In South Africa "Big 5" off the cards as country closes 2016 leopard hunting season

For the first time in decades, hunters with deep
pockets cannot target the so-called "Big 5" game
animals in South Africa because the government
has imposed a ban on leopard hunts for the 2016
season.
The temporary ban comes in the wake of a global uproar
last year over the killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe by a
U.S. dentist.
The decision, however, was driven by science, not emotion.
South African Environment Minister Edna Molewa is a vocal
advocate of the hunting industry, which the government
estimates contributes 6.2 billion rand ($410 million)
annually to Africa's most advanced economy.
Leopard is one of five game most desired by hunters, along
with lion, rhino, buffalo and elephant.
The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), a
government research organisation, recommended the
temporary ban because it said leopard numbers could not
be firmly established.
"There is uncertainty about the numbers and this is not a
permanent ban, but we need more information to guide
quotas," John Donaldson , SANBI's director of research, told
Reuters.
Given their secretive and nocturnal nature, leopards are not
easy to count.
SANBI drew on studies and data from a number of sources
but Donaldson said most was from protected areas and
national parks, not private lands.
The Professional Hunters Association of South Africa
(PHASA) says this gives an incomplete picture.
"There are lots of leopards on private land," said PHASA
chief executive Tharia Unwin . She said PHASA was
providing the government with leopard data from private
lands.
South Africa has also been scorched by its worst drought
on record and Unwin said this was good for leopard
numbers as predators typically thrive when the rains are
poor, leaving much of their prey in a weakened and easy-to-
kill state.
Unwin said it cost up to $20,000 to shoot a leopard and
several of PHASA's members had to refund clients who had
put down deposits for leopard hunts. Most of the foreign
hunters who come to South Africa for such game are
American.
Hunting all of the Big 5 has been legal in South Africa since
the 1980s when hunts for white rhino were resumed.