Summary: We examined the relative importance of maternal, environmental and social factors for post‐weaning pup growth and survival in a co‐operatively breeding mammal, the meerkat Suricata suricatta . Pup daily weight gain was primarily influenced by the number of carers per pup and the daily weight gain of those carers. Rainfall and daily temperatures had additional positive and negative effects, respectively, on weight gain of pups born to subordinates. Pup overnight weight loss was primarily influenced by the amount of weight pups gained during the day, and their age. However, pups also lost considerably more weight overnight when temperatures were cold, although such effects were less in large groups. Pup growth rates were positively influenced by the number of carers per pup and carer condition, and negatively influenced by high daytime temperatures. Pup weight at independence was positively associated with weight at emergence and pup weight gain during provisioning, but negatively associated with the extent of overnight weight loss. Pup survival between emergence and independence was related to maternal status, pup sex and overnight weight loss, as well as to group size, daytime temperature and monthly rainfall. Thus, in meerkats, social factors largely, but not wholly, replace the importance of maternal factors that are commonly found to govern reproductive success in non‐co‐operatively breeding social vertebrates.

Estimation of survival rates is important for developing and evaluating conservation options for large carnivores. However, telemetry studies for large carnivores are often characterized by small sample sizes that limit meaningful conclusions. We used data from 10 published and 8 unpublished studies of leopards Panthera pardus in southern Africa to estimate survival rates and investigate causes of leopard mortality. Mean survival rates were significantly lower in non-protected (0.55 ± SE 0.08) compared to protected areas (0.88 ± 0.03). Inside protected areas juveniles had significantly lower survival (0.39 ± 0.10) compared to subadults (0.86 ± 0.07) and adults (0.88 ± 0.04). There was a greater difference in cause of death between protected and non-protected areas for females compared to males, with people being the dominant cause of mortality outside protected areas for both females and males. We suggest there is cause for concern regarding the sustainability of leopard populations in South Africa, as high female mortality may have severe demographic effects and a large proportion of suitable leopard habitat lies in non-protected areas. However, because a large proportion of deaths outside protected areas were attributed to deliberate killing by people, we suggest that management interventions may have the potential to increase leopard survival dramatically. We therefore stress the urgency to initiate actions, such as conflict mitigation programmes, to increase leopard survival in non-protected areas.