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Sustainable trophy hunting of African lions

Author

Listed:
  • Karyl Whitman

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Anthony M. Starfield

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Henley S. Quadling

    (University of Minnesota)

  • Craig Packer

    (University of Minnesota)

Abstract

In most species, sport hunting of male trophy animals can only reduce overall population size when the rate of removal of males is so high that females can no longer be impregnated1. However, where males provide extensive paternal care, the removal of even a few individuals could harm the population as a whole2,3. In species such as lions, excessive trophy hunting could theoretically cause male replacements (and associated infanticide4,5) to become sufficiently common to prevent cubs reaching adulthood. Here we simulate the population consequences of lion trophy hunting using a spatially explicit, individual-based, stochastic model parameterized with 40 years of demographic data from northern Tanzania. Although our simulations confirm that infanticide increases the risk of population extinction, trophy hunting could be sustained simply by hunting males above a minimum age threshold, and this strategy maximizes both the quantity and the quality of the long-term kill. We present a simple non-invasive technique for estimating lion age in populations lacking long-term records, and suggest that quotas would be unnecessary in any male-only trophy species where age determination could be reliably implemented.

Suggested Citation

  • Karyl Whitman & Anthony M. Starfield & Henley S. Quadling & Craig Packer, 2004. "Sustainable trophy hunting of African lions," Nature, Nature, vol. 428(6979), pages 175-178, March.
  • Handle: RePEc:nat:nature:v:428:y:2004:i:6979:d:10.1038_nature02395
    DOI: 10.1038/nature02395
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    Cited by:

    1. Shonda Kuiper & Rodney X. Sturdivant, 2015. "Using Online Game-Based Simulations to Strengthen Students’ Understanding of Practical Statistical Issues in Real-World Data Analysis," The American Statistician, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 69(4), pages 354-361, November.
    2. Oksana Revutskaya & Galina Neverova & Efim Frisman, 2024. "Discrete-Time Model of an Exploited Population with Age and Sex Structures: Instability and the Hydra Effect," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-27, February.
    3. Paul J Funston & Rosemary J Groom & Peter A Lindsey, 2013. "Insights into the Management of Large Carnivores for Profitable Wildlife-Based Land Uses in African Savannas," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 8(3), pages 1-8, March.
    4. Oksana Zhdanova & Alexey Kuzin & Efim Frisman, 2022. "The Harvest Effect on Dynamics of Northern Fur Seal Population: Mathematical Modeling and Data Analysis Results," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 10(17), pages 1-24, August.
    5. Wiederholt, Ruscena & Fernandez-Duque, Eduardo & Diefenbach, Duane R. & Rudran, Rasanayagam, 2010. "Modeling the impacts of hunting on the population dynamics of red howler monkeys (Alouatta seniculus)," Ecological Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 221(20), pages 2482-2490.
    6. Vivienne L Williams & Andrew J Loveridge & David J Newton & David W Macdonald, 2017. "Questionnaire survey of the pan-African trade in lion body parts," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 12(10), pages 1-35, October.

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