The impact of trophy hunting on lions (Panthera leo) and other large carnivores in the Bénoué Complex, northern Cameroon |
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Authors: | BM Croes PJ Funston G Rasmussen R Buij A Saleh PN Tumenta HH de Iongh |
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Institution: | aInstitute of Environmental Sciences (CML), Leiden University, PO Box 9518, 2300 RA Leiden, The Netherlands;bDepartment of Nature Conservation, Tshwane University of Technology, Private Bag X680, Pretoria 0002, South Africa;cPainted Dog Conservation (PDC), Hwange National Park, Box 72, Dete, Zimbabwe;dWildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK;eMinistry of Fauna and Forests (MINFOF), BP 126 Garoua, Cameroon;fDepartment of Forestry, University of Dschang, Cameroon |
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Abstract: | In West and Central Africa large carnivores have become increasingly rare as a consequence of rapid habitat destruction and lack of resources for protected area management. The Bénoué Complex (23,394 km2) in northern Cameroon is a regionally critical area for large mammal conservation. In the complex lions (Panthera leo), leopards (Panthera pardus) and spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) are formally protected in three national parks and 28 hunting zones. Over-hunting may be having a strong additive effect precipitating declines in large carnivore numbers across the complex. We used a coarse level track index method to estimate the relative abundance of these three species both in hunting zones and national parks. The results were interpreted with respect to ungulate abundance, and hunting impact. There was no significant difference between the densities of medium to larger species of ungulates in the hunting zones and the national parks, and no difference in leopard and spotted hyena densities in the respective areas. However, lions occurred at significantly lower densities in the hunting zones, and even in the national parks occurred at significantly lower densities than prey biomass would predict. |
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Keywords: | Trophy hunting Lion Large carnivores West/Central Africa Moratorium |
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