Population dynamics and threats to an apex predator outside protected areas: implications for carnivore management

Data on the population dynamics and threats to large carnivores are vital to conservation efforts, but these are hampered by a paucity of studies. For some species, such as the leopard (Panthera pardus), there is such uncertainty in population trends that leopard trophy hunting has been banned in South Africa since 2016 while further data on leopard abundance are collected. We present one of the first assessments of leopard population dynamics, and identify the key threats to a population of leopards outside of protected areas in South Africa. We conducted a long-term trap survey between 2012 and 2016 in the Soutpansberg Mountains, and drew on a previous estimate of leopard population density for the region from 2008. In 24 sampling periods, we estimated the population density and assessed population structure. We fitted eight leopards with GPS collars to assess threats to the population. Leopard population density declined by 66%, from 10.73 to 3.65 leopards per 100 km2 in 2008 and 201...

大型食肉动物的种群动态及其受胁数据对物种保护工作至关重要，但相关研究的匮乏却掣肘了保护工作的推进。对于豹（Panthera pardus）这类物种，其种群趋势存在显著不确定性，为此南非自2016年起便禁止了豹的战利品狩猎，以待获取更多关于豹种群丰度的详实数据。本研究为豹种群动态的首批评估研究之一，明确了南非保护区外某一豹种群所面临的核心威胁。研究团队于2012年至2016年间在索特潘斯贝格山脉开展了长期诱捕调查，并引用了2008年该区域豹种群密度的既往估算数据。在24个采样周期内，研究人员对该种群密度进行了估算，并评估了种群结构。同时为8只豹佩戴了GPS项圈，以评估该种群所面临的各类威胁。该豹种群密度下降了66%，从2008年的每100平方千米10.73只降至3.65只，相关数据覆盖至201...