References
- Acocks JPH. 1988. Veld types of South Africa. Memoirs of the Botanical Society of South Africa 57: 1–146.
- Anon. 2015. Snare-clearing yields results. Mahikeng Mail, p 2.
- Balme GA, Batchelor A, de Woronin Britz N, Seymour G, Grover M, Hes L, Macdonald DW, Hunter LT. 2013. Reproductive success of female leopards Panthera pardus: the importance of top-down processes. Mammal Review 43: 221–237. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2907.2012.00219.x.
- Balme G, Hunter LTB. 2004. Mortality in a protected leopard population, Phinda Private Game Reserve, South Africa: a population in decline? CCA Ecological Journal 6: 5–11.
- Balme G, Hunter LTB, Slotow R. 2009a. Evaluating methods for counting cryptic carnivores. Journal of Wildlife Management 73: 433–441. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2193/2007-368.
- Balme G, Hunter LT, Goodman P, Ferguson H, Craigie J, Slotow R. 2010a. An adaptive management approach to trophy hunting of leopards (Panthera pardus): a case study from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. In: Macdonald DW, Loveridge AJ (eds). Biology and Conservation of Wild Felids. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp 341–352.
- Balme G, Slotow R, Hunter LTB. 2009b. Impact of conservation interventions on the dynamics and persistence of a persecuted leopard (Panthera pardus) population. Biological Conservation 142: 2681–2690. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2009.06.020.
- Balme GA, Slotow R, Hunter LTB. 2010b. Edge effects and the impact of non-protected areas in carnivore conservation: leopards in the Phinda–Mkhuze Complex, South Africa. Animal Conservation 13: 315–323. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2009.00342.x.
- Braczkowski AR, Balme GA, Dickman A, Fattebert J, Johnson, P Dickerson T, Macdonald DW, Hunter L. 2016. Scent lure effect on camera-trap based leopard density estimates. PLoS ONE 11: e0151033. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0151033.
- Carruthers V. 1990. The Magaliesberg. Pretoria: Protea Bookhouse.
- Chase-Grey JN, Kent VT, Hill RA. 2013. Evidence of a high density population of harvested leopards in a montane environment. PLoS ONE 8: e82832. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0082832.
- Crutzen PJ. 2006. The “Anthropocene”. In: Ehlers E, Krafft T (eds). Earth System Science in the Anthropocene. Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp 13–18. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-26590-2_3.
- Cusack JJ, Bradfer-Lawrence T, Baynham-Herd Z, Tickell SC, Duporge I, Hegre H, Zárate LM, Naude VN, Nijhawan S, Wilson J, et al. 2021. Measuring the intensity of conflicts in conservation. Conservation Letters 14: e12783. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12783.
- De Valpine P, Turek D, Paciorek CJ, Anderson-Bergman C, Lang DT, Bodik R. 2017. Programming with models: writing statistical algorithms for general model structures with NIMBLE. Journal of Computational and Graphical Statistics 26: 403–413. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1080/10618600.2016.1172487.
- Devens C, Tshabalala T, McManus J, Smuts B. 2018. Counting the spots: The use of a spatially explicit capture–recapture technique and GPS data to estimate leopard (Panthera pardus) density in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa. African Journal of Ecology 56: 850–859. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/aje.12512.
- Devens CH, Hayward MW, Tshabalala T, Dickman A, McManus JS, Smuts B, Somers MJ. 2021. Estimating leopard density across the highly modified human-dominated landscape of the Western Cape, South Africa. Oryx 55: 34–45. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605318001473.
- DFFE: 2018. South African National Land Classification (SANLC). Pretoria: Department of Forestry, Fisheries & the Environment. https://egis.environment.gov.za/gis_data_downloads
- Dillon A, Kelly MJ. 2008. Ocelot home range, overlap and density: comparing radiotelemetry with camera-trapping. Journal of Zoology 275: 391–398. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00452.x.
- Dupont P, Milleret C, Gimenez O, Bischof R. 2019. Population closure and the bias-precision trade-off in spatial capture-recapture. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 10: 661–672. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13158.
- Efford MG. 2019. Non-circular home ranges and the estimation of population density. Ecology 100: e02580. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/ecy.2580.
- Efford MG, Boulanger J. 2019. Fast evaluation of study designs for spatially explicit capture-recapture. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 10: 1529–1535. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13239.
- ESRI: Environmental Systems Research Institute. 2018. ArcGIS (v10.7). California: Redlands.
- Farhadinia MS., Johnson PJ, Macdonald DW, Hunter LT. 2018. Anchoring and adjusting amidst humans: Ranging behavior of Persian leopards along the Iran-Turkmenistan borderland. PLoS ONE 13: e0196602. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196602.
- Farhadinia MS, McClintock BT, Johnson PJ, Behnoud P, Hobeali K, Moghadas P, Hunter LTB, Macdonald DW. 2019. A paradox of local abundance amidst regional rarity: the value of montane refugia for Persian leopard conservation. Scientific Reports 9: 14622. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-50605-2.
- Gelman A, Rubin DB. 1992. Inference from iterative simulation using multiple sequences. Statistical Science 7: 457–511. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1214/ss/1177011136.
- Gopalaswamy AM, Royle JA, Hines EJ, Singh P, Jathanna D, Kumar NS, Karanth KU. 2012. Program SPACECAP: software for estimating animal density using spatially explicit capture-recapture models. Methods in Ecology and Evolution 3: 1067–1072. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2041-210X.2012.00241.x.
- Green AM, Chynoweth MW, Şekercioğlu ÇH. 2020. Spatially explicit capture-recapture through camera trapping. A review of benchmark analyses for wildlife density estimation. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 8: 1–11. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2020.563477.
- Grimbeek AM. 1992. The ecology of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in the Waterberg. MSc thesis, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
- Harmsen BJ, Foster, RJ, Quigley H. 2020. Spatially explicit capture-recapture density estimates: Robustness, accuracy and precision in a long-term study of jaguars (Panthera onca). PLoS ONE 15:1–19. p.e0227468. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0227468.
- Haughton SH. 1969. Geological History of southern Africa. Cape Town: Geological Society of South Africa.
- Hayward MW, O’Brien J, Kerley GI. 2007. Carrying capacity of large African predators: predictions and tests. Biological Conservation 139: 219–229. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2007.06.018.
- Hebblewhite M, Miquelle DG, Murzin AA, Aramilev VV, Pikunov DG. 2011. Predicting potential habitat and population size for reintroduction of the Far Eastern leopards in the Russian Far East. Biological Conservation 144: 2403–2413. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2011.03.020.
- Karanth KU, Nichols JD. 1998. Estimation of tiger densities in India using photographic captures and recaptures. Ecology 79: 2852–2862. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(1998)079[2852:EOTDII]2.0.CO;2.
- Karanth KU, Nichols JD. 2002. Monitoring Tigers and Their Prey: A manual for researchers, managers and conservationists in tropical Asia. Bangalore: Centre for Wildlife Studies.
- Kawanishi K, Sunquist ME. 2004. Conservation status of tigers in a primary rainforest of Peninsular Malaysia. Biological Conservation 120: 329–344. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2004.03.005.
- Kenward R. 1987. Wildlife radio-tagging: equipment, field techniques and data analysis. London: Academic Press.
- King JM, Bertram BCR, Hamilton PH. 1977. Tiletamine and Zolazepam for immobilization of wild lions and leopards. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 171: 894–898.
- Lande R. 1988. Genetics and demography in biological conservation. Science 241: 1455–1460. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1126/science.3420403.
- Lindsey PA, Marnewick K, Balme G, Swanepoel LH. 2011. Non-detriment finding assessment for the trophy hunting of leopards in South Africa: Report for the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Johannesburg: Endangered Wildlife Trust.
- Mann G. 2014. Aspects of the ecology of leopards (Panthera pardus) in the Little Karoo, South Africa. PhD thesis. Rhodes University, South Africa.
- Mann GK, O’Riain MJ, Parker DM. 2020. A leopard’s favourite spots: Habitat preference and population density of leopards in a semi-arid biodiversity hotspot. Journal of Arid Environments 18: 104218. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaridenv.2020.104218.
- Mann G, Pitman R, Broadfield J, Taylor J, Whittington-Jones G, Rogan M, Dubay S, Balme G. 2018. South African Leopard Monitoring Project: Annual Report for the South African National Biodiversity Institute. Cape Town: Panthera and SANBI.
- Marker LL, Dickman AJ. 2005. Factors affecting leopard (Panthera pardus) spatial ecology, with particular reference to Namibian farmlands. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 35: 105–115. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/EJC117223.
- Martins QE. 2010. The ecology of the leopard Panthera pardus in the Cederberg Mountains. PhD thesis. University of Bristol, United Kingdom.
- McKenzie AA, Burroughs R. 1993. Chemical capture of carnivores. In: McKenzie AA (ed.). The capture and care manual. Pretoria: Wildlife Decision Support Services and South African Veterinary Foundation. pp 224–244.
- Miththapala S, Seidensticker J, Phillips LG, Fernando SBU, Smallwood JA. 1989. Identification of individual leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) using spot pattern variation. Journal of Zoology 218: 527–536. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1989.tb04996.x.
- Mucina I, Rutherford MC. 2006. The vegetation of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Pretoria: South African National Biodiversity Institute.
- Naude VN, Balme GA, Rogan MS, Needham MD, Whittington-Jones G, Dickerson T, Mabaso X, Nattrass N, Bishop JM, Hunter LTB, et al. 2020a. Longitudinal assessment of illegal leopard skin use in ceremonial regalia and acceptance of faux alternatives among followers of the Shembe Church, South Africa. Conservation Science and Practice 2: e289. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.289.
- Naude VN, Balme GA, O’Riain MJ, Hunter LTB, Fattebert J, Dickerson T, Bishop JM. 2020b. Unsustainable anthropogenic mortality disrupts natal dispersal and promotes inbreeding in leopards. Ecology and Evolution 10: 3605–3619. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6089.
- Nel P, Seitlhamo W, Tshekeng P, Sekgarametso M. 2015. Population estimates for large herbivores and predators in protected areas in the North West province. Mmabatho: North West Parks Board.
- NEMBA. 2007. National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act 10 of 2004): Threatened or Protected Species (TOPS) regulations. Pretoria: Government Gazette R152.23, Republic of South Africa.
- Noss AJ, Gardner B, Maffei L, Cuéllar E, Montaño R, Romero-Muñoz A, Sollman R, O’Connell AF. 2012. Comparison of density estimation methods for mammal populations with camera traps in the Kaa-Iya del Gran Chaco landscape. Animal Conservation 15: 527–535. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00545.x.
- Otis DL, Burnham KP, White GC, Anderson DR. 1978. Statistical inference from capture data on closed animal populations. Wildlife Monographs 62: 3–135.
- Owen C, Niemann S, Slotow R. 2010. Copulatory parameters and reproductive success of wild leopards in South Africa. Journal of Mammalogy 91: 1178–1187. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1644/09-MAMM-A-256.1.
- Pirie TJ. 2016. The role of small private game reserves in leopard Panthera pardus and other carnivore conservation in South Africa, PhD thesis, University of Reading, United Kingdom.
- Pitman RT, Fattebert J, Williams ST, Williams KS, Hill RA, Hunter LT, Robinson H, Power J, Swanepoel L, Slotow R, et al. 2017. Cats, connectivity and conservation: incorporating data sets and integrating scales for wildlife management. Journal of Applied Ecology 54: 1687–1698. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.12851.
- Pitman RT, Swanepoel LH, Hunter L, Slotow R, Balme GA. 2015. The importance of refugia, ecological traps and scale for large carnivore management. Biodiversity and Conservation 24: 1975–1987. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-015-0921-9.
- Ponisio LC, De Valpine P, Michaud N, Turek D. 2020. One size does not fit all: Customizing MCMC methods for hierarchical models using NIMBLE. Ecology and Evolution 10: 2385–2416. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6053.
- Power RJ. 2011. Bojanala Platinum District Mammal Report. Mafikeng: Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism. Mahikeng: North West Provincial Government.
- Power RJ. 2014. The distribution and status of mammals in the North West province. Mafikeng: Department of Economic Development, Environment, Conservation and Tourism. Mahikeng: North West Provincial Government.
- Power RJ, Koeppel K, Le Grange F, Botha M-V, Hoogstad C, Bartels P. 2020. Remediation of an injured leopard and its successful release back into the wild. Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation 40: 7–13. https://theiwrc.org/journal-of-wildlife-rehabilitation.
- Power RJ, Van Straaten A, Schaller R, Mooke M, Boshoff T, Nel HP. 2019. An inventory of mammals of the North West province, South Africa. Annals of the Ditsong Museum of Natural History 8: 6–29. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332269451_An_inventory_of_mammals_of_the_North_West_Province.
- Power RJ, Venter L, Botha M-V, Bartels P. 2021. Repatriating leopards into novel landscapes of a South African province. Ecological Solutions and Evidence 2: e12046. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/2688-8319.12046.
- R-Core Team. 2021. R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna: R Foundation for Statistical Computing.
- READ: Department of Rural, Environment and Agricultural Development. 2015. North West Biodiversity Sector Plan. Mahikeng: North West Provincial Government.
- Rexstad EA, Burnham KP. 1992. User’s Guide for Interactive Program CAPTURE: Abundance Estimation of Closed Animal Populations. Colorado: Colorado Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit.
- Rogan MS, Balme GA, Distiller G, Pitman RT, Broadfield J, Mann GKH, Whittington-Jones GM, Thomas LH, O’Riain MJ. 2019. The influence of movement on the occupancy–density relationship at small spatial scales. Ecosphere 10: e02807. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/ecs2.2807.
- Royle JA, Dorazio RM. 2006. Hierarchical models of animal abundance and occurrence. Journal of Agricultural, Biological, and Environmental Statistics 11: 249–263. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1198/108571106X129153.
- Simcharoen S, Pattanavibool A, Karanth KU, Nichols JD, Kumar SN. 2007. How many tigers Panthera tigris are there in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand? An estimate using photographic capture-recapture sampling. Oryx 41: 447–453. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605307414107.
- Soisalo MK, Cavalcanti SMC. 2006. Estimating the density of a jaguar population in the Brazilian Pantanal using camera-traps and capture-recapture sampling in combination with GPS radio-telemetry. Biological Conservation 129: 487–496. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2005.11.023.
- Stanley TR, Burnham KP. 1999. A closure test for time-specific capture-recapture data. Environmental and Ecological Statistics 6: 197–209. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009674322348.
- StatsSA (Statistics South Africa). 2013. Interactive data. Statistics South Africa. Available at www.statssa.gov.za
- Swanepoel LH. 2008. Ecology and conservation of leopards, Panthera pardus, on selected game ranches in the Waterberg region, Limpopo, South Africa. MSc thesis, University of Pretoria, South Africa.
- Swanepoel LH, Balme G, Williams S, Power RJ, Snyman A, Gaigher I, Senekal C, Martins Q, Child M. 2016. A conservation assessment of Panthera pardus. In: Child MF, Roxburgh L, Raimondo D, Do Linh San E, Selier J, Davies-Mostert H (eds). The Red List of Mammals of South Africa, Swaziland and Lesotho. Johannesburg: Endangered Wildlife Trust and SANBI. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/308169529_A_conservation_assessment_of_Panthera_pardus.
- Swanepoel LH, Lindsey P, Somers MJ, Van Hoven W, Dalerum F. 2013. Extent and fragmentation of suitable leopard habitat in South Africa. Animal Conservation 16: 41–50. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2012.00566.x.
- Swanepoel LH, Somers MJ, Dalerum F. 2015a. Density of leopards Panthera pardus on protected and non-protected land in the Waterberg Biosphere, South Africa. Wildlife Biology 21: 263–268. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.00108.
- Swanepoel LH, Somers MJ, Van Hoven W, Schiess-Meier M, Owen C, Snyman A, Martins Q, Senekal C, Camacho G, Boshoff W, Dalerum F. 2015b. Survival rates and causes of mortality of leopards Panthera pardus in southern Africa. Oryx 49: 595–603. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1017/S0030605313001282.
- Thorn M, Green M, Dalerum F, Bateman PW, Scott DM. 2012. What drives human–carnivore conflict in the North West province of South Africa? Biological Conservation 150: 23–32. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.02.017.
- Tobler MW, Carrillo-Percastegui SE, Leite Pitman R, Mares R, Powell G. 2008. An evaluation of camera traps for inventorying large- and medium-sized terrestrial rainforest mammals. Animal Conservation 11: 169–178. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-1795.2008.00169.x.
- Tobler MW, Carrillo-Percastegui SE, Zúñiga Hartley A, Powell GV. 2013. High jaguar densities and large population sizes in the core habitat of the southwestern Amazon. Biological Conservation 159: 375–381. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.012.
- Tobler MW, Powell GVN. 2013. Estimating jaguar densities with camera traps: problems with current designs and recommendations for future studies. Biological Conservation 159: 109–118. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2012.12.009.
- Tucker MA, Böhning-Gaese K, Fagan WF, Fryxell JM, Van Moorter B, Alberts SC, Ali AH, Allen AM, Attias N, Avgar T, et al. 2018. Moving in the Anthropocene: global reductions in terrestrial mammalian movements. Science 359: 466–469. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aam9712.
- Wang SW, Macdonald DW. 2009. The use of camera traps for estimating tiger and leopard populations in the high altitude mountains of Bhutan. Biological Conservation 142: 606–613. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2008.11.023.
- Williams ST, Williams KS, Lewis BP, Hill RA. 2017. Population dynamics and threats to an apex predator outside protected areas: implications for carnivore management. Royal Society Open Science 4: e161090. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.161090.
- Woodroffe R, Ginsberg JR. 1998. Edge effects and the extinction of populations inside protected areas. Science 280: 2126–2128. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1126/science.280.5372.2126.