Results

1. LEOPARD POPULATION DENSITY AND COMMUNITY ATTITUDES TOWARDS LEOPARDS IN AND AROUND DEBSHAN RANCH, SHANGANI, ZIMBABWE P. Nyoni1, C. R. Edwards2, D. M. Parker1 and G. K. Purchase2 1Wildlife and Reserve Management Research Group, Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, Grahamstown, South Africa, phumuzilenyoni@gmail.com; D.parker@ru.ac.za 2Debshan Ranch, Shangani, Zimbabwe, vishe@gatorzw.com; nettypurchase@gmail.com Introduction Debshan Ranch is a commercial cattle ranch in central Zimbabwe (Fig. 1). Leopards, Panthera pardus, have been hunted as trophies in the area for over 20 years, raising concern over the viability of the population, especially since the human population around the ranch has increased over the past 14 years, likely increasing human-leopard conflict. To understand leopard population dynamics; spoor and camera trap surveys were carried out and questionnaire interviews with respondents surrounding the ranch were done to assess their attitudes towards leopards. Fig. 1: Debshan ranch in central Zimbabwe. Leopard spoor distribution from the spoor survey carried out on the ranch from 14 May to 20 June 2013 is also shown (59 individual leopard spoor were encountered). Fig. 2: Debshan ranch overlaid with a 4x4 km2 grid; 15 camera stations were positioned over an area of 240 km2 in the centre of the ranch; 11 of these points captured leopard images. Results Leopard spoor density was 18.1 spoor/100km which translated to a leopard density of between 5.6 - 13.6 leopard/100km2. Extrapolating the density estimate to the entire ranch, ~45 leopards (range = 27 – 63) may be present on the property.   The camera trapping survey (Fig. 2) yielded 26 leopard images and, using the left side images for identification, 10 individual leopards were identified. This gives an estimated 21 leopards for the entire property.  Most respondents (n = 40) surrounding the ranch had negative attitudes towards the leopards compared to only 15 positive responses (Fig. 3). Fig. 3: Attitudes of respondents towards leopards from the three provinces surrounding Debshan ranch. Conclusion The leopard population estimates indicate a healthy population but they should be interpreted with caution as they do not reflect the sex and age composition. Long term monitoring thus is necessary to understand overall population trends. Negative attitudes of respondents were likely as a result of livestock losses to leopards and also traditional beliefs and entrenched ideals. Thus, mitigating conflict through improved livestock management techniques, education and awareness must be a high priority. Acknowledgements Special thanks to Rhodes University, Solon Foundation, Maureen Stewart and Debshan Ranch for funding