LeopardPanthera pardusdensity and survival in an ecosystem with depressed abundance of prey and dominant competitors

Abstract

The leopard Panthera pardus is in range-wide decline, and many populations are highly threatened. Prey depletion is a major cause of global carnivore declines, but the response of leopard survival and density to this threat is unclear: by reducing the density of a dominant competitor (the lion Panthera leo) prey depletion could create both costs and benefits for subordinate competitors. We used capture–recapture models fitted to data from a 7-year camera-trap study in Kafue National Park, Zambia, to obtain baseline estimates of leopard population density and sex-specific apparent survival rates. Kafue is affected by prey depletion, and densities of large herbivores preferred by lions have declined more than the densities of smaller herbivores preferred by leopards. Lion density is consequently low. Estimates of leopard density were comparable to ecosystems with more intensive protection and favourable prey densities. However, our study site is located in an area with good ecological conditions and high levels of protection relative to other portions of the ecosystem, so extrapolating our estimates across the Park or into adjacent Game Management Areas would not be valid. Our results show that leopard density and survival within north-central Kafue remain good despite prey depletion, perhaps because (1) prey depletion has had weaker effects on preferred leopard prey compared to larger prey preferred by lions, and (2) the density of dominant competitors is consequently low. Our results show that the effects of prey depletion can be more complex than uniform decline of all large carnivore species, and warrant further investigation.

Anthropogenic pressure limits the recovery of a postwar leopard population in central Mozambique

“…This leopard density estimate represents one of few from WMAs (i.e., 17 of 161 estimates reviewed), falling among the lower end of densities throughout Africa or Asia and below records in similar mixed forest and seasonal floodplain habitats (e.g., 4.80–8.38, Tembe Elephant Park, South Africa, Ramesh et al, 2017, Rogan et al, 2019; 3.34–7.89, Kafue National Park, Zambia, Vinks et al, 2021). However, this relatively low estimate may be typical of semiarid environments (1.18, Devens et al, 2019; 2.20, Faure et al, 2021; 1.53–1.62, Müller et al, 2022; 1.83, Portas et al, 2022) and human‐impacted landscapes (2.49, Balme et al, 2010; 2.7, Henschel et al, 2011; 1.9, Davis et al, 2020; 0.66, Power et al, 2021; 0.7–1.8, Loveridge et al, 2022).…”

Low-Cost Forensics Reveal High Rates of Non-lethal Snaring and Shotgun Injuries in Zambia's Large Carnivores

“…While camera traps in Kavango-Zambezi Transfrontier Conservation Area detected multiple cases of snared lions and spotted hyenas, only a single leopard out of 386 identified individuals was noted as having a possible snare scar (Loveridge et al, 2020). Leopards with non-lethal snare injuries were encountered in NKNP by Schuette et al (2018), and yet a subsequent (2013-2019) camera trap study to investigate leopard mortality in NKNP (Vinks et al, 2021b) detected no snare injuries among 63 identified individuals. Similarly, a camera trap study of leopards in LV did not detect any snare injuries among 43 identified individuals and concluded that snared leopards in LV were uncommon relative to snared lions and wild dogs (Rosenblatt et al, 2016).…”

“…There are several potential explanations for the relatively lower frequency of snare injury found in leopards. Although leopards occur in the same regions and habitats as do other large carnivores, e.g., lion, spotted hyena, and wild dog Lycaon pictus for which snaring bycatch is well-known (Becker et al, 2013a;Loveridge et al, 2020;Vinks et al, 2021b), leopards may be less likely to encounter a snare due to behavioral differences. However, leopards feed on ungulate species targeted by wire-snare poachers (Henschel et al, 2011;Creel et al, 2018;Strampelli et al, 2018), and may scavenge on animals killed in snares (Strampelli et al, 2018).…”

The Javan Leopard Panthera pardus melas (Cuvier, 1809) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in West Java, Indonesia: estimating population density and occupancy

“…We therefore assume that a minimum of 56 IDs with at least 15-18 identified individuals represent the threshold necessary for modelling sex-specific Leopard density. A higher sample size facilitates modelling sex-specific differences in detectability and spatial patterns (Goldberg et al 2015;Kittle et al 2021;Vinks et al 2021), whereas a smaller sample size is insufficient for this model (Strampelli et al 2020).…”