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Leopard - Panthera pardus
Topic Started: Jan 7 2012, 08:52 PM (43,036 Views)
Kurtz
Kleptoparasite
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Cederberg trapping with Jeff Sikich

The three leopards targeted in the Cederberg were M18, a large male in the northern Cederberg, F9, a collared female in the north and F10 (Spot) a collared female in the south. Quinton called on the Cape Leopard Trust's Capture for Conservation collaborator, Jeff Sikich, to assist. Jeff is a US biologist and specialist trapper working on mountain lions for the National Parks services in California. For the first week Quinton was alone and heavy weather hampered trapping opportunities with floods and snow - traps were closed as a result, leaving only 3 weeks for the two, along with the accompanying volunteers doing trap monitoring, to successfully get the three cats. Bushmanskloof Wilderness Reserve contributed towards 2 Iridium GPS collars able to transmit data via satellite to our computers. The female collar is the lightest of its kind in the world.

Trapping in the Cederberg is by no means an easy task. Traps are mostly off the beaten track and have to be hiked to. The Cape Leopard Trust has successfully been using foot-loop or foot-snares for 3 years now after receiving extensive training from US trapping experts. Amazingly we have been 100% effective in only capturing target species - leopards - and have not had to remove any other species from our traps in this time. Although highly effective, selective and safe, this trapping technique requires considerable skill and dedication needing to be monitored around the clock with maximum of 3-hourly checks. Usually checks are done every 2 hours at night and more often during the day. Sleep is a luxury and days are spent mostly on your knees, hunched over, setting traps in the ground - back-breaking work. Each trap can take up to a half a day to set.

Incredibly, we were rewarded with three leopard captures during this 3 week period. It started with a female leopard F16 (Crystal) at Bushmanskloof. She was trapped and collared with the new lightweight Iridium collar and was in perfect condition. It turned out she was also pregnant and that we would soon have an ideal opportunity to document our second litter of cubs - the first being Spot's cubs monitored in 2010. Next to be trapped was the large male M18. From the camera trap photographs he looked big and had a similar coat pattern to leopards we had identified in the Northern Cape. Nothing prepared us for the reality however - weighing in at 57.5kg he was a real brute - at least 20kg heavier than the current average for males in the Cape mountains, and 10 kg heavier than the largest cat accurately recorded in the area. He too was successfully collared to be monitored. Finally, a younger male leopard was caught in a trap targeting Spot. He was released with a temporary collar which has since been released. Concern has grown as to Spot's whereabouts and camera traps have been set to try document her presence, but it is possible she is no longer alive or has possibly been pushed out of the area. More bad news was we had to close traps to capture and remove the collar from F9 avoiding the possibility of the big brute M18 being trapped again. Even far worse though, Crystal's Iridium satellite communication system failed 5 days after her capture. Disaster! We will try and track her using a radio unit to remotely drop-off the collar, but efforts to track and monitor cubs have been thwarted once again. I don't think anyone can understand the sense of frustration as much as the researchers - the collar investment (~R35,000/collar), sleepless nights trapping and monitoring, long days when no cats are caught, concluding with the tremendous efforts by the veterinarians on call to assist us with the captures. Priceless...

For the Cederberg trapping, we would like to thank Jeff for coming out and assisting - he has been brilliant helping our Capture for Conservation project and we hope to secure finance to fund other exciting projects around the world; Dr Marc Walton and Dr Johanni Pieterse, our vets who assisted on the captures - the most enthusiastic and dedicated practitioners you will find; Bushmanskloof for their sponsorship and hospitality; Regardt Boshoff (Bushmankloof) for his tireless assistance; the team at Driehoek and Alpha Excelsior for assisting and donating accommodation for the team during their stay - thanks for looking after the guys so well; Patrick Lane from Cape Nature; the surrounding landowners and Cape Nature for their support of our work; and last but not least, the trap monitors, Jurg Studer, David Knott (a CLT Trustee), Stellenbosch students (all who assisted) and Hanlo Fouche, without whom safe trapping would not be possible.

Malawi Mission Impossible

A couple of days after the last traps were pulled in the Cederberg; Quinton flew up to Majete Wildlife Reserve in Malawi, a jewel of African bushveld rehabilitated and very well managed by Africa Parks (http://www.african-parks.org/). His mission was to recapture 3 leopards (2 males and 1 female) who needed their GPS collars removed due to concerns of the animals growth causing collar constriction. It was clearly important to make every effort to get these cats, but time was very limited. Although the GPS components had failed over time since the cats were introduced into the reserve, their VHF transmitters still worked, so there was a chance to track the animal and get close improving overall chances of capture. On day 1 of the capture, Mr Moyo (Majete Scout) tracked the first male. He was in a good location and Quinton set a trap nearby using one of his tricks up his sleeve to attract the collared leopard. Fortuitously things went as planned and they got their first cat 3 hours later - a magnificent 56kg male. They were off to a good start! Another good sign was that the collar had in fact not been too tight after all, but it was successfully removed and the enigmatic cat wobbled off into the night with the likelihood of a bit of a hang-over from his drug experience, but none the worse for wear.

The following day almost saw the female caught. However, that near miss encounter led to 10 more days of very hard work trying to get her. The team were focussing fully on her as the last male had yet to be found, however, she was being extremely wily. Temperatures soared and traps had to be set in the heat of the day when the leopards were resting - the mid-40's were common. Coming from snowy conditions in the Cederberg could not have led to a greater contrast. Eventually the leopard gods favoured the team and Quinton tracked the female into a hilly area where she had made a kill. The team were even able to observe her, and amazingly, also a well-grown cub of about 1 year. The reserve and re-introduction had clearly been good to her. Rushing like mad, traps were set before nightfall on the kill she had made, and a few hours later she was safely captured and her awkward collar removed. The cub had decided discretion was the better part of valour and was nowhere to be seen.

On the second last day we managed to track the final male in the far southern part of this glorious 70,000ha reserve. Dead on their feet, the team set the last traps to try and get this male. However, their luck had run out, and not having had any sleep during the night, Quinton had no choice but to pull the traps at 05h30 to prepare for his trip home. Overall the trip was a major success - in addition to the leopard captures, Quinton managed to catch and collar a male hyaena for the predator study he will be co-supervising with a Conservation Ecology MSc student from Stellenbosch University here next year. On a final note, Quinton had this to say about his Malawi experience:

"Malawi was a truly amazing experience! Majete is one of the most stunning areas of bushveld - stunning broadleaf and miombo woodland interspersed with giant baobabs, great birding, a good mammal population and fantastic staff. The team I worked with including the two Stellenbosch post-graduate students, under the supervision of Dr Alison Leslie, were incredible. No work demands or working hours were too much for them and their enthusiasm never waned till the very end. African Parks should be congratulated for their conservation efforts in this area. A special thanks to Patricio Ndadzela, Craig Hays, Mr Moyo, Mr Sewedi (Head of Law Enforcement, Dept Wildlife & National Parks), Colin Tucker and Kate Spies for their efforts and hospitality. Thank you to Dr Alison Leslie for helping to make this trip happen and finally to acknowledge Dr Anthony Hall-Martin who, without his leadership the leopards and indeed Majete would not have been where it is. I look forward to sipping a "green" in the late afternoon sunlight at Majete again next year."
http://capeleopard.org.za/news-and-media/news/story/521/capture-for-conservation-leopard-trapping-in-the-cederberg-and-malawi
The pic of the largest cape leopard ever recorded:
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Taipan
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New footage reveals family life of elusive Amur leopard

Posted on 30 January 2014 | 2 Comments

Vladivostok, Russia: Video footage released today of one of the most endangered species on the planet, the Amur leopard, provides vital information to help conservation efforts.

Camera trap footage from eastern Russia filmed in November and December of 2013 and made available this month, reveals how the highly endangered Amur leopard raises kittens in the wild as well as giving an insight into family behavior.

In November 2013, Land of the Leopard National Park and WWF started a joint project, “Leopard’s Reality Show”, installing 10 hidden camera traps near the remains of a sika deer.

The 78 hours of unique video material shows how the female Amur leopard, named Kedrovka, feeds her kittens with the sika deer, trains them, and resolves their disputes. She has three kittens, a rare occurrence for leopards. We see how kittens play and fight for meat, discover the world by studying birds, weasels, and mice, and experience first fears and pain.

“In the video we can see how the mother urges the weakest kitten to eat after the other two have abandoned the prey. But it is not as fussy as most human mothers, when the weakest kitten starts to limp on one paw and whines about it, the mother just ignores it”, said Vasily Solkin from WWF-Russia Amur branch, who compiled the footage.

Previously scientists believed that similar to a lion pride, leopards from one “family” ate prey together. However this footage shows that leopard kittens approach the deer in turns, with the strongest eating first and the weakest last.



This means that any leopard “meal” takes a long time, and the last kitten always has the smallest chance of being fed because a strange noise or other threat may force the leopards to move on and leave the kill.

This fact explains why female leopards sometimes choose to give attention only to two kittens, even if they give birth to three. Very often, the third or even the second kitten does not survive in the long term.

All information gathered about leopard upbringing is crucial for WWF conservation efforts. With few leopards left, they may be genetically too close and inbreeding may weaken their chances of survival.

There are plans in the science community to introduce new leopards into the wild by breeding leopards from zoos but to ensure that the program is successful, it is important to know how leopards are raised and taught hunting skills in the wild.

Amur leopards live in the northernmost part of the species range in far-eastern Russia. A Census in 2013 showed that there are 48 to 50 Amur leopards remaining in the wild, about 80 per cent of the species’ former range disappeared between 1970 and 1983.

Habitat destruction by unsustainable logging, forest fires and land conversion for farming infrastructure development are the main causes, while the species has also been hit hard by ungulate poaching. Ungulates are large, hoofed mammals and the main prey for Amur leopards.

Numbers are increasing from a few years ago when just 30 remained and WWF plans to keep this upward trend with extensive conservation measures. Every leopard has a unique pattern of spots, so experts can recognize almost every one of the remaining leopard by photo or video images.

http://wwf.panda.org/?214890/New-footage-reveals-family-life-of-elusive-Amur-leopard
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Kurtz
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The strenght of full grown male leopard:
Terrified city on lockdown after wild leopard injures six, sets off minor stampede in market
MEERUT, India — Forestry officials and police armed with tranquilizer darts searched for a leopard that injured six people and drove residents indoors in a bustling northern Indian city, police said Tuesday.

The leopard wandered through an army hospital and a crowded market in Meerut city on Sunday, setting off a minor stampede in which two more people were hurt, said police superintendent Abhiskek Singh.

Authorities ordered schools and colleges closed on Monday and asked people to stay indoors as police teams scoured the city. Shopkeepers lowered their shutters and the city streets emptied. Soldiers also joined the hunt after the leopard was first spotted in the army hospital Sunday afternoon.
“We cordoned off the area and waited. It emerged some hours later and jumped, injuring a police inspector,” Singh said. The animal leaped over the roofs of single-storied homes and disappeared.

Since then groups of wildlife officials wearing helmets and carrying tranquilizer guns and volunteers armed with sticks have been searching a wide swathe around the hospital.
At one point, forestry officials closed in on the leopard in a warehouse, but it leaped through a concrete grill, breaking it and escaping.

“It’s a fully grown male … a big animal with enormous strength, which is what has panicked residents,” Singh said.

“We were afraid to go out of the house. There was a lot of panic and fear,” homemaker Pooja Mahajan said Tuesday. “But no one has spotted the leopard since yesterday, so today things are back to normal.”

Singh said schools and colleges reopened Tuesday.
Wildlife officials were on alert but it was likely the animal had fled to nearby forests, he said.

Leopards are protected in India, though more are straying into cities and villages to search for food as their habitats shrink.

Meerut, a bustling commercial city in Uttar Pradesh state, is about 70 kilometers (40 miles) northeast of the Indian capital, New Delhi.
Posted Image
http://news.nationalpost.com/2014/02/25/officials-still-on-the-hunt-for-leopard-stalking-through-bustling-indian-city-injuring-six/
Edited by Kurtz, Apr 6 2014, 10:28 PM.
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Sicilianu
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Wow that male leopard is a beast.
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romanianborz
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good news about persian leopard in southern Caucasus!

http://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/index.cfm?220690%2FEndangered-leopard-images-are-proof-of-conservation-progress-in-Caucasus&fb_action_ids=763841226973515&fb_action_types=og.likes
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Kurtz
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heavy difference btw leopards in 50-60 kilograms range and leopards in 60-70 kilograms range.

About M18 weigghed in 57 kilograms in cape leopard trust i've noticed tha this male leopard have more consistent measuraments with 53 kilograms males than 62 kilograms male.
For sample Males average 53,03 kilograms in okonjima(altough they don't locked in decents class of ages) have very similar measuraments with M18 cape leopard in at 57 kilograms that have even smaller chest tha these(75 cm. 3 cm. less than 53 kilograms male!):
http://www.vetdentsa.co.za/PDFs/2004-africat-vol12-annual%20exam%20page%205%20and%208.pdf
i have heard 51 cm, of neck but i'm not sure
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xbMkpC_90Yg

While a 62 kilograms male leopard is impressive and very close to a leopard in at 69 kilograms-es:

http://eprints.ru.ac.za/2955/1/GRANT-MSc-TR12-47.pdf pag. 79
http://www.vetdentsa.co.za/PDFs/2004-africat-vol12-annual%20exam%20page%205%20and%208.pdf

Comparison btw
69 kilograms male from namibia vs. 62 kilograms male from Zimbobwe

150 cm. lenght(without tail) vs. 150 cm. without tail(227 less 77 cm of tail)
89 cm. chest girth vs. 87,5 cm.
59 cm. neck girth vs. 55 cm.
25 cm. skull lenght vs. 27 cm.
21 cm. skull width vs. 17.3 cm.
78 cm. shoulder heght vs. 78 cm. straight 66 cm. bent




Seems that there are very little difference btw a 53 and 57 kilograms male
while there is an impressive differnce btw a 57 and 62 kilograms male
while there is no big difference or not impressive btwn 62 and 69 kilograms

chui what do you think about it, it is correct? or may be that cape leopard was weighed with bit content in the stomach or what.
Edited by Kurtz, May 17 2014, 08:13 AM.
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figantee
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figantee
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Edited by figantee, Aug 3 2014, 08:31 PM.
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Taipan
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Cat bites dog: In India's human dominated landscapes, top prey for leopards is dogs

Date: September 11, 2014
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
Summary:
In India’s human dominated agricultural landscapes, where leopards prowl at night, it’s not livestock that’s primarily on the menu -- it is man’s best friend.

Posted Image
This is a camera trap image of a leopard looking for its favorite prey in India's Ahmednagar's district in Maharashtra.

A new study led by the Wildlife Conservation Society reveals that in India's human dominated agricultural landscapes, where leopards prowl at night, it's not livestock that's primarily on the menu -- it is man's best friend.
The study, which looked at scat samples for leopards in India's Ahmednagar's district in Maharashtra, found that 87 percent of their diet was made up of domestic animals. Domestic dog dominated as the most common prey item at 39 percent and domestic cats were second at 15 percent.
Seventeen percent of the leopard's diet consisted of assorted wild animals including rodents, monkeys, and mongoose, and birds.
Livestock, despite being more abundant, made up a relatively small portion of the leopard's diet. Domestic goats, for example, are seven times more common than dogs in this landscape, yet only make up 11 percent of leopard's prey. The author's say this is because goats are less accessible and often brought into pens at night, while dogs are largely allowed to wander freely. Cows, sheep, and pigs were also eaten, but collectively made up less than 20 percent of leopard's food. Most domestic cattle in this region are too large to be preyed on by leopards.
The author's of the study say that the selection of domestic dogs as prey means that the economic impact of predation by leopards on valuable livestock is lower than expected. Thus, human-leopard "conflict" is more likely to be related to people's fears of leopards foraging in the proximity of their houses and the sentimental value of dogs as pets.
Study co-author Ullas Karanth, WCS Director for Science-Asia, said: "During the past two-to-three decades, legal regulation of leopard hunting, increased conservation awareness, and the rising numbers of feral dogs as prey have all led to an increase in leopard numbers outside of nature reserves in agricultural landscapes. While this is good news for conservation and a tribute to the social tolerance of Indian people, it also poses major challenges of managing conflict that occasionally breaks out. Only sound science can help us face this challenge."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140911092326.htm




Journal Reference:
Vidya Athreya, Morten Odden, John D. C. Linnell, Jagdish Krishnaswamy, K. Ullas Karanth. A cat among the dogs: leopard Panthera pardus diet in a human-dominated landscape in western Maharashtra, India. Oryx, 2014; 1 DOI: 10.1017/S0030605314000106

Abstract
The ecology and predator–prey dynamics of large felids in the tropics have largely been studied in natural systems where wild ungulates constitute the majority of the prey base. However, human-dominated landscapes can be rich in potential prey for large carnivores because of the high density of domestic animals, especially in tropical countries where pastoralism is an important livelihood activity. We report the almost complete dependence of leopards Panthera pardus on domestic animals as prey in the crop lands of Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. From analysis of 85 confirmed leopard scats, 87% of the leopard's prey biomass consisted of domestic animals, with 39% consisting of domestic dogs Canis lupus familiaris alone. The only wild species that occurred in the leopard's diet were rodents, small indian civet Viverricula indica, bonnet macaque Macaca radiata and other primates Semnopithecus spp., mongoose Herpestes spp., and birds. Interviews conducted in 77 households distributed randomly in the study area documented a high density of domestic animals: adult cattle Bos taurus, calves, goats Capra aegagrus, dogs and cats Felis catus occurred at densities of 169, 54, 174, 24 and 61 per km2, respectively. Ivlev's electivity index indicated that dogs and cats were over-represented in the leopard's diet, given the higher densities of goats and cattle. The standing biomass of dogs and cats alone was sufficient to sustain the high density of carnivores at the study site. Our results show that the abundance of potential domestic prey biomass present in human-use areas supports a relatively high density of predators, although this interaction could result in conflict with humans.

http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9343895&fileId=S0030605314000106
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Taipan
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Next-door leopards: First GPS-collar study reveals how leopards live with people

Date: November 21, 2014
Source: Wildlife Conservation Society
Summary:
In the first-ever GPS-based study of leopards in India, biologists have delved into the secret lives of these big cats, and recorded their strategies to thrive in human-dominated areas.

Posted Image
Scientific team attaching a GPS collar to a leopard.

In the first-ever GPS-based study of leopards in India, led by WCS and partners has delved into the secret lives of these big cats, and recorded their strategies to thrive in human-dominated areas.
The study concludes that leopards in human areas are not always 'stray' or 'conflict' animals but residents, potentially requiring policy makers to rethink India's leopard-management strategies.
The study was a collaboration of Vidya Athreya of WCS India (Wildlife Conservation Society), scientists from Norway (Morten Odden from Hedmark University College and John Linnell from Norwegian Institute for Nature Research), Sandeep Rattan of the Himachal Pradesh Forest Department, Maharashtra Forest Department and Asian Nature Conservation Foundation. Their findings were published recently in the journal PLoS One in the article "Adaptable Neighbours: Movement patterns of GPS-collared leopards in human-dominated landscapes in India."
Five leopards (two males and three females) perceived as "problem animals" and captured from human-dominated areas despite no predatory attack on people, were radio-collared for the study. Two were translocated and released more than 50 km (31 miles) away, while the remaining three were released near the site of capture.
The scientists monitored the animals' activities from the time of release, for up to a year, recording their behavior -- including strategies they adopt to avoid direct contact with people.

The findings

Immediately after release, the two translocated animals moved away 89 km (55 miles) and 45 km respectively (28 miles) from the release sites.
Said co-author Vidya Athreya of WCS India: "This indicated futility of translocation as a management strategy; this could have in fact, aggravated the conflict, as these animals passed through highly-human dominated (even industrial) areas," contended the scientists.
However, the animals applied tactics to avoid encountering people, despite dependence on their resources.
Firstly, the animals mostly moved at night, which timed perfectly with low human activity. They also spent more time closer to homes (<25 m [82 feet] in many location recordings) at night, than during the day.
"This gave them an access to people's livestock, and yet kept them safe from people," Athreya explained.
That these leopards were residents in these human-dominated areas was also confirmed by the study.
The two translocated animals occupied bigger home ranges (42 km [26 miles]and 65 km [40 miles] respectively), including one in the outskirts of Mumbai. The other three lived in areas with highest human densities, but occupied smallest home ranges (8-15 sq km) (3-5.7 square miles) ever recorded for leopards anywhere.
"The home ranges of the three animals are comparable to those in highly-productive protected areas with a very good prey density," said Athreya. "This indicated that food sources associated with humans [domestic animals] supported these leopards."
Moreover, two of the females even gave birth to cubs during the course of the study, confirming their residence.
Despite living in close proximity to humans and even being dependent on their resources, none of the leopards were involved in human deaths during capture or following release.
The authors stress that the presence of wild carnivores like leopards in human use landscapes in India need to be dealt with proactive mitigation measures.
The authors say there is a need for more studies on ecology of wildlife that share space with humans in India, so that better understanding can feed into better policy. Efforts should be put into preventing losses to people rather than react after losses have been incurred. The management policy should also work towards retaining the acceptance and tolerance of the local people.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/11/141121121232.htm




Journal Reference:
Morten Odden, Vidya Athreya, Sandeep Rattan, John D. C. Linnell. Adaptable Neighbours: Movement Patterns of GPS-Collared Leopards in Human Dominated Landscapes in India. PLoS ONE, 2014; 9 (11): e112044 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0112044

Abstract
Understanding the nature of the interactions between humans and wildlife is of vital importance for conflict mitigation. We equipped five leopards with GPS-collars in Maharashtra (4) and Himachal Pradesh (1), India, to study movement patterns in human-dominated landscapes outside protected areas. An adult male and an adult female were both translocated 52 km, and exhibited extensive, and directional, post release movements (straight line movements: male = 89 km in 37 days, female = 45 km in 5 months), until they settled in home ranges of 42 km2 (male) and 65 km2 (female). The three other leopards, two adult females and a young male were released close to their capture sites and used small home ranges of 8 km2 (male), 11 km2 and 15 km2 (females). Movement patterns were markedly nocturnal, with hourly step lengths averaging 339±9.5 m (SE) during night and 60±4.1 m during day, and night locations were significantly closer to human settlements than day locations. However, more nocturnal movements were observed among those three living in the areas with high human population densities. These visited houses regularly at nighttime (20% of locations <25 m from houses), but rarely during day (<1%). One leopard living in a sparsely populated area avoided human settlements both day and night. The small home ranges of the leopards indicate that anthropogenic food resources may be plentiful although wild prey is absent. The study provides clear insights into the ability of leopards to live and move in landscapes that are extremely modified by human activity.

http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0112044
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Sleipnir
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anyone see this yet
Edited by Sleipnir, Nov 24 2014, 06:10 AM.
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maker
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http://csis.msu.edu/news/conservation-tigers-pushes-leopard-change

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989414000833
Edited by maker, Dec 12 2014, 04:26 PM.
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maker
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http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/12/141219-persian-leopard-iran-iraq-land-mine/
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maker
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The Guardian
 
With state support of approximately $5,000 (£3,000), a citizen-researcher-forest department initiative called Mumbaikars for SGNP began.

Researchers counted leopards, assessed the number of prey animals, mapped where attacks occurred, examined road kills, and analysed the cats’ diet.

Mumbaikars for SGNP demonstrated it isn’t the sole responsibility of the forest department to ensure no human or animal comes to harm. Since the initiative built a relationship with residents, demands to trap leopards have lessened.

Although the project officially ran for only a year, volunteers continue to talk to people and conduct workshops. Dialogue and transparent functioning calmed frayed nerves, and people grew tolerant of leopards in Mumbai.

Had the forest department in Karnataka taken a similar initiative to engage with people, defuse media hype, and coordinate with other government departments, the Marodi leopard would not be languishing in a zoo.[/url]
Full article: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/india-untamed/2015/jan/08/mumbai-residents-learn-live-with-leopards
Edited by maker, Jan 13 2015, 07:30 PM.
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Taipan
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Rarest Big Cat on Earth Starting to Make a Comeback

by Elizabeth Palermo, Staff Writer | February 23, 2015 02:28pm ET

Posted Image
An Amur leopard is caught on camera at Land of the Leopard National Park in Russia.

Things are starting to look up for the rarest big cat on the planet: The critically endangered Amur leopard, which is indigenous to southeastern Russia and parts of northeastern China, has doubled in population since 2007, according to a new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

Census data from Russia's Land of the Leopard National Park, which covers about 60 percent of the Amur leopard's habitat, puts the number of these wild cats at 57. That's up from the 30 leopards counted in the area in 2007, according to the WWF.

Eight to 12 additional cats were also counted in adjacent areas of China during the census, which means the total population of Amur leopards has, in fact, doubled in less than a decade.

"Such a strong rebound in Amur leopard numbers is further proof that even the most critically endangered big cats can recover if we protect their habitat and work together on conservation efforts," Barney Long, director of species protection and Asian species conservation for WWF, said in a statement. "There's still a lot of work to be done in order to secure a safe future for the Amur leopard, but these numbers demonstrate that things are moving in the right direction."

To count these solitary cats, park rangers and experts from the Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences placed camera traps throughout the more than 1,400 square miles (3,600 square kilometers) of land that make up the Amur leopard's habitat. They collected about 10,000 photographs, which were used to identify approximately 60 individual leopards. Each animal was identified by the distinctive pattern of spots on its fur, WWF officials said.

The Land of the Leopard National Park, where the leopards were counted, was established in 2012 along the border of northeastern China and the Russian Far East, in a region known as the Amur-Heilong River Basin. Its founding was part of an ongoing effort to conserve Amur leopards and other at-risk species, including the Siberian tiger.

Siberian tigers were once in as dire a situation as Amur leopards are now, with only about 56 of these tigers living in the wild in 2009, according to the Siberian Tiger Monitoring Program, a collaboration among the U.S. Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and several Russian organizations. Ten Siberian tigers were introduced to the Land of the Leopard National Park in 2012. Another 350 or so Siberian tigers live in other areas of the Russian Far East.

Posted Image
A camera trap captured this image of two Amur leopards in a previous census of the rare cat's population in the Land of the Leopard National Park in Russia.

But these tigers are now making inroads into northeastern China as well, according to recent video footage captured by WWF officials in that country. The footage, taken late last year inside the Wangqing Nature Reserve in northeastern China, shows a family of Siberian tigers frolicking about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from the Russian border.

Until this video was taken, the only evidence that Siberian tigers still inhabited parts of China was the occasional footprint, WWF officials said.

"These images show that Wangqing Nature Reserve has now become a breeding site for Amur tigers," said Wang Fuyou, division head of the Wangqing Nature Reserve conservation department. "Seeing these positive outcomes from our efforts greatly strengthens our confidence that wild Amur tiger populations can be restored."

Conservationists in Russia are now working with their counterparts in China to more closely monitor Amur leopard populations in that country as well. The next step could be to create a nature reserve that stretches across both countries, WWF officials said.

http://www.livescience.com/49905-amur-leopard-population-doubled.html
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