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1
SHANIDA, SYA SYA, RUHYAT PARTASASMITA, TEGUH HUSODO, PARIKESIT PARIKESIT, PUPUT FEBRIANTO, and ERRI NOVIAR MEGANTARA. "Short Communication: The existence of Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas Cuvier, 1809) in the non-conservation forest areas of Cisokan, Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia." Biodiversitas Journal of Biological Diversity 19, no. 1 (January 1, 2018): 42–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.13057/biodiv/d190107.
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Shanidah SS, Partasasmita P, Hudoso T. Parikesit, Febriato P, Meganatara EN. 2018. Short Communication: The existence of Javan Leopard (Panthera pardus melas Cuvier, 1809) in the non-conservation forest areas of Cisokan, Cianjur, West Java, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 19: 42-46. There is no accurate data about the number of individual leopards in Java Island in both conservation and nonconservation areas. In West Java, deforestation for plantations and agriculture is widespread, although it is unknown if leopard uses these human-altered habitats. Therefore, it is important to research the existence of leopards in Non-Conservation Forest Area (NCFA) in western Java, Indonesia. The aim of this research is to investigate: (i) evidence of leopard’s existence (ii) encounter rate of leopard’s existence; and (iii) estimation of individual leopards in NCFA, Cisokan, Cianjur, and West Java. Indirect data were obtained from sign surveys for feces, scrapes, footprints, and residual prey. We also obtained direct data with camera traps. We found 13 footprints, 2 feces, 4 scrapes, and 2 direct encounters by observers. The camera trap data recorded 12 independent leopard events and 8 leopard photos/100 trap days. Estimated number of leopards in Cisokan ranged 1-3 individuals.
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Sooriyabandara, M. G. C., A. U. Bandaranayake, H. A. B. M. Hathurusinghe, S. M. Jayasundara, M. S. R. R. P. Marasinghe, G. A. T. Prasad, V. P. M. K. Abeywardana, M. A. Pinidiya, R. M. R. Nilanthi, and P. C. G. Bandaranayake. "A unique single nucleotide polymorphism in Agouti Signalling Protein (ASIP) gene changes coat colour of Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) to dark black." PLOS ONE 18, no. 7 (July 13, 2023): e0269967. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0269967.
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The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is an endangered subspecies restricted to isolated and fragmented populations in Sri Lanka. Among them, melanistic leopards have been recorded on a few occasions. Literature suggests the evolution of melanism several times in the Felidae family, with three species having distinct mutations. Nevertheless, the mutations or other variations in the remaining species, including Sri Lankan melanistic leopard, are unknown. We used reference-based assembled nuclear genomes of Sri Lankan wild type and melanistic leopards and de novo assembled mitogenomes of the same to investigate the genetic basis, adaptive significance, and evolutionary history of the Sri Lankan melanistic leopard. Interestingly, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism in exon-4 Sri Lankan melanistic leopard, which may completely ablate Agouti Signalling Protein (ASIP) function. The wild type leopards in Sri Lanka did not carry this mutation, suggesting the cause for the occurrence of melanistic leopords in the population. Comparative analysis of existing genomic data in the literature suggests it as a P. p. kotiya specific mutation and a novel mutation in the ASIP-gene of the Felidae family, contributing to naturally occurring colour polymorphism. Our data suggested the coalescence time of Sri Lankan leopards at ~0.5 million years, sisters to the Panthera pardus lineage. The genetic diversity was low in Sri Lankan leopards. Further, the P. p. kotiya melanistic leopard is a different morphotype of the P. p. kotiya wildtype leopard resulting from the mutation in the ASIP-gene. The ability of black leopards to camouflage, along with the likelihood of recurrence and transfer to future generations, suggests that this rare mutation could be environment-adaptable.
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Rashid, Wajid, Jianbin Shi, Inam ur Rahim, Muhammad Qasim, Muhammad Naveed Baloch, Eve Bohnett, Fangyuan Yang, Imran Khan, and Bilal Ahmad. "Modelling Potential Distribution of Snow Leopards in Pamir, Northern Pakistan: Implications for Human–Snow Leopard Conflicts." Sustainability 13, no. 23 (November 29, 2021): 13229. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su132313229.
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The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is a cryptic and rare big cat inhabiting Asia’s remote and harsh elevated areas. Its population has decreased across the globe for various reasons, including human–snow leopard conflicts (HSCs). Understanding the snow leopard’s distribution range and habitat interactions with human/livestock is essential for understanding the ecological context in which HSCs occur and thus gives insights into how to mitigate HSCs. In this study, a MaxEnt model predicted the snow leopard’s potential distribution and analyzed the land use/cover to determine the habitat interactions of snow leopards with human/livestock in Karakoram–Pamir, northern Pakistan. The results indicated an excellent model performance for predicting the species’ potential distribution. The variables with higher contributions to the model were the mean diurnal temperature range (51.7%), annual temperature range (18.5%), aspect (14.2%), and land cover (6.9%). The model predicted approximately 10% of the study area as a highly suitable habitat for snow leopards. Appropriate areas included those at an altitude ranging from 2721 to 4825 m, with a mean elevation of 3796.9 ± 432 m, overlapping between suitable snow leopard habitats and human presence. The human encroachment (human settlements and agriculture) in suitable snow leopard habitat increased by 115% between 2008 and 2018. Increasing encroachment and a clear overlap between snow leopard suitable habitat and human activities, signs of growing competition between wildlife and human/livestock for limited rangeland resources, may have contributed to increasing HSCs. A sound land use plan is needed to minimize overlaps between suitable snow leopard habitat and human presence to mitigate HSCs in the long run.
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Buzzard, Paul J., Xueyou Li, and William V. Bleisch. "The status of snow leopards Panthera uncia, and high altitude use by common leopards P. pardus, in north-west Yunnan, China." Oryx 51, no. 4 (July 27, 2017): 587–89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605317000825.
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AbstractThe Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia is a flagship species of mountainous Asia and a conservation priority. China is the most important country for the species’ conservation because it has the most potential habitat and the largest population of snow leopards. North-west Yunnan province in south-west China is at the edge of the snow leopard's range, and a biodiversity hotspot, where three major Asian rivers, the Yangtze, Mekong and Salween, flow off the Tibetan plateau and cut deep valleys through the Hengduan Mountains. The snow leopard's status in north-west Yunnan is uncertain. We conducted interviews and camera-trapping surveys to assess the species’ status at multiple sites: two east of the Yangtze River and two between the Yangtze and Mekong Rivers. Thirty-eight herders/nature reserve officials interviewed claimed that snow leopards were present, but in 6,300 camera-trap days we did not obtain any photographs of snow leopards, so if the species is present, it is rare. However, we obtained many photographs of potential prey, such as blue sheep Pseudois nayaur, as well as photographs of common leopards Panthera pardus, at high elevations (3,000–4,500 m). More study is necessary in Yunnan and other areas of south-west China to investigate the status and resource overlap of snow leopards and common leopards, especially as climate change is resulting in increases in common leopard habitat and decreases in snow leopard habitat.
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Zeng, Jinyuan, Jie Hu, Yurou Shi, Yueqi Li, Zhihong Guo, Shuanggui Wang, and Sen Song. "Effects of Climate Change on the Habitat of the Leopard (Panthera pardus) in the Liupanshan National Nature Reserve of China." Animals 12, no. 14 (July 21, 2022): 1866. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12141866.
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Climate change affects animal populations by affecting their habitats. The leopard population has significantly decreased due to climate change and human disturbance. We studied the impact of climate change on leopard habitats using infrared camera technology in the Liupanshan National Nature Reserve of Jingyuan County, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, China, from July 2017 to October 2019. We captured 25 leopard distribution points over 47,460 camera working days. We used the MAXENT model to predict and analyze the habitat. We studied the leopard’s suitable habitat area and distribution area under different geographical scales in the reserve. Changes in habitat area of leopards under the rcp2.6, rcp4.5, and rcp8.5 climate models in Guyuan in 2050 were also studied. We conclude that the current main factors affecting suitable leopard habitat area were vegetation cover and human disturbance. The most critical factor affecting future suitable habitat area is rainfall. Under the three climate models, the habitat area of the leopard decreased gradually because of an increase in carbon dioxide concentration. Through the prediction of the leopard’s distribution area in the Liupanshan Nature Reserve, we evaluated the scientific nature of the reserve, which is helpful for the restoration and protection of the wild leopard population.
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Wattegedera, Milinda, Dushyantha Silva, Chandana Sooriyabandara, Prasantha Wimaladasa, Raveendra Siriwardena, Mevan Piyasena, Ranjan M. S. L. R. P. Marasinghe, et al. "A Multi-Point Identification Approach for the Recognition of Individual Leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya)." Animals 12, no. 5 (March 6, 2022): 660. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani12050660.
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Visual leopard identifications performed with camera traps using the capture–recapture method only consider areas of the skin that are visible to the equipment. The method presented here considered the spot or rosette formations of either the two flanks or the face, and the captured images were then compared and matched with available photographs. Leopards were classified as new individuals if no matches were found in the existing set of photos. It was previously assumed that an individual leopard’s spot or rosette pattern would not change. We established that the spot and rosette patterns change over time and that these changes are the result of injuries in certain cases. When compared to the original patterns, the number of spots may be lost or reduced, and some spots or patterns may change in terms of their prominence, shape, and size. We called these changes “obliterate changes” and “rejig changes”, respectively. The implementation of an earlier method resulted in a duplication of leopard counts, achieving an error rate of more than 15% in the population at Yala National Park. The same leopard could be misidentified and counted multiple times, causing overestimated populations. To address this issue, we created a new two-step methodology for identifying Sri Lankan leopards. The multi-point identification method requires the evaluation of at least 9–10 spot areas before a leopard can be identified. Moreover, the minimum leopard population at the YNP 1 comprises at least 77 leopards and has a density of 0.5461 leopards per km2.
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Karki, Ajay, and Saroj Panthi. "Factors affecting livestock depredation by snow leopards (Panthera uncia) in the Himalayan region of Nepal." PeerJ 9 (June 16, 2021): e11575. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.11575.
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The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) found in central Asia is classified as vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Every year, large number of livestock are killed by snow leopards in Nepal, leading to economic loss to local communities and making human-snow leopard conflict a major threat to snow leopard conservation. We conducted formal and informal stakeholder’s interviews to gather information related to livestock depredation with the aim to map the attack sites by the snow leopard. These sites were further validated by district forest office staffs to assess sources of bias. Attack sites older than 3 years were removed from the survey. We found 109 attack sites and visited all the sites for geo location purpose (GPS points of all unique sites were taken). We maintained at least a 100 m distance between attack locations to ensure that each attack location was unique, which resulted in 86 unique locations. A total of 235 km2 was used to define livestock depredation risk zone during this study. Using Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) modeling, we found that distance to livestock sheds, distance to paths, aspect, and distance to roads were major contributing factors to the snow leopard’s attacks. We identified 13.64 km2 as risk zone for livestock depredation from snow leopards in the study area. Furthermore, snow leopards preferred to attack livestock near livestock shelters, far from human paths and at moderate distance from motor roads. These identified attack zones should be managed both for snow leopard conservation and livestock protection in order to balance human livelihoods while protecting snow leopards and their habitats.
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Can, Özgün Emre, Bhupendra Prasad Yadav, Paul J. Johnson, Joanna Ross, Neil D’Cruze, and David W. Macdonald. "Factors affecting the occurrence and activity of clouded leopards, common leopards and leopard cats in the Himalayas." Biodiversity and Conservation 29, no. 3 (December 7, 2019): 839–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10531-019-01912-7.
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AbstractClouded leopards are one of the least known of larger felids and were believed to be extinct in Nepal until 1987. They are particularly interesting because their Asian range spans a diversity of habitats in the fastest disappearing forests in the world and encompasses a guild which differs in composition from place to place. As a part of a wider camera-trapping study of this guild, involving 2948 camera traps at 45 sites in nine countries, and paralleling a similar study of the Sunda clouded leopard including a further 1544 camera traps spanning 22 sites distributed across two countries, we deployed 84 pairs of camera traps for 107 days in 2014 and 2015 at Langtang National Park, Nepal between 1823 and 3824 m a.s.l. within a grid encompassing c. 120 km2. We documented the presence of clouded leopards for the first time at an altitude as high as 3498 m a.s.l. Naïve occupancy for clouded leopard was 8.6% (correcting for detection, 10.1%). Clouded leopards were least active in the middle of the day, and largely crepuscular and nocturnal, as were the common leopards and leopard cats. The peak of clouded leopard activity overlapped with that of musk deer. Prey species for both clouded leopard and common leopard were available across the elevation range studied although the availability of some prey species declined as elevation increased, whereas Himalayan serow, Himalayan goral, and musk deer showed no association with elevation. Before this study, there was no hard evidence that clouded leopards occurred above 2300 m a.s.l., having documented them at almost 4000 m a.s.l. in the Himalayas, we emphasise the importance of this extreme portion of the species’ range where climate is likely to change more rapidly and with greater consequences, than the global average. The discovery of clouded leopards in Langtang National Park considerably extends their known range, and raises the possibility that they occur from the Terai in southern Nepal up to the Nepal-Tibet (China) border in the north. Insofar as this study has extended the known extreme boundary of the clouded leopard’s geographic range to encompass Langtang National Park in the Nepali Himalayas.
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Han, Siyu, Yu Guan, Hailong Dou, Haitao Yang, Meng Yao, Jianping Ge, and Limin Feng. "Comparison of the fecal microbiota of two free-ranging Chinese subspecies of the leopard (Panthera pardus) using high-throughput sequencing." PeerJ 7 (March 28, 2019): e6684. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.6684.
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The analysis of gut microbiota using fecal samples provides a non-invasive approach to understand the complex interactions between host species and their intestinal bacterial community. However, information on gut microbiota for wild endangered carnivores is scarce. The goal of this study was to describe the gut microbiota of two leopard subspecies, the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) and North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis). Fecal samples from the Amur leopard (n = 8) and North Chinese leopard (n = 13) were collected in Northeast Tiger and Leopard National Park and Shanxi Tieqiaoshan Provincial Nature Reserve in China, respectively. The gut microbiota of leopards was analyzed via high-throughput sequencing of the V3–V4 region of bacterial 16S rRNA gene using the Life Ion S5™ XL platform. A total of 1,413,825 clean reads representing 4,203 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were detected. For Amur leopard samples, Firmicutes (78.4%) was the dominant phylum, followed by Proteobacteria (9.6%) and Actinobacteria (7.6%). And for the North Chinese leopard, Firmicutes (68.6%), Actinobacteria (11.6%) and Fusobacteria (6.4%) were the most predominant phyla. Clostridiales was the most diverse bacterial order with 37.9% for Amur leopard and 45.7% for North Chinese leopard. Based on the beta-diversity analysis, no significant difference was found in the bacterial community composition between the Amur leopard and North Chinese leopard samples. The current study provides the initial data about the composition and structure of the gut microbiota for wild Amur leopards and North Chinese leopards, and has laid the foundation for further investigations of the health, dietary preferences and physiological regulation of leopards.
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Hyun, Jee Yun, Jang Hyuk Cho, Puneet Pandey, Mi-Sook Min, Kyung Seok Kim, and Hang Lee. "Phylogenetic study of extirpated Korean leopard using mitochondrial DNA from an old skin specimen in South Korea." PeerJ 8 (May 12, 2020): e8900. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8900.
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The leopard, Panthera pardus, is a threatened species in its range throughout the world. Although, historically, the Korean Peninsula had a high population density of leopards, they were extirpated from South Korea by 1970, leaving almost no genetic specimens. Traditionally, Korean leopards are classified as Panthera pardus orientalis; however, their classification is based only on locality and morphology. Therefore, there is a need for genetic studies to identify the phylogenetic status of Korean leopards at the subspecies level. Presently, no extant wild specimen is available from South Korea; therefore, we extracted genetic material from the old skin of a leopard captured in Jirisan, South Korea in the 1930s and conducted the first phylogenetic study of the South Korean leopard. A total of 726 bp of mitochondrial DNA, including segments of the NADH5 and control region, were amplified by PCR. A phylogenetic analysis of the fragment, along with sequences of nine leopard subspecies from GenBank revealed that the extinct South Korean leopard belonged to the Asian leopard group and in the same clade as the Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). Thus, the leopard that inhabited South Korea in the past was of the same subspecies as the Amur leopard population currently inhabiting the transboundary region of Russia, China, and North Korea. These results emphasize the importance of conserving the endangered wild Amur leopard population (estimated to be about 60–80 individuals) in Russia and China, for future restoration of leopards in the Korean Peninsula.
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Vipin, Tirupathi Rao Golla, Vinita Sharma, Bheemavarapu Kesav Kumar, and Ajay Gaur. "Kleptoparasitic interaction between Snow Leopard Panthera uncia and Red Fox Vulpes vulpes suggested by circumstantial evidence in Pin Valley National Park, India." Journal of Threatened Taxa 14, no. 10 (October 26, 2022): 21928–35. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.7793.14.10.21928-21935.
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In the present study, we describe an interspecific kleptoparasitic interaction between two sympatric mammalian carnivores in the high altitudinal Trans-Himalaya region of Himachal Pradesh, India. The study was based on the inferences drawn from the circumstantial evidence (direct and indirect) noticed in the study area in Pin Valley National Park. The inferences from the analysis of the evidence suggested the interaction between a Snow Leopard Panthera uncia, a Red Fox Vulpes vulpes, and a donkey. The arrangement of evidence in a sequential manner suggested that a donkey was killed by a Snow Leopard and a Red Fox stole the food from the carrion of the Snow Leopard’s prey. The Red Fox was killed by the Snow Leopard, which was caught while stealing. The present study represents an example of kleptoparasitic interaction between the Snow Leopard and the Red Fox. This study also proves that such interactions may cost the life of a kleptoparasite and supports the retaliation behaviour of Snow Leopards.
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Müller, Lana, Willem Daniel Briers-Louw, Barbara Catharine Seele, Christiaan Stefanus Lochner, and Rajan Amin. "Population size, density, and ranging behaviour in a key leopard population in the Western Cape, South Africa." PLOS ONE 17, no. 5 (May 27, 2022): e0254507. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254507.
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Globally, leopards are the most widespread large felid. However, mounting anthropogenic threats are rapidly reducing viable leopard populations and their range. Despite the clear pressures facing this species, there is a dearth of robust and reliable population and density estimates for leopards across their range, which is particularly important in landscapes that consist of protected and non-protected areas. We conducted a camera trapping survey between 2017 and 2018 in the Western Cape, South Africa to estimate the occupancy, density, and population size of a leopard population. Leopards were recorded at 95% of camera trapping sites, which resulted in a high occupancy that showed no significant variation between seasons, habitat types, or along an altitudinal gradient. Our results indicated a low leopard density in the study area, with an estimated 1.53 leopards/100 km2 in summer and 1.62 leopards/100 km2 in winter. Mean leopard population size was therefore estimated at 107 and 113 individuals in the winter and summer respectively. Leopard activity centres for female ranges were centred in the core study area and could be predicted with good certainty, while males appeared to move out of the study area during winter which resulted in a higher uncertainty in locations of activity centres. Interestingly, livestock depredation events in the surrounding farmlands were significantly higher in winter, which coincides with male leopards moving outside the core protected area into the surrounding farmlands. To reduce livestock losses and retaliatory leopard killings, we suggest that human-carnivore conflict mitigation measures be intensely monitored during the winter months in the study area. We also suggest that future leopard conservation efforts should focus on privately-owned land as these non-protected areas contain the majority of the remaining suitable leopard habitat and may provide important dispersal corridors and buffer zones on which the long-term sustainability of leopard populations depends.
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Fischer, K. "Ein Leoparden-Fund, Panthera pardus (L., 1758), aus dem jungpleistozänen Rixdorfer Horizont von Berlin und die Verbreitung des Leoparden im Pleistozän Europas." Fossil Record 3, no. 1 (January 1, 2000): 221–27. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/fr-3-221-2000.
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Erstmals wurde das Vorkommen des Leoparden (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) im Rixdorfer Horizont (Früh-Weichsel, Jungpleistozän) von Berlin-Brandenburg durch ein Humerus-Fragment von Niederlehme bei Königs Wusterhausen nachgewiesen. Es ist das bisher nördlichste Vorkommen des Leoparden in Mitteleuropa. <br><br> The finding of leopard, <i>Panthera pardus</i> (L., 1758), from the late Pleistocene horizon of Rixdorf in Berlin and the occurrence of leopards in the Pleistocene of Europe are described and discussed. <br><br> For the first time the occurrence of the leopard (<i>Panthera pardus</i>) in the horizon of Rixdorf (Early Weichsel, Late Pleistocene) of Berlin-Brandenburg is proven. The find is represented by a fragment of a humerus from Niederlehme near Königs Wusterhausen. This is the most northern occurrence of the leopard in Middle Europe until now. <br><br> doi:<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/mmng.20000030111" target="_blank">10.1002/mmng.20000030111</a>
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Thapa, Tej B. "Human Caused Mortality in the Leopard (Panthera pardus) Population of Nepal." Journal of Institute of Science and Technology 19, no. 1 (November 8, 2015): 155–50. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jist.v19i1.13842.
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Estimating cause specific leopard (Panthera pardus) mortality is critical to their conservation. This paper examined leopard death reports during 2006-2013 in order to estimate cause-specific mortality, identify conservation issues related to leopard mortality and provide recommendations for reducing human-caused mortality in Nepal. Data revealed that the leopards in the human dominated landscape are susceptible to variation in survival caused by human induced mortality (65%), with retaliation (31%) and lethal control (20%) of declared problem leopard as a significant part. Elevated human induced mortality can cause large scale stochasticity influencing population dynamics of leopard. The conservation of leopards needs to acknowledge strategies to limit retaliatory killings and lethal control in the plans, while addressing its conflicts with human. Efforts to reduce human-caused mortality should focus on reducing poaching and deaths from human-leopards conflicts. Journal of Institute of Science and Technology, 2014, 19(1): 155-159
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Williams, Samual T., Kathryn S. Williams, Bradley P. Lewis, and Russell A. Hill. "Population dynamics and threats to an apex predator outside protected areas: implications for carnivore management." Royal Society Open Science 4, no. 4 (April 2017): 161090. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsos.161090.
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Data on the population dynamics and threats to large carnivores are vital to conservation efforts, but these are hampered by a paucity of studies. For some species, such as the leopard ( Panthera pardus ), there is such uncertainty in population trends that leopard trophy hunting has been banned in South Africa since 2016 while further data on leopard abundance are collected. We present one of the first assessments of leopard population dynamics, and identify the key threats to a population of leopards outside of protected areas in South Africa. We conducted a long-term trap survey between 2012 and 2016 in the Soutpansberg Mountains, and drew on a previous estimate of leopard population density for the region from 2008. In 24 sampling periods, we estimated the population density and assessed population structure. We fitted eight leopards with GPS collars to assess threats to the population. Leopard population density declined by 66%, from 10.73 to 3.65 leopards per 100 km 2 in 2008 and 2016, respectively. Collared leopards had a high mortality rate, which appeared to be due to illegal human activity. While improving the management of trophy hunting is important, we suggest that mitigating human–wildlife conflict could have a bigger impact on carnivore conservation.
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Hinde, Kyle, Anita Wilkinson, Silindokuhle Tokota, Rajan Amin, M. Justin O’Riain, and Kathryn S. Williams. "Leopard density and the ecological and anthropogenic factors influencing density in a mixed-use landscape in the Western Cape, South Africa." PLOS ONE 18, no. 10 (October 27, 2023): e0293445. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0293445.
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Large carnivores face numerous threats, including habitat loss and fragmentation, direct killing, and prey depletion, leading to significant global range and population declines. Despite such threats, leopards (Panthera pardus) persist outside protected areas throughout most of their range, occupying diverse habitat types and land uses, including peri-urban and rural areas. Understanding of leopard population dynamics in mixed-use landscapes is limited, especially in South Africa, where the majority of leopard research has focused on protected areas. We use spatially explicit capture-recapture models to estimate leopard density across a mixed-use landscape of protected areas, farmland, and urban areas in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa. Data from 86 paired camera stations provided 221 independent captures of 25 leopards at 50 camera trap stations with a population density estimate of 0.64 leopards per 100 km2 (95% CI: 0.55–0.73). Elevation, terrain ruggedness, and vegetation productivity were important drivers of leopard density in the landscape, being highest on elevated remnants of natural land outside of protected areas. These results are similar to previous research findings in other parts of the Western Cape, where high-lying natural vegetation was shown to serve as both a refuge and a corridor for leopard movement in otherwise transformed landscapes. Given the low leopard density and the prevalence of transformed land intermixed with patches of more suitable leopard habitat, prioritising and preserving connectivity for leopards is vital in this shared landscape. Ecological corridors should be developed in partnership with private landowners through an inclusive and multifaceted conservation strategy which also incorporates monitoring of and rapid mitigation of emerging threats to leopards.
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McManus, Jeannine, Matthew P. E. Schurch, Stefan Goets, Lauriane Faraut, Vanessa Couldridge, and Bool Smuts. "Delineating Functional Corridors Linking Leopard Habitat in the Eastern and Western Cape, South Africa." Conservation 2, no. 1 (February 23, 2022): 99–122. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/conservation2010009.
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Natural landscapes are increasingly fragmented due to human activity. This contributes to isolation and inadequate gene flow among wildlife populations. These threats intensify where populations are already low, and gene flow is compromised. Ensuring habitat connectivity despite transformed landscapes can mitigate these risks. Leopards are associated with high levels of biodiversity and are the last widely occurring, free-roaming apex predator in South Africa. Although highly adaptable, leopard survival is reduced by human-caused mortality and habitat destruction. We aimed to assess the connectivity of leopard habitat in the Eastern Cape and Western Cape, South Africa. We predicted leopard habitat by correlating GPS data from 31 leopards to environmental features that included human-associated and natural landscapes. We used circuit theory to delineate corridors linking known leopard populations. Finally, using camera traps, we tested whether five predicted corridors were used by leopards. Leopard habitat was strongly correlated to moderate slopes and areas of natural land-cover and plantations, highlighting mountainous areas as important habitat with high connectivity probability. While most habitat patches showed some level of connectivity, leopards avoided highly transformed landscapes, potentially isolating some populations. Where corridors are not functional, active conservation measures for species connectivity becomes important.
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Koju, Narayan Prasad, Kamal Raj Gosai, Bijay Bashyal, Reena Byanju, Arati Shrestha, Paul Buzzard, Willian Bill Beisch, and Laxman Khanal. "Seasonal Prey Abundance and Food Plasticity of the Vulnerable Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) in the Lapchi Valley, Nepal Himalayas." Animals 13, no. 20 (October 12, 2023): 3182. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani13203182.
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Conservation strategies for apex predators, like the snow leopard (Panthera uncia), depend on a robust understanding of their dietary preferences, prey abundance, and adaptability to changing ecological conditions. To address these critical conservation concerns, this study presents a comprehensive evidence on prey availability and preferences for snow leopards in the Lapchi Valley in the Nepal Himalayas from November 2021 to March 2023. Field data were collected through the installation of twenty-six camera traps at 16 strategically chosen locations, resulting in the recording of 1228 events of 19 mammalian species, including domesticated livestock. Simultaneously, the collection of twenty snow leopard scat samples over 3800 m above sea level allowed for a detailed dietary analysis. Photo capture rate index and biomass composition analysis were carried out and seasonal prey availability and consumption were statistically analyzed. A total of 16 potential prey species for the snow leopard were documented during the study period. Himalayan musk deer (Moschus leucogaster) was the most abundant prey species, but infrequent in the diet suggesting that are not the best bet prey for the snow leopards. Snow leopards were found to exhibit a diverse diet, consuming eleven prey species, with blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) being their most consumed wild prey and horses as their preferred livestock. The Pianka’s index of dietary niche overlap between the summer and winter seasons were 0.576, suggesting a pronounced seasonal variation in food preference corroborating with the prey availability. The scarcity of larger preys in winter is compensated by small and meso-mammals in the diet, highlighting the snow leopard’s capacity for dietary plasticity in response to the variation in resource availability. This research suggests for the utilization of genetic tools to further explore snow leopard diet composition. Additionally, understanding transboundary movements and conducting population assessments will be imperative for the formulation of effective conservation strategies.
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Lamichhane, Saurav, Divya Bhattarai, Tek Maraseni, Kyle J. Shaney, Jhamak Bahadur Karki, Binaya Adhikari, Pratik Pandeya, Bikram Shrestha, and Hari Adhikari. "Landscape predictors influencing livestock depredation by leopards in and around Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal." PeerJ 11 (December 13, 2023): e16516. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16516.
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Livestock depredation by leopards is a pervasive issue across many Asian and African range countries, particularly in and around protected areas. Developing effective conflict mitigation strategies requires understanding the landscape features influencing livestock depredation. In this study, we investigated predictors associated with livestock depredation by leopards using 274 cases of leopard attacks on livestock that occurred between 2017 and 2020 in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal. We also examined how livestock predation by leopards varied depending on the species, season, and time. A generalized linear model with binary logistic regression was used to test the statistical significance of variables associated with the presence and absence of conflict sites. The results revealed that the area of forest, agricultural land, length of rivers, slope, proximity to settlements and protected areas, and elevation significantly predicted the probability of leopard attacks on livestock. We also observed a significant increase in the incidence of leopard predation on livestock with decreasing slopes and rising elevations. The areas near human settlements and the protected areas faced a higher risk of leopard predation. The incidence of leopard predation on livestock varied significantly depending on the livestock species, season, and time. Goats were the most highly predated livestock, followed by sheep, cow/ox, and buffalo. A total of 289.11 km2 (or around 5% of the research area) was deemed to be at high risk for leopard predation on livestock. This study’s comprehensive understanding of human-leopard conflicts provides valuable insights for planning and implementing measures to reduce damage caused by leopard populations throughout their range.
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Asad, Muhammad, Muhammad Waseem, James G. Ross, and Adrian M. Paterson. "The Un-Common Leopard: presence, distribution and abundance in Gallies and Murree Forest Division, Northern Pakistan." Nature Conservation 37 (November 20, 2019): 53–80. http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.37.32748.
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The leopard Panthera pardus is thought to be sparsely distributed across Pakistan and there is limited understanding of the demographic structure and distribution of the species in this country. We conducted a study, from April to July 2017, and, from March to June 2018, in the northern Pakistan region to establish the presence and distribution of leopards, mindful at the outset of their abundance in that region. The presence of leopards was confirmed in the Swat, Dir and Margalla Hills region. The leopard population in Gallies and Murree Forest Division was preliminarily assessed via camera-trapping. As a result, a total of 63 potential areas of leopard population were identified initially. The leopard was photo captured at 27 locations (hotspots) with 34 capture events yielding 195 images over the course of 3,022 active trap-nights. Camera trap images were examined to identify leopard individuals using their rosette patterns on both the left and right flanks and the dorsal side of the tail. Ultimately, 15 leopard individuals were identified during the first survey period of the study and four individuals were recaptured in the second survey period, together with three new individuals. The detection probability of individual leopards from MARK varied from 0.10 and 0.20 with a population size (preliminarily estimated to be 16–25 (SE = 3.18) in 2107 and 7–13 (SE = 1.87) in 2018. This gave a density of 4.5 to 9.5 leopards/100 km2, respectively. A home range of various individual leopards was found to extend from the Gallies Reserved Forest to the extended corridors of Guzara Forest. In general, this study suggests that the Guzara Forest is crucially important for the conservation of leopards in the region as this area allows them extended movement while searching for food and mates.
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Buzzard, Paul J., Roller MaMing, Mardan Turghan, Jiawu Xiong, and Tong Zhang. "Presence of the snow leopard Panthera uncia confirmed at four sites in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains." Oryx 51, no. 4 (July 13, 2017): 594–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605317000850.
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AbstractThe Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia is a flagship species of mountainous central Asia, and a conservation concern. China has the largest extent of potential snow leopard habitat and is thus crucial for snow leopard conservation. There are many challenges to snow leopard conservation in China, however, and there is still little information on the species for many geographical locations, including the Tianshan Mountains of Xinjiang province, which are important because they potentially connect snow leopard populations in Krygyzstan and Kazakhstan with those in Mongolia. We used camera traps in four areas across eastern, central and western Tianshan, with a total survey effort of 3,216 camera-trapping days. We confirmed the presence of snow leopards and an abundance of potential snow leopard prey, including the Siberian ibex Capra sibirica, in all areas. We found 2–3 individual adult snow leopards at each site, with relatively limited survey effort, and more study is needed to fully investigate the importance of the Tianshan Mountains for the species. Establishing more protected areas is essential for snow leopard conservation, and we have used data from this study to apply for protected area status for several areas.
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Maharjan, Alina, and Bishnu Prasad Bhattarai. "Human-Leopard Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758) Conflict in Godawari Municipality, Lalitpur, Nepal." Journal of Institute of Science and Technology 27, no. 2 (September 23, 2022): 1–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/jist.v27i2.51171.
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Leopard (Panthera pardus) is a globally vulnerable large cat, widely distributed in Nepal. It occurs in different protected and outside protected areas in the human-dominated landscape. We used semi-structured questionnaires to know the Human-Leopard Conflict (HLC) and people’s perception towards Leopard conservation in the conflict-prone areas of Godawari, Lalitpur. The signs survey was conducted to know the presence of Leopards in the study area. Households were sampled using the snowball sampling technique. The presence of signs such as scats, pugmarks, and scents marks in the forest and nearby settlement areas indicated that there was a frequent occurrence of leopards in the study area. The Leopard frequently attacked livestock and pets and sometimes humans. Local people believed that the major reasons behind HLC were insufficient prey species and human disturbances in the habitat of Leopards. The majority of the respondents were against the conservation of Leopards because of the frequent depredation of domestic animals in the study area. The research findings will be useful in making a conservation action plan for Leopards and conflict mitigation strategies in such human-dominated semi-urban and urban landscapes.
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Sharma, Rishi Kumar, Koustubh Sharma, David Borchers, Yash Veer Bhatnagar, Kulbhushansingh R. Suryawanshi, and Charudutt Mishra. "Spatial variation in population-density of snow leopards in a multiple use landscape in Spiti Valley, Trans-Himalaya." PLOS ONE 16, no. 5 (May 19, 2021): e0250900. http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0250900.
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The endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia occurs in human use landscapes in the mountains of South and Central Asia. Conservationists generally agree that snow leopards must be conserved through a land-sharing approach, rather than land-sparing in the form of strictly protected areas. Effective conservation through land-sharing requires a good understanding of how snow leopards respond to human use of the landscape. Snow leopard density is expected to show spatial variation within a landscape because of variation in the intensity of human use and the quality of habitat. However, snow leopards have been difficult to enumerate and monitor. Variation in the density of snow leopards remains undocumented, and the impact of human use on their populations is poorly understood. We examined spatial variation in snow leopard density in Spiti Valley, an important snow leopard landscape in India, via spatially explicit capture-recapture analysis of camera trap data. We camera trapped an area encompassing a minimum convex polygon of 953 km2. Our best model estimated an overall density of 0.5 (95% CI: 0.31–0.82) mature snow leopards per 100 km2. Using AIC, our best model showed the density of snow leopards to depend on estimated wild prey density, movement about activity centres to depend on altitude, and the expected number of encounters at the activity centre to depend on topography. Models that also used livestock biomass as a density covariate ranked second, but the effect of livestock was weak. Our results highlight the importance of maintaining high density pockets of wild prey populations in multiple-use landscapes to enhance snow leopard conservation.
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Rani, Megha, Sujeet Kumar Singh, Maximilian L. Allen, Puneet Pandey, and Randeep Singh. "Measuring people’s attitude towards conservation of Leopard Panthera pardus (Mammalia: Carnivora) in the foothills of Himalayan region." Journal of Threatened Taxa 16, no. 6 (June 26, 2024): 25283–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.8567.16.6.25283-25298.
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Measuring people’s attitudes about the large carnivores involved in human-wildlife interface, also termed conflict or interaction, is an essential aspect of developing effective conservation and management planning for human-carnivore coexistence. Human-leopard (Panthera pardus) interaction is widespread and one of the most pressing conservation issues within the global range of leopards. However, there is a scarcity of information on local people’s opinions and attitudes concerning carnivores in human-dominated areas. Our current study focused on understanding the human dimensions of human-leopard interactions in the multi-purpose landscape situated in the foothills of Shiwalik Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India. Between January and May 2022, we conducted a semi-structured questionnaire survey (N = 266) to understand how socio-demographic factors impact the attitudes of local people toward leopard conservation in the Rajaji Tiger Reserve, Uttarakhand, India. Overall, 61.7% of respondents had positive attitudes toward leopards and supported leopard conservation, primarily attributed to the aesthetic value of leopards. Using ordinal logistic regression models, we found that male respondents and individuals with higher education had a positive attitude towards leopard conservation. The majority of respondents who conveyed positive attitudes towards leopard conservation belonged to the more educated socio-demographic groups. As a follow-up, specific studies need to be conducted on local people’s attitude about compensation or compassionate payments, often disbursed as compassionate payments, the response of the forest department to prevailing conflict, and current awareness programs. These can be crucial factors towards shaping the attitude of local respondents and promote human-leopard coexistence.
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Giordano, Anthony J., Leah M. Winstead, Muhammad Ali Imron, Rustam, Jephte Sompud, Jayaraj Vijaya Kumaran, and Kurtis Jai-Chyi Pei. "Dark Clouds Ahead? Anecdotal evidence for an illegal live trade in Sunda Neofelis diardi and Indochinese N. nebulosa Clouded Leopards (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae)." Journal of Threatened Taxa 15, no. 6 (June 26, 2023): 23441–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.8425.15.6.23441-23445.
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The Sunda Clouded Leopard (Neofelis diardi) and Indochinese Clouded Leopard (N. nebulosa) are medium-sized felids native to tropical south and southeast Asia. In 2019, we began investigating the trade in Clouded Leopards and their parts in Asia. This was partly inspired by social media posts of an apparent pet Sunda Clouded Leopard. Investigations continued with respect to how and where Clouded Leopards are sold on social media and other digital platforms. We discovered several social media posts and local language news articles, that we believe are indicative of an illegal live trade in Sunda Clouded Leopards in Indonesia. While fewer instances of trade in Indochinese Clouded Leopards have been discovered thus far, patterns of trade in other large felids and small carnivores in the region, particularly as influenced by social media, may have implications for future live trade in Indochinese Clouded Leopards and increased trade in Sunda Clouded Leopards. We recommend that additional international attention and investment of resources, including local, national, and international law enforcement activities, focus their efforts on the growing trade in Clouded Leopards.
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Babrgir, Sima, Mohammad S. Farhadinia, and Ehsan M. Moqanaki. "Socio-economic consequences of cattle predation by the Endangered Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor in a Caucasian conflict hotspot, northern Iran." Oryx 51, no. 1 (December 9, 2015): 124–30. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605315000903.
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AbstractIn the Caucasus the Endangered Persian leopard Panthera pardus saxicolor has been persecuted to the verge of extinction, primarily as a result of conflict with people over livestock predation. The socio-economic factors that influence this interaction have received little attention and the attitudes of local people towards leopards remain unknown. Here we assess the extent of cattle predation by leopards and how this influences people's attitudes towards leopards among village residents around the Dorfak No-Hunting Area, a priority reserve in the Iranian Caucasus. In a survey of 66 households, 48% of interviewees reported losing cattle to leopards during 2009–2011. A mean of c. 0.7 head of cattle per interviewed household was reportedly killed by leopards over the 3-year survey period. Cattle predation peaked during warm seasons, when most family members were busy with rice farming-related activities, thus leaving their cattle grazing unguarded in the forest. Regardless of the intensity of cattle predation or socio-economic status, 80% of respondents perceived leopards as a pest, with 45% of interviewees expressing support for either licensed hunting or culling of the Dorfak leopards. We recommend that the Iranian government considers the financial consequences of livestock loss for poor rural communities across the leopard's range. In addition, a combination of different livestock husbandry practices, with the direct involvement of local residents, is essential to ensure the long-term survival of the regional leopard population of the Caucasus.
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Chatterjee, Anindita Bidisha, Kalyansundaram Sankar, Yadvendradev Vikramsinh Jhala, and Qamar Qureshi. "Spatio-temporal patterns of co-occurrence of tigers and leopards within a protected area in central India." Web Ecology 23, no. 1 (February 3, 2023): 17–34. http://dx.doi.org/10.5194/we-23-17-2023.
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Abstract. The global decline of large carnivore populations warrants scientific insights into intraguild relationships. Patterns of co-occurrence among sympatric predators are governed by their density, distribution, diet, activity overlaps, and behavioural strategies. Tigers are sympatric with leopards across their distribution range, overlap substantially in their diet, and are both nocturnal. The subdominant leopard is believed to coexist with tigers via several mechanisms like spatial segregation, temporal avoidance, and differential prey selection. Investigation of spatio-temporal patterns of co-occurrence of tigers and leopards can provide insights on mechanisms that permit coexistence. We used camera trap-based photo captures of tigers and leopards in prey-rich (58.15±10.61 ungulates per km2) Pench Tiger Reserve to determine their spatio-temporal patterns of co-occurrence. Spatially explicit density estimates of tigers were approximately 5 per 100 km2 and leopards were approximately 4.5 per 100 km2 and remained stable over the years. This implies that both these co-predators are likely to attain carrying capacity within the study area. Areas with high tiger density had lower leopard density. Quantile regression analysis between tiger and leopard density at 2×2 km grid showed that leopard density had a parabolic relationship with tiger density, initially increasing with tigers (β=0.393; p=0.001), stable at medium tiger density (β=0.13 and p=0.15), and declining at high tiger densities (β=-0.37 and p<0.001). Both tigers and leopards were crepuscular in nature with no temporal segregation (Δ=89 %). Time lag of consecutive leopard photograph after a tiger capture ranged between 0.002 to 36.29 d. Leopard use of trails was not related to use by tigers. Our results suggest that leopards adjust their usage of space at fine scales to avoid confrontations with tigers. We also observed high temporal overlap and no spatio-temporal segregation between tigers and leopards, despite the two predators being nocturnal and having similar prey choices. The availability of ample prey within the study area is likely to be the driving factor of the co-occurrence of tigers and leopards within this dry deciduous habitat of central India.
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Ngoprasert, Dusit, Antony J. Lynam, and George A. Gale. "Human disturbance affects habitat use and behaviour of Asiatic leopard Panthera pardus in Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand." Oryx 41, no. 3 (July 2007): 343–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605307001102.
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AbstractEdge effects arising from road construction and other development in protected areas can negatively affect the behaviour of wildlife, particularly large carnivores. The Asiatic leopard Panthera pardus is a large carnivore that may be sensitive to edge effects. Camera trapping was used to assess the influence of human disturbance along forest edges on leopard behaviour and habitat use in a 104 km2 area of Kaeng Krachan National Park, Thailand. A minimum of four male and two female leopards was recorded in the study area. A Park access road bisecting the study area was not a barrier to leopard movement but movements and activity were affected by human traffic inside the Park. A regression model showed that leopard habitat use increased with distance from human settlements at the forest edge. As in other parts of its range, leopards at Kaeng Krachan National Park tended to show less diurnal activity in areas more heavily used by people compared to areas less used. As is the case with tigers, such responses may pose a threat to leopard population persistence but more research is needed to determine the demographic implications of edge effects for Asiatic leopards and other large tropical carnivores, and the appropriate mitigation strategies required.
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Malla, Rajesh, Saroj Panthi, Hari Adhikari, Shiva Pariyar, Rishi Baral, Rukmagat Subedi, Bishnu Prasad Adhikari, Mahesh Poudel, Nischal Sedhai, and Megharaj Poudel. "Habitat suitability of four threatened Himalayan species: Asiatic black bear, common leopard, musk deer, and snow leopard." PeerJ 11 (September 25, 2023): e16085. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16085.
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Background Biodiversity conservation is becoming challenging day by day. For this, it is essential to understand the distribution, habitat, and impact of anthropogenic activities on animals at risk. We assessed the suitable habitats and anthropogenic impacts on Asiatic black bears, common leopards, musk deer, and snow leopards in and outside the protected areas of Gandaki Province, Nepal. Methods We collected the presence locations of Asiatic black bears, common leopards, musk deer, and snow leopards based on scats and other signs. We employed the Maximum Entropy (MaxEnt) tool to identify suitable habitats of our studied species and their anthropogenic impacts on them. Results The total suitable habitat of the common leopard was found to be 6,052 km2, followed by the Asiatic black bear (5,819 km2), snow leopard (4,447 km2), and musk deer (1,690 km2) in Gandaki Province. Most of the areas of suitable habitat for common leopards and Asiatic black bears were outside the protected areas, and for musk deer and snow leopards were inside the protected areas. Elevation was the most important variable determining habitat suitability of Asiatic black bear, common leopard, and musk deer, whereas the distance to water was the most important variable determining habitat suitability of snow leopard. Asiatic black bears, common leopards, and musk deer face significant anthropogenic impacts, but snow leopards face some anthropogenic impacts. Conclusion Managing these animals’ habitats inside and outside protected areas is essential. Hence, biodiversity conservation and livelihood opportunities should be balanced in the Himalayas on a win-win basis.
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Li, Hailong, Puneet Pandey, Ying Li, Tianming Wang, Randeep Singh, Yuxi Peng, Hang Lee, Woo-Shin Lee, Weihong Zhu, and Chang-Yong Choi. "Transboundary Cooperation in the Tumen River Basin Is the Key to Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus) Population Recovery in the Korean Peninsula." Animals 14, no. 1 (December 22, 2023): 59. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani14010059.
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The interconnected forest regions along the lower Tumen River, at the Sino-North Korean border, provide critical habitats and corridors for the critically endangered Amur Leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis). In this region, there are two promising corridors for leopard movement between China and North Korea: the Jingxin–Dapanling (JD) and Mijiang (MJ) corridors. Past studies have confirmed the functionality of the JD corridor, but leopards’ utilization of the MJ corridor has not yet been established or confirmed. In this study, we assessed the functionality of the MJ corridor. The study area was monitored using camera traps between May 2019 and July 2021. We also analyzed 33 environmental and vegetation factors affecting leopard survival and analyzed leopard movement. In the Mijiang area, the Amur leopard was mainly active in the region adjacent to the Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park and did not venture into area near the North Korean border. The complex forest structure allowed leopards to move into the Mijiang area. However, the high intensity of human disturbance and manufactured physical barriers restricted further southward movement. Therefore, human-induced disturbances such as grazing, mining, farming, logging, and infrastructure development must be halted and reversed to make the Mijiang region a functional corridor for the Amur leopard to reach the North Korean forest. This necessitates inter-governmental and international cooperation and is essential for the long-term survival of the Amur leopard.
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Alexander, Justine S., Jeremy J. Cusack, Chen Pengju, Shi Kun, and Philip Riordan. "Conservation of snow leopards: spill-over benefits for other carnivores?" Oryx 50, no. 2 (October 26, 2015): 239–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605315001040.
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AbstractIn high-altitude settings of Central Asia the Endangered snow leopard Panthera uncia has been recognized as a potential umbrella species. As a first step in assessing the potential benefits of snow leopard conservation for other carnivores, we sought a better understanding of the presence of other carnivores in areas occupied by snow leopards in China's Qilianshan National Nature Reserve. We used camera-trap and sign surveys to examine whether other carnivores were using the same travel routes as snow leopards at two spatial scales. We also considered temporal interactions between species. Our results confirm that other carnivores, including the red fox Vulpes vulpes, grey wolf Canis lupus, Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx and dhole Cuon alpinus, occur along snow leopard travel routes, albeit with low detection rates. Even at the smaller scale of our camera trap survey all five carnivores (snow leopard, lynx, wolf, red fox and dhole) were observed. Kernel density estimates suggested a high degree of temporal overlap between the snow leopard and the fox, and the snow leopard and the lynx, as indicated by high overlap coefficient estimates. There is an opportunity to consider protective measures at the local scale that would benefit various species simultaneously. However, it should also be recognized that snow leopard conservation efforts could exacerbate human–wildlife conflicts through their protective effect on other carnivore species.
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Srimulyaningsih, Reni, and Egi Prayoga. "INVENTARISASI KEBERADAAN DAN PENYEBARAN JEJAK MACAN TUTUL (Panthera pardus melas Curvier, 1809) DI HUTAN LINDUNG CIJAMBU KABUPATEN SUMEDANG)." Wanamukti: Jurnal Penelitian Kehutanan 21, no. 1 (January 2, 2020): 1. http://dx.doi.org/10.35138/wanamukti.v21i1.151.
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Leopard (Panthera pardus melas Curvier, 1809) is an endangered species that have been protected because of the population decreased and some population extinct locally. One of them is leopard in Protected Forest Cijambu that no has data about leopard of existence. The objective of this research was to inventory leopard existence and to know distribution of leopard in Cijambu Protected Forest. The method of research is Local community interview and identify of leopard footprint by observation and spatial analysis. The research showed that leopard existence by footprint, feces, scratches, and sound. So, estimate individu of leopard in Cijambu Protected Forest is 3 individual, with a footprint the size of front and rear at 1 individual is 7.5 cm and 7 – 7.1 cm, 1 individu is 11 cm and 10.2 – 10.3 cm, and 1 individual is 6.5 cm and 5.0 cm. Distribution of footprints leopards in Protected Forests Cijambu is exist in Block Legok honje, Pasir panjang, Gunung putri, Gunung sanggara, Bewak and Pangauban.
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Gubbi, Sanjay, Koustubh Sharma, and Vijaya Kumara. "Every hill has its leopard: patterns of space use by leopards (Panthera pardus) in a mixed use landscape in India." PeerJ 8 (October 8, 2020): e10072. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.10072.
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Understanding abundance and distribution of species is often necessary for wildlife conservation. However, elusive species such as the leopard (Panthera pardus) that have wide geographical distribution and typically low abundance pose a constant challenge to conservationists due to logistical and methodological constraints. Although leopard abundance has been estimated at the scale of protected areas or other smaller regions, reliable information describing leopard distribution over large spatial scales remains largely unavailable. Knowledge about space use by leopards within landscapes could help improve conservation management, reduce human-wildlife conflict, and also facilitate population status monitoring. We carried out occupancy surveys across c. 24,000 km2 in southern India in a landscape that consisted a mosaic of leopards’ natural habitats and highly human-dominated areas. We investigated the effects of key ecological and anthropogenic variables in determining leopard space use patterns. We addressed imperfect detections obtained using sign surveys conducted on spatially replicated transects within sampling units by modeling detection as a function of spatial auto-correlation and covariates. Our results show that the probability of site-use by leopards across the landscape varied between 0.02 (95% CI [0.01–0.09]) and 0.99 (95% CI [0.99–1.0]) across the study area. The best model (AIC weight = 0.97) showed that the probability of leopard space use was affected by the proportion of natural habitats and the presence of large wild prey in the sampling unit. Given that India is undergoing rapid modifications due to economic changes and demand for natural resources, we emphasize the need for landscape-based approach for conserving and monitoring leopards. We argue that leopards are an indicator of functional ecosystems represented by scrub, deciduous forest and rocky outcrops that do not always get prioritized for conservation, unlike densely forested habitats. Similarly, conservation of natural large wild prey, especially outside the protected area system, should assume greater importance, which could also have a positive impact on reducing human-leopard conflict.
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Ale, Som B., Pralad Yonzon, and Kamal Thapa. "Recovery of snow leopard Uncia uncia in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park, Nepal." Oryx 41, no. 1 (January 2007): 89–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605307001585.
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From September to November 2004 we conducted surveys of snow leopard Uncia uncia signs in three major valleys in Sagarmatha (Mount Everest) National Park in Nepal using the Snow Leopard Information Management System, a standardized survey technique for snow leopard research. We walked 24 transects covering c. 14 km and located 33 sites with 56 snow leopard signs, and 17 signs incidentally in other areas. Snow leopards appear to have re-inhabited the Park, following their disappearance c. 40 years ago, apparently following the recovery of Himalayan tahr Hemitragus jemlahicus and musk deer Moschus chrysogaster populations. Taken together the locations of all 73 recent snow leopard signs indicate that the species is using predominantly grazing land and shrubland/open forest at elevations of 3,000–5,000 m, habitat types that are also used by domestic and wild ungulates. Sagarmatha is the homeland of c. 3,500 Buddhist Sherpas with >3,000 livestock. Along with tourism and associated developments in Sagarmatha, traditional land use practices could be used to ensure coexistence of livestock and wildlife, including the recovering snow leopards, and ensure the wellbeing of the Sherpas.
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Pal, Ranjana, Anshu Panwar, Surendra P. Goyal, and Sambandam Sathyakumar. "Changes in ecological conditions may influence intraguild competition: inferring interaction patterns of snow leopard with co-predators." PeerJ 10 (October 25, 2022): e14277. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.14277.
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Background Large-scale changes in habitat conditions due to human modifications and climate change require management practices to consider how species communities can alter amidst these changes. Understanding species interactions across the gradient of space, anthropogenic pressure, and season provide the opportunity to anticipate possible dynamics in the changing scenarios. We studied the interspecific interactions of carnivore species in a high-altitude ecosystem over seasonal (summer and winter) and resource gradients (livestock grazing) to assess the impact of changing abiotic and biotic settings on coexistence. Methods The study was conducted in the Upper Bhagirathi basin, Western Himalaya, India. We analyzed around 4 years of camera trap monitoring data to understand seasonal spatial and temporal interactions of the snow leopard with common leopard and woolly wolf were assessed in the greater and trans-Himalayan habitats, respectively. We used two species occupancy models to assess spatial interactions, and circadian activity patterns were used to assess seasonal temporal overlap amongst carnivores. In addition, we examined scats to understand the commonalities in prey selection. Results The result showed that although snow leopard and wolves depend on the same limited prey species and show high temporal overlap, habitat heterogeneity and differential habitat use facilitate co-occurrence between these two predators. Snow leopard and common leopard were spatially independent in the summer. Conversely, the common leopard negatively influences the space use of snow leopard in the winter. Limited prey resources (lack of livestock), restricted space (due to snow cover), and similar activity patterns in winter might result in strong competition, causing these species to avoid each other on a spatial scale. The study showed that in addition to species traits and size, ecological settings also play a significant role in deciding the intensity of competition between large carnivores. Climate change and habitat shifts are predicted to increase the spatial overlap between snow leopard and co-predators in the future. In such scenarios, wolves and snow leopards may coexist in a topographically diverse environment, provided sufficient prey are available. However, shifts in tree line might lead to severe competition between common leopards and snow leopards, which could be detrimental to the latter. Further monitoring of resource use across abiotic and biotic environments may improve our understanding of how changing ecological conditions can affect resource partitioning between snow leopards and predators.
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Borah, Jimmy, Tridip Sharma, Dhritiman Das, Nilmani Rabha, Niraj Kakati, Ajit Basumatary, M. Firoz Ahmed, and Joseph Vattakaven. "Abundance and density estimates for common leopard Panthera pardus and clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa in Manas National Park, Assam, India." Oryx 48, no. 1 (July 29, 2013): 149–55. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605312000373.
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AbstractEffective conservation of rare carnivores requires reliable estimates of population density for prioritizing investments and assessing the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We used camera traps and capture–recapture analysis to provide the first reliable abundance and density estimates for the common leopard Panthera pardus and clouded leopard Neofelis nebulosa in Manas National Park, India. In 57 days of camera trapping, with a total of 4,275 camera-trap days, we photo-captured 27 individually identified common leopards (11 males, 13 females and three unidentified), and 16 clouded leopards (four males, five females and seven unidentified). The abundance estimates using the Mh jackknife and Pledger model Mh were 47.0 and 35.6, respectively, for the common leopard, and 21.0 and 25.0, respectively, for the clouded leopard. Density estimates using maximum likelihood spatially-explicit capture–recapture were 3.4 ± SE 0.82 and 4.73 ± SE 1.43 per 100 km2 for the common and clouded leopards, respectively. Spatially-explicit capture–recapture provided more realistic density estimates compared with those obtained from conventional methods. Our data indicates that camera trapping using a capture–recapture framework is an effective tool for assessing population sizes of cryptic and elusive carnivores such as the common and clouded leopards. The study has established a baseline for the long-term monitoring programme for large carnivores in Manas National Park.
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Dorji, Kuenzang, Lori K. Sheeran, Kathleen Barlow, Namgay Pem Dorji, Tshering Dorji, and Wangchuk Dorji. "Oleps’ Traditional Beliefs of the Clouded Leopard the Top Predator of Bhutan." Asian Social Science 18, no. 12 (December 9, 2022): 8. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v18n12p8.
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The Oleps are the first human inhabitants of Bhutan and the country’s last remaining hunter-gatherers. We conducted a preliminary study into the meaning of the traditional Bhutanese saying tog-ge-teng-nang-gong; gong-ge-teng-nang-thee (Ole) and tag-ge-ta-lay-gung; gung ge-ta-lay-theb (Dzongkha). Tag in Dzongkha refers to Bengal tiger (Panthera tigris) and gung refers to clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa). The saying describes the existence of a species, which Oleps people believe is the clouded leopard, that is superior to the apex predator the tiger. The saying is further elaborated as gung-gi-ta-lay-theb (Dzongkha), which means that a skilled human hunter is superior to the clouded leopard. We used semi-structured interviews to ask 19 Oleps people to explain this traditional saying and narrate the beliefs embedded in it. Participants related the saying to their views of the clouded leopard, and we explored how these views might influence the current conservation status of clouded leopards living in the Oleps’ locality. Our interviews showed that Oleps revered and respected clouded leopards, but they also viewed them and other wild cats as harmful to livestock, and some expressed a desire to acquire clouded leopard pelts or to keep them as pets. Indigenous knowledge and beliefs are important to consider in the development of a conservation plan for clouded leopards. We recommend that Oleps’ sayings and stories be documented for posterity and that conservationists continue to engage in dialog with Oleps people to better understand the effects clouded leopards and other wild cats have on their livelihoods.
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Kittle, Andrew M., and Anjali C. Watson. "Density of leopards (Panthera pardus kotiya) in Horton Plains National Park in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka." Mammalia 82, no. 2 (February 23, 2018): 183–87. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/mammalia-2016-0139.
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AbstractQuantitative ecological data needs to inform management of the endangered, endemic Sri Lankan leopard. Estimating habitat-specific leopard density and prey availability provides important baselines and improved understanding of the island-wide population. We used remote cameras in a spatially explicit capture-recapture framework to estimate leopard density (11.7 adult individuals/100 km2) and distance sampling to estimate prey density, within Horton Plains National Park. Sambar density was 178/km2within the central grasslands, which represent a spatially anchored resource for sambar and in turn, a highly clumped, abundant resource for leopards. This study represents the first robust estimate of leopard density in Sri Lanka’s montane zone.
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Spalton, James Andrew, Hadi Musalam al Hikmani, David Willis, and Ali Salim Bait Said. "Critically Endangered Arabian leopards Panthera pardus nimr persist in the Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve, Oman." Oryx 40, no. 3 (July 2006): 287–94. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605306000743.
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Between 1997 and 2000 a survey of the Arabian subspecies of leopard Panthera pardus nimr was conducted in the little known Jabal Samhan Nature Reserve in southern Oman. Using camera-traps 251 photographic records were obtained of 17 individual leopards; nine females, five males, two adults of unknown sex and one cub. Leopards were usually solitary and trail use and movements suggested large ranges characterized by spatial sharing but little temporal overlap. More active by day than night in undisturbed areas, overall the leopards exhibited two peaks in activity, morning and evening. The survey also provided records of leopard prey species and first records of nine Red List mammal species previously unrecorded in Jabal Samhan. Although people are mostly absent from the Reserve there is some conflict between leopards and shepherds who live outside the Reserve. The numbers and activities of frankincense harvesters in the Reserve need to be managed to safeguard the leopard and its habitat. The main challenge for the future is to find ways whereby local communities can benefit from the presence of the Reserve and from the leopards that the Reserve seeks to safeguard.
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Viollaz, Julie S., Sara T. Thompson, and Gohar A. Petrossian. "When Human–Wildlife Conflict Turns Deadly: Comparing the Situational Factors That Drive Retaliatory Leopard Killings in South Africa." Animals 11, no. 11 (November 16, 2021): 3281. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani11113281.
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Retaliatory killings caused by human-wildlife conflict have a significant impact on the survival of leopards. This study explores the reasons for retaliatory killings of leopards by interviewing community members in a small village in South Africa that experienced high incidences of human–leopard conflict. The semi-structured interviews focused on the reasons why retaliatory leopard killings occurred and how to best mitigate the situational factors that triggered these killings. Respondents cited four main problems that fueled these killings: the government’s response to human–leopard conflict was slow and unwilling; this response involved inefficient methods; there were inadequate resources to respond to these killings; and there was a clear lack of laws or their application. Local stakeholders provided a range of innovative strategies to reduce human-leopard conflict and retaliatory killings. While all parties expressed different reasons why these solutions were or were not effective, their conclusions were often similar. The distrust that existed between the parties prevented them from recognizing or accepting their common ground. Based on existing human–wildlife conflict mitigation techniques and solutions identified by local stakeholders, this article explores how criminological techniques, including situational crime prevention, can help identify and frame effective interventions to reduce the number of illegal leopard killings driven by human-wildlife conflict.
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Devkota, B. P., T. Silwal, B. P. Shrestha, A. P. Sapkota, S. P. Lakhey, and V. K. Yadav. "Abundance of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) and its wild prey in Chhekampar VDC, Manaslu Conservation Area, Nepal." Banko Janakari 27, no. 1 (November 7, 2017): 11–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/banko.v27i1.18545.
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Snow leopard (Panthera uncia) is the striking symbol as well as an indicator of intact eco-regions of high mountains it inhabits. Despite the advancement in new methods, scholars argue that signs are still a reliable indicator for the purpose of habitat use study of snow leopards. The relative abundance of snow leopard and its major prey species such as blue sheep (Pseudois nayar) and Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus) in the Chhekampar Village Development Committee within the Tsum Valley of the Manaslu Conservation Area was determined by sign survey using Snow Leopard Information Management System (SLIMS) and block survey using Vantage Point Method, respectively. We also assessed human snow leopard conflict through household and key informant survey. The encounter rate of snow leopard signs were 3.57/km on an average, indicating low abundance, whereas prey species such as blue sheep and Himalayan tahr had 3.8 and 1.8 animals/km2, respectively. The livestock depredation rate was 1.29% with snow leopard accounting to only 0.32% of the total. Due to the low abundance of snow leopard but sufficient number of large-sized wild prey species, livestock predation by snow leopard was minimum, and therefore, the local people had positive perception towards snow leopard conservation. Though the present situation including the local religious tradition and social norms is supportive in conservation of snow leopard, it may not sustain unless incentive programs are encouraged timely.Banko Janakari, Vol. 27, No. 1, Page : 11-20
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Awan, Nabeel, Atif Yaqub, and Muhammad Kamran. "Survey of human-leopard (Panthera Pardus) conflict in Ayubia National Park, Pakistan." Journal of Bioresource Management 7, no. 2 (June 1, 2020): 39–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.35691/jbm.0202.0130.
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Wildlife populations are at a risk of extinction mainly because of human-wildlife conflict (HWC). The present study was designed to evaluate the ongoing HWC with special reference to Common Leopard (Panthera pardus) in Ayubia National park through field study as well as a literature-based approach. Questionnaire interview surveys were designed for wildlife officials working in the park and the locals who bear the cost for leopard conflict through livestock depredation and crop damage. The study showed that human-leopard conflict in the study area has been increasing. More than 60% of people considered livestock depredation as the major reason for their negative perception towards the common leopard. Among livestock, goats were more vulnerable which showed that leopards mostly preferred smaller prey. A number of reported human injuries and deaths on account of Human-Leopard conflict in the study area helped conclude that human-wildlife conflict is a significant issue. Mitigation measures may hence be recommended, such as livestock compensation schemes and community-based conservation approaches, etc. It is critical to avoid human-Leopard conflict not only to keep the public and their property safe but also to help conserve this important species of common leopard (Panthera pardus).
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Snider, Matthew H., Vidya R. Athreya, Guy A. Balme, Laura R. Bidner, Mohammed S. Farhadinia, Julien Fattebert, Matthew E. Gompper, et al. "Home range variation in leopards living across the human density gradient." Journal of Mammalogy 102, no. 4 (July 8, 2021): 1138–48. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jmammal/gyab068.
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Abstract Home range size is a fundamental measure of animal space use, providing insight into habitat quality, animal density, and social organization. Human impacts increasingly are affecting wildlife, especially among wide-ranging species that encounter anthropogenic disturbance. Leopards (Panthera pardus) provide a useful model for studying this relationship because leopards coexist with people at high and low human densities and are sensitive to human disturbance. To compare leopard home range size across a range of human densities and other environmental conditions, we combined animal tracking data from 74 leopards in multiple studies with new analytical techniques that accommodate different sampling regimes. We predicted that home ranges would be smaller in more productive habitats and areas of higher human population density due to possible linkage with leopard prey subsidies from domestic species. We also predicted that male leopards would have larger home ranges than those of females. Home ranges varied in size from 14.5 km2 in India to 885.6 km2 in Namibia, representing a 60-fold magnitude of variation. Home range stability was evident for 95.2% of nontranslocated individuals and 38.5% of translocated individuals. Leopard home range sizes were negatively correlated with landscape productivity, and males used larger areas than females. Leopards in open habitats had a predicted negative correlation in home range size with human population density, but leopards in closed habitats used larger home ranges in areas with more people.
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Dyldaev, Mirlan, Akylbek Chymyrov, Askat Mukabaev, and Orozbek Omurzak uulu. "Investigation of the population area of snow leopard in the Central Tian-Shan Mountains." E3S Web of Conferences 227 (2021): 02002. http://dx.doi.org/10.1051/e3sconf/202122702002.
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The spatial analysis of population areal of snow leopards in the Central Tian Shan Mountains and monitoring of their population dynamics and reproduction is needed by nature conservation activities. The study area is located in the unique and remote transboundary region between the Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Kazakhstan and People’s Republic of China. The population areas, feeding base and movement of snow leopards within the Khan Tengri State Nature Park were realized by using camera traps and Geoinformation Systems (GIS). Camera traps have been used for recording the existence and activity of snow leopards in the high mountainous and uninhabited area. 14 adult and 5 snow leopard cubs are detected and recorded within the survey period in 2018-2019 with various individual characteristics of animals. The spatial distribution of snow leopard’s population was mapped and analyzed by applying open source GIS software (Quantum GIS) and satellite positioning.
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Sarı, Alptuğ. "Maximum Entropy Niche-Based Predicting of Potential Habitat for the Anatolian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana Valenciennes, 1856) in Türkiye." Šumarski list 146, no. 7-8 (August 31, 2022): 345–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.31298/sl.146.7-8.6.
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The Anatolian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana Valenciennes, 1856) is the largest surviving cat species in Türkiye. Despite the adversity they face, leopards still exist in Türkiye. In this study, using the maximum entropy model (MaxEnt), potentially suitable habitats for the Anatolian leopard in Türkiye was surveyed. When evaluating leopard habitat preference, the fact that the species can easily adapt to its habitat and live anywhere with sufficient vegetation and sufficient prey animals was taken into account; only data on climate which affects the geographic distribution patterns and population structures of flora and fauna were examined before. When the climatic variables affecting leopard’ distribution were examined, the following had the highest values: isothermally, seasonal temperature, average temperature of the coldest season, minimum temperature of the coldest month, and annual precipitation. Except for the Central Anatolia Region and coastal areas, almost every region in Türkiye contains habitats suitable for the leopard. There are scarce data on leopards’ populations and habitats in Türkiye. Therefore, even though ecological niche modelling (ENM) may generate important results when determining potentially suitable habitats, it is clear that this model cannot yield accurate results without considering the areas that the species is known to inhabit but in which no studies were previously conducted. The results that were obtained in the present study can also provide background information related to the long-term conservation of this species.
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Strampelli, Paolo, Leah Andresen, Kristoffer T. Everatt, Michael J. Somers, and J. Marcus Rowcliffe. "Leopard Panthera pardus density in southern Mozambique: evidence from spatially explicit capture–recapture in Xonghile Game Reserve." Oryx 54, no. 3 (September 7, 2018): 405–11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0030605318000121.
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AbstractRigorous status estimates of populations of large carnivores are necessary to inform their management and help evaluate the effectiveness of conservation interventions. The African leopard Panthera pardus faces rising anthropogenic pressures across most of its contracting sub-Saharan range, but the scarcity of reliable population estimates means that management decisions often have to rely on expert opinion rather than being based on sound evidence. This is particularly true for Mozambique, where little is known about the ecology or conservation status of leopard populations as a result of prolonged armed conflict. We used camera trapping and spatially explicit capture–recapture models to provide a leopard density estimate in Xonghile Game Reserve in southern Mozambique, which is part of the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier conservation initiative. The estimated population density was 2.60 ± SE 0.96 leopards/100 km2. Our study provides a baseline leopard density for the region and the first empirical density estimate for southern Mozambique. Our results also suggest that current methods used to set trophy hunting quotas for leopards, both in Mozambique and elsewhere in Africa, may be leading to unsustainable quotas, which highlights the importance of robust empirical data in guiding conservation policy.
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Schwartz, Robert. "The Curious Case of the Amur Leopard Sofiya." Undergraduate Journal of Service Learning & Community-Based Research 4 (November 22, 2015): 1–9. http://dx.doi.org/10.56421/ujslcbr.v4i0.219.
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The Amur leopard (Panthera pardus orientalis) is a critically endangered subspecies of leopard. One of these rare leopards resides at the Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, CT. In order to preserve rare species, zoos around the world have implemented the Species Survival Plan (SSP),which involves conservation and controlled breeding of critically endangered species. Sofiya,the female Amur Leopard at the CT Beardsley Zoo is a prospect for the SSP. However, it was observed that Sofiya displayed inexplicable and potentially nervous or anxious behaviors, such as staying indoors in her enclosure and excessive pacing. It was initially suspected that herbehavior was prompted by some unknown environmental cue(s). With a wild and captive population of less than 300 individuals world wide, concerns about Sofiya’s behavior resulted in my service learning research project. Data were collected from February to April 2014, largely through weekly observations from a hunter’s blind set up across from the leopard’s enclosure. We observed that Sofiya’s anxious behavior typically stopped between the hours of 2:30 and 4:30 pm during which she emerged into the enclosure and displayed more social behavior. By integrating observational data with information from zoo staff and medical records, we suggest that Sofiya’s behavior may not be influenced by external cues, as was initially hypothesized. Medical records and Sofiya’s history indicate that a hormone imbalance may be at least partly responsible for hernervous behavior.
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Ario, Anton, Senjaya Mercusiana, Ayi Rustiadi, Robi Gumilang, I Gede Gelgel Darma Putra Wirawan, and Toni Ahmad Slamet. "The Javan Leopard Panthera pardus melas (Cuvier, 1809) (Mammalia: Carnivora: Felidae) in West Java, Indonesia: estimating population density and occupancy." Journal of Threatened Taxa 14, no. 7 (July 26, 2022): 21331–46. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.7483.14.7.21331-21346.
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The Javan Leopard is endemic to the Indonesian island of Java and has been classified as Endangered. Reliable information about its population status, distribution, and density is lacking but are essential to guide conservation efforts and provide a benchmark for management decisions. Our study represents the first empirical density and occupancy estimates for the Leopard in West Java and provides baseline data for this region. We used camera trap data collected from February 2009 to October 2018 in six study areas comprising a sampling effort of 10,955 camera trap days in a total area of 793.5 km2. We identified 55 individual Leopards in these areas and estimated Leopard density using spatially explicit capture-recapture. Population density estimates range from 4.9 individuals/100 km2 in Gunung Guntur-Papandayan Nature Reserve to 16.04 individuals/100 km2 in Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park. Latter is among the globally highest Leopard densities. Based on detection data, we modelled single-season Leopard occupancy using three sampling covariates and eight site covariates. Modelling revealed that the two covariates forest cover and presence of Wild Boar are the strongest predictors for Leopard occupancy in our study areas. We recommend assessing and monitoring Leopard distribution, density and occupancy in other areas of Java and emphasize that a landscape approach for conservation of the Javan Leopard is imperative.
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Chauhan, Kaushal, Arjun Srivathsa, and Vidya Athreya. "Assessing spatio-temporal patterns of human-leopard interactions based on media reports in northwestern India." Journal of Threatened Taxa 13, no. 6 (May 26, 2021): 18453–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/jott.7244.13.6.18453-18478.
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Large carnivores in human-use areas make for sensational print media content. We used media reports to examine human-leopard interactions in Rajasthan, India. We extracted news reports on leopard-related incidents from January 2016 to December 2018. Incidents (n= 338) were categorized, mapped, and analysed to understand their nature and extent. We found leopard-related news from 26 of 33 districts; a majority of these were in the eastern region of the State. Most of the reported interactions appeared to be non-negative, despite losses to both leopards and people. Our results provide a synthesis of spatio-temporal patterns of leopard-related incidents, which could help wildlife managers in better addressing negative interactions. The study also demonstrates how news reports could be useful for examining human-wildlife interactions across large spatial scales.
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Dhakal, Sandhya, Simant Rimal, Prashant Paudel, and Anil Shrestha. "Spatio-Temporal Patterns of Livestock Predation by Leopards in Bardia National Park, Nepal." Land 12, no. 6 (May 31, 2023): 1156. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/land12061156.
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Human–wildlife conflict is a challenging issue that requires the attention of conservationists worldwide. Habitat fragmentation and encroachment reduce the abundance of prey species, and an increase in the number of predators leads to a higher risk of conflict with large cats such as leopards, jeopardizing conservation efforts. This study explored the spatio-temporal pattern of the human–leopard conflict in Bardia National Park, Nepal, from 2000 to 2020. To analyze the conflict with leopards, we used data (compensation cases filed in the park) from the buffer zone management office, the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), and the Department of National Park and Wildlife Conservation (DNPWC). Leopard attacks on livestock are increasing exponentially, with 3335 livestock killed in 2652 attacks occurring during the study period. Although livestock depredation by leopards occurred all over the park, the southern cluster has most documented livestock damage (64.01%). The eastern and northern clusters reported fluctuating and dispersed predation events, respectively. Our spatial analysis indicated no effect of topography (slope) on livestock depredation by leopards. We recorded the highest number of leopard attacks and predation during the dry winter season when the nights are longer and livestock remain in their sheds. This carnivore mostly limited its prey to small-sized livestock (95.77%) such as goats, sheep, and pigs, whereas attacks on large-sized (cow and buffalo) livestock were least frequent. Among small-sized livestock, goats are the most predated (66.92%), followed by pigs (20.30%), in all seasons. The escalating human–leopard conflict in BNP is thus a severe threat to conservation efforts as the park has already invested a substantial amount of money (approx. USD 80,000) compensating for livestock lost in leopard attacks over the last two decades. Improving habitat conditions to reduce competition inside the park, developing an insurance scheme for livestock and humans, providing support for upgraded sheds, and the development of practical and feasible strategies that focus on specific animals and clusters of the national park are needed to reduce conflicts to maintain the co-existence between wildlife and human beings.