysis. Resulting sequences were compared to each other and with other available representative mammalian carnivore Hepatozoon sequences from GenBank. Results: Two species of Hepatozoon were found in captive and wild leopards. Of the 17 leopards screened, eight were infected with one or both morphologically and genetically distinct haemogregarines. When compared with other species of Hepatozoon reported from felids, the two species from this study were morphometrically and molecularly distinct. Species of Hepatozoon from this study were observed to exclusively parasitize a particular type of leukocyte, with Hepatozoon luiperdjie n. sp. infecting neutrophils and Hepatozoon ingwe n. sp. infecting lymphocytes. Phylogenetic analysis showed that these haemogregarines are genetically distinct, with Hepatozoon luiperdjie n. sp. and Hepatozoon ingwe n. sp. falling in well supported separate clades.

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A Case of Offspring Adoption in Leopards,Panthera pardus

Cited by 8 publications

References 16 publications

Reproductive success of female leopards Panthera pardus: the importance of top‐down processes

Reproductive success of female leopards Panthera pardus: the importance of top‐down processes

Big cats at large: Density, structure, and spatio‐temporal patterns of a leopard population free of anthropogenic mortality

Molecular characterisation and morphological description of two new species of Hepatozoon Miller, 1908 (Apicomplexa: Adeleorina: Hepatozoidae) infecting leukocytes of African leopards Panthera pardus pardus (L.)

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