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| Leopard - Panthera pardus | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 08:52 PM (43,032 Views) | |
| Taipan | Jun 28 2018, 09:00 PM Post #166 |
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Map of Javan leopard distribution provides guidance for conservation efforts June 27, 2018, Public Library of Science ![]() A Javan leopard, Panthera pardus melas, phototrapped in Meru Betiri National Park in 2017. Credit: Meru Betiri National Park; Panthera The first robust estimate of the distribution of the Javan leopard offers reliable information on where conservation efforts must be prioritized to safeguard the Indonesian island's last remaining large carnivore. The findings were reported in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on June 27, 2018 by Hariyo Tabah Wibisono of the San Diego Zoo Institute for Conservation Research, USA, and colleagues. The critically endangered Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) is one of the most threatened subspecies of leopard. Yet to date, it has received little conservation attention and its population status and distribution remain poorly known. To address this gap in knowledge, the researchers used species distribution modeling to predict the locations of suitable leopard habitats throughout Java, based on the most extensive Javan leopard occurrence dataset available. The predictive map greatly improves those previously produced by the government of Indonesia and International Union for Conservation of Nature. For example, it adds six new priority landscapes and reveals that the leopard population spans several highly fragmented landscapes, which are far more isolated than previously thought. The study also highlights the importance of maintaining connectivity between protected areas and human-modified landscapes, because adjacent production forests and secondary forests were found to provide vital extensions for several Javan leopard subpopulations. Wibisono adds: "With only 9% remaining suitable landscape, all priority landscapes identified in this study should be treated as critical for the long-term survival of Javan leopards. To prevent Javan leopards becoming extinct, as happened with Javan tigers, we urge the government of Indonesia and conservation partners to take immediate actions to secure the leopard's future." https://phys.org/news/2018-06-javan-leopard-guidance-efforts.html Journal Reference: Wibisono HT, Wahyudi HA, Wilianto E, Pinondang IMR, Primajati M, Liswanto D, et al. (2018) Identifying priority conservation landscapes and actions for the Critically Endangered Javan leopard in Indonesia: Conserving the last large carnivore in Java Island. PLoS ONE 13(6): e0198369. doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0198369 Abstract With the extirpation of tigers from the Indonesian island of Java in the 1980s, the endemic and Critically Endangered Javan leopard is the island’s last remaining large carnivore. Yet despite this, it has received little conservation attention and its population status and distribution remains poorly known. Using Maxent modeling, we predicted the locations of suitable leopard landscapes throughout the island of Java based on 228 verified Javan leopard samples and as a function of seven environmental variables. The identified landscapes covered over 1 million hectares, representing less than 9% of the island. Direct evidence of Javan leopard was confirmed from 22 of the 29 identified landscapes and included all national parks, which our analysis revealed as the single most important land type. Our study also emphasized the importance of maintaining connectivity between protected areas and human-modified landscapes because adjacent production forests and secondary forests were found to provide vital extensions for several Javan leopard subpopulations. Our predictive map greatly improves those previously produced by the Government of Indonesia’s Javan Leopard Action Plan and the IUCN global leopard distribution assessment. It shares only a 32% overlap with the IUCN range predictions, adds six new priority landscapes, all with confirmed presence of Javan leopard, and reveals an island-wide leopard population that occurs in several highly fragmented landscapes, which are far more isolated than previously thought. Our study provides reliable information on where conservation efforts must be prioritized both inside and outside of the protected area network to safeguard Java’s last remaining large carnivore. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0198369 |
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| ManEater | Jun 29 2018, 07:49 AM Post #167 |
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Zanzibar Leopard Captured on Camera, Despite Being Declared Extinct The Zanzibar leopard was officially declared extinct 25 years ago, but the classification has been called into question after a wildlife biologist caught the elusive predator on camera. “To find rare animals is difficult. To find extinct animals is frankly impossible,” biologist and tracker Forrest Galante told InsideEdition.com. “I absolutely lost my mind at the fact that we had accomplished the impossible, and we had found an extinct animal, something the world had written up as gone forever." A Zanzibar leopard was briefly spotted walking into the frame of a hidden camera for Galante’s new show, "Extinct or Alive," before disappearing back into the trees. “I couldn’t believe what I was looking at,” he said. “Everything I’ve worked on for years and years came into fruition in one second.” Galante explained the breakthrough moment came as they were reviewing footage after about two weeks into filming on the island, located off the eastern coast of Africa. They were moments from erasing the footage, believing there had been nothing on the tape, when suddenly, what he believed was the Zanzibar leopard came into view. “I just erupted — I just started screaming," he said. "I went back to being a college athlete. I couldn’t control myself. I’m not someone who drinks a lot or has ever done drugs, but I blacked out." The show’s camera crew captured his many emotions in those few minutes following the discovery: Silent with disbelief, sobbing with surprise, and screaming in victory. "That’s what my show’s about," Galante said. "It’s about hope, and the hope the things we human beings have wiped off the face of the Earth may be hanging on by a thread." He explained that leading up to their expedition, Galante had a list of several extinct animals he believed they could find, based on whether the environmental conditions like habitat and prey were still present for the animal to survive. The Zanzibar leopard was at the bottom of the list, due to a rampant mythology that the Zanzibar leopard was evil. Local legend has it that the Zanzibar leopard worked in conjunction with the witch doctors. "[The island nation] is inundated with cultural beliefs of witchcraft," Galante said. "Leopards did an evil bidding by witch doctors so they were hunted to extinction. Anything bad that would happen, they would say the witch doctor sent the leopard to do their bidding." There is also a local rumor that when Zanzibar leopards were hunted to extinction, witch doctors brought African leopards from the mainland to continue to do their magic, and Galante said there was always the possibility if they spotted a leopard that it would be of a different species. “The truth is, I’m a scientist and science is the only thing that holds valid weight,” Galante explained. "I do not have genetic evidence that this is the Zanzibar leopard. What I have is a leopard on a trail camera." But, he explained that certain physical traits caused him to believe it would be a Zanzibar leopard. The predatory cat was smaller in posture, typical of the species since its prey are smaller, and moved lower to the ground than a bigger or more confident leopard species. Its markings, which appear more like a spot than a rosette, also pointed to the fact that he had the cat he was searching for. “I’m the last person on Earth giving those species a shot,” Galante said. "It is unfair to give up on those animals that other people may have written off, that we deem as gone or unimportant or extremely rare.” His team is continuing to work with local park rangers to test samples of DNA collected in the area, with hopes of confirming the Zanzibar leopard’s ongoing existence. -> https://www.insideedition.com/zanzibar-leopard-captured-camera-despite-being-declared-extinct-43962 Edited by ManEater, Jun 29 2018, 07:50 AM.
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