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Demographics of captured cheetahs and leopards
The figures used in the demographic analyses exclude all orphaned cubs as well as those animals that have been in captivity elsewhere before coming to AfriCat.

The total ratio of male to female cheetahs caught (adults and cubs) is 1.5:1. Excluding cubs, the ratio of males to females is 1.67:1. This poses the question as to whether the male cheetah population is larger than the female population - or are adult males easier to capture? With the ratio of cubs captured with their mothers being almost equal at 1.21 males to every female, is it a possibility that females are more vulnerable from the time they reach independence? Could this be explained by the fact that male siblings often stay in groups forming coalitions, giving them the advantage of strength in numbers - as opposed to the solitary female, that not only has to hunt on her own, but also has to provide food and protection for her offspring?

The social structure of leopards differs from that of cheetahs, with the only “group” observed being that of a female with her cubs. Once cubs reach independence both the males and females become solitary.

The ratio between adult males and females captured is relatively equal at 1:1.2. The number of females with cubs as a percentage of total adult leopards captured is 4.53%, which is significantly lower in comparison to the same group in cheetahs (16.89%). Although the number of cubs captured with their mothers only represents 6% of the total, the ratio of male to female cubs is 1:0.7.

Just over half the cheetahs captured are under the age of two years (51.7%), with the largest majority of adults being captured between the ages of two and four years. Does the phenomenal decrease from the number of cheetahs in this segment to the number of cheetahs that are captured between the ages of four and eight years, give any indication as to the average age of the cheetah population in Namibia?

Of the cheetah cubs captured together with an adult female, 54.66% fall into the age group of 6 months and under, 23.82% are between the ages of 6 and 12 months and 21.52% are over a year old. Can these decreasing numbers merely be explained by the fact that younger cubs are more vulnerable to being caught and are then followed by their mothers into the traps? Or does the decrease in average litter size from 3.87 (where cubs are 6 months or younger) to 2.58 (between 6 and 12 months) to 2.52 (over 1 year) provide an alternative explanation by way of a high cub mortality rate?

As with cheetahs, most of the leopards captured are between the ages of two and four years (31.8%), although this majority is marginal with 30.8% falling into the four-to-eight-year age-group. The majority of leopards captured are over two years of age (71.4%), indicating that the average age of leopards captured is significantly higher than that of cheetahs.

This figure could however be influenced by the fact that the number of leopard cubs captured with their mothers is substantially lower in comparison to cheetahs, with smaller litter sizes also having an impact. The average litter size for leopard females caught with cubs is 1.42, whereas with cheetahs the average litter size (including all cubs from birth to 18 months) is 2.99.

Although the data gathered over a thirteen-year period gives us some idea as to the demographics of the cheetahs and leopards living on farmland, it also raises numerous questions. In order to determine the demographics, population size and density of the wild cheetah and leopard populations, a national census is required.
As Namibia is a large country, studies of this nature would take a number of years to complete and involve and require the co-operation and expertise of many people and organisations. AfriCat hopes to collaborate with other large carnivore conservation organisations in Namibia to conduct a cheetah population census in the near future.

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