Lion trophy hunting in West Africa: A response to Bouché et al.

A critical reassessment of lion trophy hunting quotas in the W-Arly-Pendjari Complex (WAP) reveals that previous estimates by Bouché et al. are unreliable at the scale of individual Hunting Zones (HZs). The study demonstrates that surveys based on lion spoor (pugmarks) yield high variability (CV > 20%) when fewer than 30 independent spoor are recorded, making it impossible to derive precise or sustainable hunting quotas for most HZs. Analysis of Bouché et al.'s data shows that only one HZ had a CV below the reliability threshold, while others exhibited extreme variability (CV: 94-141%), with some having zero or one spoor record. These findings undermine the feasibility of HZ-specific hunting quotas and suggest that alternative methods are needed to inform conservation strategies in WAP.

Bauer, H., Henschel, P., Packer, C., Sillero-Zubiri, C., Chardonnet, B., Sogbohossou, E. A., De Iongh, H. H., & Macdonald, D. W. (2017). Lion trophy hunting in West Africa: A response to Bouché et al. Plos One, 12(3), e0173691. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0173691