Individual variation in leopard (Panthera pardus) prey composition in Namibian farmlands highlights the importance of wild prey over livestock

Allen, Maximilian L. (author), Šabeder, Nik (author), Oliveira, Teresa (author), Portas, Ruben (author), Žagar, Anamarija (author), Melzheimer, Joerg (author), Wachter, Bettina (author), Krofel, Miha (author)

Human-carnivore conflict, particularly involving livestock depredation, remains a major threat to large carnivore conservation worldwide. To protect their livelihood, farmers often attempt to remove “problem” individuals that specialize in killing livestock, although empirical support for such specialized individuals is limited. Leopards (Panthera pardus) are widespread carnivores that are often involved in human-wildlife conflicts, but most studies have focused on protected areas, even though most of their range is unprotected. We tracked 29 leopards for an average of 422 days over ten years on freehold farmlands of central Namibia to investigate their foraging ecology. We investigated 455 clusters of GPS locations (which often indicate prey consumption), and found 375 identifiable prey remains from 20 species. Wild prey constituted 96.8% of identified kills, with gemsbok (Oryx gazelle), warthog (Phacochoerus africanus), and greater kudu (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) representing 77.3% of all identified prey. Livestock (cattle, Bos spp., and horses, Equus ferus) composed only 3.2% of the kills, with male leopards feeding on livestock three times more frequently than females. While approximately one-third of leopards consumed livestock at least once, no individual exhibited specialization for livestock, although individuals did exhibit specialization for some wild prey. Predation occurred primarily during crepuscular periods, but diel patterns in predation differed between the sexes. These findings challenge assumptions that livestock depredation is driven by habitual livestock-killing leopards and suggest that it may be mostly opportunistic. Our results underscore the value of maintaining wild prey populations and adopting non-lethal management practices to mitigate conflict and promote human-carnivore coexistence across unprotected areas.

• Language: English
• Keywords: leopard, foraging ecology, human-wildlife conflict, livestock, unprotected areas, predation, specialization, Namibia
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: BF - Biotechnical Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: 22 str.
• Numbering: Vol. 35, iss. 8, art. no. 209
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-184493
• UDC: 599.742.711:591.5(688.1)
• ISSN on article: 1572-9710
• DOI: 10.1007/s10531-026-03413-w
• COBISS.SI-ID: 284053251
• Publication date in RUL: 08.07.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Biodiversity and conservation
• Shortened title: Biodivers. conserv.
• Publisher: Kluwer
• ISSN: 1572-9710
• COBISS.SI-ID: 513127193

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Keywords: leopard, Panthera pardus, prehranjevanje, plenjenje, konflikti, živinoreja, Namibija