Rosettes, Remingtons and Reputation: Establishing Potential Determinants of Leopard (Panthera pardus) Trophy Prices Across Africa

Abstract

In a number of African countries, the trophy hunting of large felids is an important revenue generator for landholders, governments and in some cases communities. The hunting of large felids is especially profitable but they are sensitive to harvest, as the killing of prime-aged, dominant males can lead to infanticide and lowered reproductive success. In an attempt to limit the negative impacts of trophy hunting on large felids, the scientific community has proposed a number of interventions, including age restrictions on the animals that may be hunted. Such interventions are theoretically complementary to trophy hunting, as hunters typically seek large trophies, and older animals are normally larger than younger ones in large felids. If trophy size results in an increase in trophy price, then interventions that improve average trophy size could confer elevated earnings. This is particularly true if such interventions increased the number of failed hunts such that the same tag can be sold more than once. However, if trophy size is not one of the most important factors determining the desirability of a hunt (which we judge by the price paid for a trophy hunt package), it may be more difficult to implement such schemes. It is therefore important to evaluate potential determinants of trophy hunt package price; and we examine that here for leopards (Panthera pardus) in Africa, at both the country and outfitter level. We show that Tanzania and Botswana have the most expensive package prices while South Africa has the cheapest packages. At the country level, we found no statistical relationships between package price and leopard trophy size (either through advertised website or Safari Club International (SCI) leopard trophy size), country GDP, relative hunt success, or quota size. Contrastingly, the number of charismatic species offered within a package and an index of outfitter reputation (as measured by total SCI trophy records) were positively associated with package price. Interestingly, SCI leopard trophy size was inversely correlated with package price. Our results suggest that hunters do not value leopard trophy size above other factors, which could hinder the implementation of more sustainable, age-based leopard hunting regulations.

Unsustainable anthropogenic mortality disrupts natal dispersal and promotes inbreeding in leopards

“…Across southern Africa, large felids have a long history of both legal and illegal exploitation. African leopards ( Panthera pardus pardus ) have been heavily harvested throughout this region for their economic value as trophies in legal hunts (Balme, Slotow, & Hunter, ; Braczkowski et al, ; Swanepoel, Lindsey, Somers, Hoven, & Dalerum, ) and for mostly illegal use in traditional practices (Harries, ; Kumalo & Mujinga, ; Williams, Loveridge, Newton, & MacDonald, ). Many leopards are also removed in retaliatory conflict due to their real or perceived threat to livestock (Loveridge, Wang, Frank, & Seidensticker, ).…”

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

“…This model does not account for important factors such as anthropogenic mortality, assuming that leopards occur at optimal densities across all available habitats (Strampelli et al, 2018). In 2007, this model (Martin & de Meulenaer, 1988) justified the doubling of national leopard trophy hunting quotas in Mozambique to 120 leopards per annum; however, export tags issued from 2006 to 2010 and 2011 to 2017 were only ~30% and ~50% of annual quotas, respectively (Braczkowski et al, 2015; MITADER, 2018). While trophy hunting quotas should ideally be based on robust density estimates (Braczkowski et al, 2015), these are lacking across their range.…”

The hunter and the hunted: Using web‐sourced imagery to monitor leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) trophy hunting

“…We did not find leopard trophies estimated younger than 7 years old being hunted in South Africa after the age‐based regulation was implemented in that country (DFFE, 2017), suggesting that this new regulation might have been respected and enforced. Nevertheless, the violations identified could have ramifications on local leopard populations, as female leopards not only have greater reproductive value than males (Balme et al, 2012), but also have smaller home ranges than males, making it more challenging for hunted individuals to be replaced in an area (Braczkowski et al, 2015; Naude et al, 2020).…”

“…The African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus; hereafter 'leopard') is listed as "Vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List (Stein et al, 2020) and has been eradicated from 63% to 75% of its historical range (Jacobson et al, 2016). Leopards are a particularly desirable big game trophy species, contributing 8%-20% of total national trophy hunting revenue in East and southern Africa (Balme et al, 2010(Balme et al, , 2012Braczkowski et al, 2015;Stein et al, 2020). The species is listed on Appendix I (i.e., a species threatened with extinction and whose trade is permitted only in exceptional circumstances, provided both export and import permits are issued) of the Convention for the International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).…”