This study was based on a temporal analysis of trophy quality trends and hunting effort in Chewore South Safari Area (CSSA), Zimbabwe, for the period 2009–2012. We selected four of the big five species, namely; buffalo (Syncerus caffer), elephant (Loxodonta africana), the leopard (Panthera pardus) and lion (Panthera leo) for analysis. Existing database of 188 trophies from 2009 to 2011 was reviewed and recorded using the Safari Club International (SCI) scoring system. Further, 50 trophies for 2012 were measured and recorded based on the SCI scoring system. Local ecological knowledge on trophy quality and hunting effort in CSSA was obtained through semi-structured questionnaires from 22 conveniently selected professional hunters in 2012. The results indicated no significant change in trophy quality trends of buffalo, leopard and lion (p > 0.05) over the study period. In contrast, there was a significant decline in elephant trophy quality trend over the same period (p < 0.05). The results showed no significant change in hunting effort over the study period for all the four study species (p > 0.05). Furthermore, seventy-two percent (72%, n = 13) of the professional hunters confirmed that elephant population was declining in CSSA and this was likely due to poaching. Professional hunters perceived trophy hunting as a source of financial capital generation for wildlife conservation (61%, n = 11), as well as positively contributing to the local economy (56%, n = 10). It was concluded that hunting has limited negative impact on species trophy quality trends when a sustainable hunting system is consistently followed in CSSA. CSSA management need to continuously monitor trophy hunting, animal populations and employ adaptive management approach to quota setting and species conservation.

本研究基于对 2009-2012 年期间津巴布韦 Chewore South Safari 地区 (CSSA) 的奖杯质量趋势和狩猎努力的时间分析。我们选择了五个大物种中的四个，即；水牛 ( Syncerus caffer )、大象 ( Loxodontaafricana )、豹 ( Panthera pardus ) 和狮子 ( Panthera leo )) 进行分析。使用 Safari Club International (SCI) 评分系统对 2009 年至 2011 年 188 个奖杯的现有数据库进行了审查和记录。此外，根据 SCI 评分系统测量和记录了 2012 年的 50 个奖杯。2012年对22名专业猎手进行半结构化问卷调查，获得了CSSA当地关于战利品质量和狩猎努力的生态知识。结果表明，水牛、豹子和狮子的战利品质量趋势在2012年没有显着变化（p  > 0.05）。学习时段。相比之下，同期大象奖杯质量有明显下降趋势（p  < 0.05）。结果显示，在研究期间，所有四种研究物种的狩猎努力没有显着变化（p  > 0.05)。此外，百分之七十二（72%，n  = 13）的专业猎人证实，综援中的大象数量正在下降，这可能是由于偷猎。专业猎人认为战利品狩猎是野生动物保护的金融资本来源（61%，n  = 11），以及对当地经济的积极贡献（56%，n  = 10）。得出的结论是，当 CSSA 始终遵循可持续的狩猎系统时，狩猎对物种战利品质量趋势的负面影响有限。综援管理需要持续监控猎物狩猎、动物种群，并采用适应性管理方法来设定配额和物种保护。