Trophy hunters are being urged to shoot only lions with dark noses so as to do the least damage to big cat numbers. University of Minnesota scientists say male lions are born with pink noses which become increasingly freckled and black the older the animals get. Taking out just the older males allows prides to grow, claim the researchers in a report to the journal Nature. But the study has been criticised as "poor science" by campaign groups that are opposed to big game hunting. The research combines observation of lions in Tanzania's Serengeti and Ngorongoro reserves with statistical analysis of lion population data.
Craig Packer and colleagues say their strategy would prevent prides from changing hands too frequently. They explain that when new males take over a pride, they typically kill cubs less than nine months old to ensure that females devote themselves to raising new young.

In theory, excessive trophy hunting could cause male takeovers to become so common that they prevent cubs from reaching adulthood - and accelerating population decline. By only removing males older than five or six, younger males have the opportunity to remain resident in a coalition long enough to rear their own cohort of young.


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