Population recovery highlights spatial organization dynamics in adult leopards

Polygynous species follow sex‐specific spacing patterns to maximize reproductive success, and changes in population density under otherwise stable environmental conditions likely provoke sex‐specific responses in spacing patterns. A classical dual reproductive strategy hypothesis posits that female home range size and overlap are set by habitat productivity and remain stable under increasing population density, whereas male home range size and overlap decrease with increased mate competition. An alternative dispersal‐regulated strategy predicts that females relinquish part of their home range to philopatric daughters and form matrilineal clusters, while adult male spacing is stable with density‐dependent subadult male emigration rates. We used 11 years of telemetry data to assess the response of adult leopard Panthera pardus spacing following the release of harvest pressure. Female annual home ranges and core areas were smaller than in males. Intersexual overlap was larger than intra‐sexual overlap in males or in females. As leopard density increased, female home range size and inter‐annual fidelity in home range use decreased, and females formed matrilineal kin clusters. In contrast, male leopards maintained large home ranges, and did not track female home range contraction. Spacing dynamics in adult leopards was consistent with dispersal‐regulated strategies, and did not support a classical dual reproductive strategy. Our study suggests possible hidden lag effects of harvest disturbance on spacing dynamics that are not necessarily apparent when only assessing demographic recovery of harvested populations. Polygynous species follow sex‐specific spacing patterns to maximize reproductive success, and changes in population density under otherwise stable environmental conditions likely provoke sex‐specific responses in spacing patterns. We used 11 years of telemetry data to assess the response of spacing patterns in adult leopards to the release of harvest pressure. Under increasing population density, females relinquished part of their home range to philopatric daughters to form matrilineal clusters, whereas males maintained stable large home ranges in order to maximize mating opportunities. The spacing dynamics in adult leopards was consistent with sex‐specific, dispersal‐regulated reproductive strategies.