Rosettes, Rifles and Regulation: A Synthesis of the leopard hunting industry in Africa

Transcription

1 Rosettes, Rifles and Regulation: A Synthesis of the leopard hunting industry in Africa Alex Braczkowski PhD candidate, University of Queensland MSc, University of Oxford 31 st August, Sustainable Use Conference, Pullman Hotel Brisbane

2 The world s most widely distributed and persecuted large felid Large portion of global range lies outside protected areas Come into contact with a plethora of human settlements and cultures Humans value leopards differently dependent on locality

3 Table 1: Value of leopards for ecosystems, local cultures and livelihoods from five peer reviewed studies and eleven locations in Africa and south Asia. Reason Role Location Example Monetary value Reference Ecological Apex predator 6 National Leopards control olive baboon numbers Not quantified Brashares et al. (2010) Parks, Ghana Ecological Apex predator Mumbai, India Save dog management and human health costs by eating stray dogs $21000/year Braczkowski et al.(in review) Cultural Traditional regalia Inanda, South Africa Leopard skins are worn by Shembe men $ Hunter (2012) Economic Viewing species Shamwari, South Africa Second most preferred viewing species on game drive $ (estimated) Maciejewski & Kerley (2014) Economic Hunting species Seven countries, Africa One of the most expensive trophy hunting species $ Braczkowski et al. (2015)

4 Why is leopard hunting of management concern? Leopards have lost 48-67% of their African range Majority of hunting occurs in six African countries Harvest strategies have little science backing Leopards have cultural traits which make them sensitive to hunting Key reference: Jacobson et al (2015)

5 Scale and characteristics of leopard hunting in Africa Tanzania Zambia Namibia South Africa Mozambique Zimbabwe Table 2: Key characteristics of leopard trophy hunts taking place in the six main states which hunt leopards in Africa (data from Braczkowski et al. 2015a). Country Hunt duration (days) Relative hunt success % Trophy price (US$) Hunting outfitters Tanzania Zambia Namibia *505 Mozambique ^19 Zimbabwe South Africa

6 Drivers of leopard hunting prices in Africa Not leopard trophy quality Reputation of outfitters Number of species in a hunt package Wilderness or logistic costs? Log record trophies in decimal inches Log price (US$) Key reference: Braczkowski et al (2015a)

7 Sensitivity of leopards to trophy hunting High rates of non-parental infanticide (40-52% of cub mortality) Artificial turnover of adult males on Phinda (270 km2) reserve led to: Mating success Cub mortality Male tenure 20% vs 40% 43% vs 100% 32 vs 45 months Key reference: Balme et al (2012); Swanepoel et al (2014)

8 Susceptibility of leopards to trophy hunting Examined landscape ecology of leopards Supplemented with photo surveys sent to trophy hunters Four years of camera-trapping ( ) GPS collar data used as measure of time spent in study area Key reference: Braczkowski et al (2015b)

9 Susceptibility of leopards to trophy hunting Male and female leopards encounter camera-traps with similar frequencies Male leopards are preferred by hunters Sub-adults least susceptible 87% of hunters were willing to shoot a female leopard during a 14 day hunt Key reference: Braczkowski et al (2015b)

10 Limiting the negative effects of leopard hunting Relatively new field in African leopard management Ideas stem from mountain lion, grizzly bear and African lion research Harvesting individuals while buffering population at large against decline Quota reduction, age and sex-based harvest, link harvest probability to property size Key reference: Whitman et al (2004); Laundre and Clark (2003)

11 Quota limitations and property size Capped leopard quotas to 5 males/year Created 5 leopard hunting zones LHZ = 600km2 and lay adjacent to protected area at least 290 km2 in size Likelihood of obtaining hunt tag related to property size Key reference: Balme et al (2010)

12 Age and sex-based hunting regulations Concept has strong empirical backing in lions We examined applicability for leopards Photographic questionnaire surveys (97 paired photographs of 41 known age leopards) sent to hunters (n=70),field guides (n=96) and scientists (n=59) Examined sexing, aging ability and phenotypic characteristics which could aid classification Key reference: Balme, Hunter & Braczkowski (2012)

13 Age and sex-based hunting regulations Respondents better at sexing leopards (69%) rather than allocating age (48%) 90% of males 4-6 and >7 years old aged correctly Ear condition and dewlap size significantly different in > 7 year old males Facial scarring good indicator but nose pigmentation not as good as in lions Key reference: Balme, Hunter & Braczkowski (2012)

14 Need for adequate monitoring Majority of African leopard hunting range states do not have standardized leopard population monitoring Camera-trap and faecal matter capture re-capture models are now advanced Expensive start up costs but decreases significantly over time days required per monitoring site per year Key reference: Gopalaswamy et al (2012)

15 Acknowledgements Steve Winter Warrick Davey Guy Balme Luke Hunter Jeff Sikich Tristan Dickerson