bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.23.453562; this version posted July 23, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY 4.0 International license. 1 Population size, density, and ranging behaviour in a key 2 leopard population in the Western Cape, South Africa 3 Short title: Leopard population estimates and ranging behaviour 4 5 Lana Müller1*, Willem D. Briers-Louw2, Barbara Seele1, Christiaan Lochner1 and 6 Rajan Amin3 7 8 1 The Cape Leopard Trust, Tokai, Cape Town, South Africa 9 2 Zambeze Delta Conservation, Coutada 11, Marromeu, Mozambique 10 3 Conservation Programmes, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London, UK 11 12 *Corresponding author 13 Email:
[email protected] 14 15 1 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.07.23.453562; this version posted July 23, 2021. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under aCC-BY 4.0 International license. 16 Abstract 17 Globally, leopards are the most widespread large felid. However, mounting anthropogenic 18 threats are rapidly reducing viable leopard populations and their range. Despite the clear 19 pressures facing this species, there is a dearth of robust and reliable population and density 20 estimates for leopards across their range, which is particularly important in landscapes that 21 consist of protected and non-protected areas.