IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Edwards, S.; Aschenborn, O.; Gange, A.C.; Wiesel, I. | |
| Leopard density estimates from semi-desert commercial farmlands, south-west Namibia | |
| 2015 African Journal of Ecology (54): 103-106 | |
Protected areas are acknowledged as largely inadequate for the conservation of many carnivores (Kent & Hill, 2013). As a result, nonprotected areas such as farmland are increasingly recognized as important habitats for numerous species (Smith et al., 2011). In some areas, carnivore density has been found to be higher outside of protected areas; for example, leopard density was significantly higher on farmland in north-central Namibia than the bordering Waterberg Plateau Park (Stein et al., 2011a). Farmlands in southern Namibia represent an unknown area on carnivore distribution maps and have the potential to be suitable habitat for leopards, given the artificially high density of water sources and herbivore abundance. However, at the same time, they are largely unsafe environments due to conflict with humans (Henschel et al., 2008). We used camera traps to produce the first leopard density estimates for commercial farmlands in southern Namibia. Additionally, to examine the efficiency of questionnaires for assessing population status, we asked farmers to estimate leopard numbers on their land for comparison. |
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