Leopard density 525 Although legal trophy hunting of adult male leopards oc-
curred in Game Management Areas adjacent to the Park, except during a moratorium from January 2013 to April 2015 (Rosenblatt et al., 2016), trophy huntingwasnot a knowndirect cause of leopard mortality in this
study.However, the effects of trophy hunting on leopard population dynamics (Balme et al., 2009a,b, 2010;Packer etal., 2011) are an important consider- ation closer to the edge of the Park and within the Game Management Areas. We recommend that legal harvest quotas reflect lower leopard densities expected in Game Management Areas (Rosenblatt et al., 2016) and account for the compound- ing effects of growing human pressures in the Game Man- agement Areas on both leopards and their prey (Watson et al., 2014; Rosenblatt et al., 2016, 2019;Overton et al., 2017). Overall, we observed moderate leopard density, good sur-
vival rates for both males and females, and consistent detec- tions of individuals between years, strongly suggesting that the leopard population was relatively stable within our core study area. Research providing reliable and precise estimates of critical population parameters must continue throughout the Greater Kafue Ecosystem, to evaluate the effectiveness of management decisions and to allow a comparison of our findings with data fromless-protected portions of the ecosys- tem. More broadly, similar research to describe the distribu- tion and dynamics of intact carnivore guilds in response to prey depletion is essential across sub-Saharan Africa.
Acknowledgements We thank the Zambia Department ofNational Parks andWildlife for permission to conduct this research, and for col- laborative efforts to help monitor, manage and conserve these herbivore and carnivore populations. This researchwas supported by theNational Science Foundation (IOS1145749), National Geographic Society Big Cats Initiative, Gemfields Inc., WWF Netherlands and Zambia, The Bennink Foundation, The Rufford Foundation, Wilderness Wildlife Trust, Painted Dog Conservation, Panthera, Ntengu Safaris, Elephant Charge, and IUCNSave Our Species/EU. Our findings and conclusions do not necessarily represent the views of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. This publication was produced with the financial support of the EU through IUCN Save Our Species, and is the sole responsibility of the Zambian Carnivore Programme and does not necessarily reflect the views of IUCN or the EU.
Author contributions Analysis, writing: MAV, SC; study design: SC, ER; field work: MAV, ER, CS, BG, KB; funding acquisition: MSB, ER, SC; project administration: MSB, CC, CS; revision, editing: MAV, SC, ER, PS, MSB, CS, BG, KB, CC, CS.
Conflicts of interest None.
Ethical standards This research abided by the Oryx guidelines on ethical standards.
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Oryx, 2022, 56(4), 518–527 © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Fauna & Flora International doi:10.1017/S0030605321000223
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