Surveys of lions Panthera leo in protected areas in Zimbabwe yield disturbing results: what is driving the population collapse?
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In the absence of detailed ground-based surveys, lion populations may be estimated using regression models based on prey biomass availability but these often overestimate lion densities as a result of a variety of compounding factors as mentioned in this paper.Abstract:
The African lion Panthera leo is an iconic species but it has faced dramatic range reductions and possibly as few as 30,000 individuals remain in the wild. In the absence of detailed ground-based surveys, lion populations may be estimated using regression models based on prey biomass availability but these often overestimate lion densities as a result of a variety of compounding factors. Anthropogenic factors can be key drivers of lion population dynamics and in areas with high human impact lion numbers may be significantly lower than those predicted by prey biomass models. This was investigated in two protected areas in Zimbabwe, where lion population densities were found to be significantly lower than would have been predicted by prey-availability models. High hunting quotas either within or around the protected areas are the most likely cause of the low lion numbers, with quotas in some areas being as high as seven lions per 1,000 km2 in some years. Other factors, including persecution, poisoning and problem animal control, as well as disease and competition with spotted hyaenas Crocuta crocuta, are also discussed.read more
Citations
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Lion (Panthera leo) populations are declining rapidly across Africa, except in intensively managed areas
Hans Bauer,Guillaume Chapron,Kristin Nowell,Philipp Henschel,Paul J. Funston,Luke T. B. Hunter,David W. Macdonald,Craig Packer +7 more
TL;DR: Almost all lion populations that historically exceeded ∼500 individuals are declining, but lion conservation is successful in southern Africa, in part because of the proliferation of reintroduced lions in small, fenced, intensively managed, and funded reserves.
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Life after Cecil: channelling global outrage into funding for conservation in Africa
Peter A. Lindsey,Peter A. Lindsey,Guy A. Balme,Guy A. Balme,Paul J. Funston,Philipp Henschel,Luke T. B. Hunter,Luke T. B. Hunter +7 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors highlight the dual challenge to African governments posed by the need to fund vast wildlife estates and provide incentives for conservation by communities in the context of growing human populations and competing priorities.
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Applying a random encounter model to estimate lion density from camera traps in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania
Jeremy J. Cusack,Alexandra Swanson,Tim Coulson,Craig Packer,Chris Carbone,Amy Dickman,Margaret Kosmala,Chris Lintott,J. Marcus Rowcliffe +8 more
TL;DR: It is concluded that restricting REM estimation to periods and habitats in which animal movement is more likely to be random with respect to cameras can help reduce bias in estimates of density for female Serengeti lions.
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Detecting declines of apex carnivores and evaluating their causes: An example with Zambian lions
Elias Rosenblatt,Matthew S. Becker,Scott Creel,Egil Dröge,Thandiwe Mweetwa,Paul Schuette,Fred G.R. Watson,Johnathan Merkle,Henry Mwape +8 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide statistically rigorous estimates of population size, trends, survival rate and age-sex structure from Zambia's South Luangwa lion population from 2008 to 2012, just prior to cessation of hunting in 2013.
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Assessing the sustainability of African lion trophy hunting, with recommendations for policy
Scott Creel,Jassiel M'soka,Egil Dröge,Eli Rosenblatt,Matthew S. Becker,Wigganson Matandiko,Twakundine Simpamba +6 more
TL;DR: To implement sustainable trophy hunting while maintaining revenue for conservation of hunting areas, the results suggest that hunting fees must increase as a consequence of diminished supply.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
Edge Effects and the Extinction of Populations Inside Protected Areas
TL;DR: The species most likely to disappear from small reserves are those that range widely-and are therefore most exposed to threats on reserve borders-irrespective of population size, so that border areas represent population sinks.
Journal ArticleDOI
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