Excessive trophy hunting of species like African leopards can increase male turnover and infanticide, threatening population sustainability. Simulation models suggest safer hunting by limiting harvests to males old enough—around 7 years—to have raised their first offspring to independence. A study assessing wildlife practitioners’ ability to age and sex leopards found mature males (4+ years) were identified more accurately than younger males. Key physical traits—dewlap size, ear condition, and facial scars—effectively distinguish male age classes. Notably, hunters scored lowest in aging accuracy, but training could improve this. The study concludes that implementing an age-based hunting regulation for leopards is feasible but would require significant regulatory and industry reforms to ensure sustainable trophy hunting practices.
Key Points:
- In species in which juvenile survival depends strongly on male tenure, excessive trophy hunting can artificially elevate male turnover and increase infanticide, potentially to unsustainable levels
- Simulation models show that the likelihood of safe harvests can be improved by restricting offtakes to males old enough to have reared their first cohort of offspring to independence; in the case of African leopards, males were >7 years old
- A discriminant model including dewlap size, the condition of the ears, and the extent of facial scarring accurately discriminated among male leopard age classes.
- Our study demonstrated that an age-based hunting approach is practically applicable for leopards.
