The implications of large home range size in a solitary felid, the Leopard (Panthera pardus)

Author:

Parker Daniel M12ORCID,Nams Vilis O13,Balme Guy A45ORCID,Begg Colleen6,Begg Keith6,Bidner Laura7,Bockmuehl Dirk8,Cozzi Gabriele910,du Preez Byron11,Fattebert Julien412,Golabek Krystyna10,Grant Tanith1,Hayward Matt W1314,Houser Ann-Marie15,Hunter Luke T B1617,Isbell Lynne A718,Jenny David1920,Loveridge Andrew J11,Macdonald David W11,Mann Gareth K H14521,Maputla Nakedi14,Marker Laurie22,Martins Quinton E2123,Maruping-Mzileni Nkabeng24,Melzheimer Joerg8,Menges Vera8,Nyoni Phumuzile1,O’Brien John1,Owen Cailey12,Parker Tim1,Pitman Ross45,Power R John25,Slotow Rob12,Stein Andrew262728,Steyn Villiers29,Stratford Ken30,Swanepoel Lourens H31,Vanak Abi12,Van Vuuren Rudi32,Wachter Bettine8,Weise Florian142732,Wilmers Chris C33

Affiliation:

1. Wildlife and Reserve Management Research Group, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University , Makhanda 6140 , South Africa

2. School of Biology and Environmental Science, University of Mpumalanga , Mbombela 1200 , South Africa

3. Department of Plant, Food and Environmental Sciences, Dalhousie University , Truro, Nova Scotia B2N , Canada

4. Panthera , New York City, New York 10001 , USA

5. Institute for Communities and Wildlife in Africa, University of Cape Town , Cape Town 7700 , South Africa

6. Niassa Carnivore Project , Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700 , South Africa

7. Department of Anthropology, University of California , Davis, California , USA

8. Department Evolutionary Ecology, Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research , Berlin 10115 , Germany

9. Botswana Predator Conservation Trust , Private Bag 13, Maun , Botswana

10. Institute of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, Zurich University , Zürich 8000 , Switzerland

11. Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Zoology Department, University of Oxford , Abingdon OX13 5QL , United Kingdom

12. Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal , Durban 4000 , South Africa

13. Conservation Science Research Group, School of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Newcastle , Newcastle, New South Wales 2267 , Australia

14. Mammal Research Institute, Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria , Pretoria 0001 , South Africa

15. Cheetah Conservation Botswana , Gaborone , Botswana

16. Wildlife Conservation Society , Bronx, New York 10001 , USA

17. School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal , Durban 4000 , South Africa

18. Mpala Research Centre , Nanyuki , Kenya

19. Zoologisches Institut, Universität Bern , Bern 3001 , Switzerland

20. Centre Suisse de Recherches Scientifiques , Abidjan , Ivory Coast

21. The Cape Leopard Trust , Cape Town 7700 , South Africa

22. Cheetah Conservation Fund , Otjiwarongo , Namibia

23. True Wild LLC , Glen Ellen, California 95431 , USA

24. Scientific Services, South African National Parks , Kimberley 8300 , South Africa

25. Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism, North-West Provincial Government , Mahikeng 2735 , South Africa

26. Landmark College , Putney, Vermont 05001 , USA

27. Department of Environmental Conservation, University of Massachusetts , Amherst, Massachusetts 01001 , USA

28. CLAWS Conservancy , Worcester, Massachusetts , USA

29. Department of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology , Pretoria 0001 , South Africa

30. Ongava Research Centre , Windhoek , Namibia

31. Department of Biology, University of Venda , Thohoyandou 0945 , South Africa

32. N/a’an ku sê Research Programme , Windhoek , Namibia

33. Environmental Studies Department, University of California , Santa Cruz, California 95060 , USA

Abstract

Abstract The size of the home range of a mammal is affected by numerous factors. However, in the normally solitary, but polygynous, Leopard (Panthera pardus), home range size and maintenance is complicated by their transitory social grouping behavior, which is dependent on life history stage and/or reproductive status. In addition, the necessity to avoid competition with conspecifics and other large predators (including humans) also impacts upon home range size. We used movement data from 31 sites across Africa, comprising 147 individuals (67 males and 80 females) to estimate the home range sizes of leopards. We found that leopards with larger home ranges, and in areas with more vegetation, spent longer being active and generally traveled faster, and in straighter lines, than leopards with smaller home ranges. We suggest that a combination of bottom-up (i.e., preferred prey availability), top-down (i.e., competition with conspecifics), and reproductive (i.e., access to mates) factors likely drive the variability in Leopard home range sizes across Africa. However, the maintenance of a large home range is energetically expensive for leopards, likely resulting in a complex evolutionary trade-off between the satisfaction of basic requirements and preventing potentially dangerous encounters with conspecifics, other predators, and people.

Funder

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

Rhodes University

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

Subject

Nature and Landscape Conservation,Genetics,Animal Science and Zoology,Ecology,Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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