IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
| Patterson, L.; Meadows, M.; Hoffman, T.; Martins, Q. | |
| A spatio-temporal analysis of the habitat use of leopards (_Panthera pardus_) in the Karoo Biome of the Cederberg Mountains, South Africa | |
| 2008 Full Book | |
Leopards have the most wide ranging distribution of all wild felids, yet are amongst the most elusive. There is limited understanding of leopard spatial ecology in the Western Cape - an area rife with human-leopard conflict. This study examined GPS data collected from February 2006 to February 2008 to describe the home ranges and movement patterns of one male and one female Cape leopard (_Panthera pardus_) in the Karoo Biome of the Cederberg Mountains, South Africa. The leopards home ranges, ranging patterns and area usage were related to influences of habitat, altitude, distance from permanent water sources and seasonality. The home range sizes were larger than those of most leopards studied elsewhere. Neither sex exhibited exclusive habitat usage, with the females range being entirely contained within the males range. There were significant differences in daily travel distances between the male and female, and between summer and winter seasons for the female and winter seasons for both sexes. The areas utilised most frequently within the male and female home ranges comprised of Swartruggens Quartzite Fynbos and Swartruggens Quartzite Karoo. The large home range sizes in relation to the low population density of the Cederberg leopards implies the requirement of large areas of available and connected habitat to ensure the survival of the small leopard population in the area. |
|
 |
PDF files are only accessible to Friends of the Cat Group. Joining Friends of the Cat Group gives you unlimited access and downloads in the Cat SG Library for one year, and allows you to receive our newsletter Cat News (2 regular issues per year plus special issues). More information how to join here |
(c) IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group ( IUCN - The World Conservation Union) |