Tag: Melanistic

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Reversing extinction: Marwell zoo and the scimitar-horned oryx

Declared extinct in the wild back in 2000, this species is now not only re-established in the wild, but has a big enough population to now only be listed as endangered (down from critically endangered).

Apart from supplying individuals for the reintroduction, Marwell zoo also helped with strategy.

The video below is just 2 minutes long. While it talks about Marwells other work as well, it shows a number of these animals living wild back in Africa.

This has got to become the reason for zoos. What ever else they do, there are many species at risk of extinction in the wild, these need to have enough captive individuals to re-establish wild populations, should the current conservation fail.

Of course, zoos have many other roles, from education, to fostering a love of wildlife in the next generation.

One thing that they should not be, is a curio house- many zoos are far to worried about displaying albino or melanistic individuals. Now while these individuals are fascinating and can be used as ambassadors for the species, their genetic health should be looked after (all white tigers are descended from one female, and closely related individuals are regularly bred togerther to ensure this trait is passed down. Indeed, as a result of this, white tigers are often not of good health.

The majority of zoos are now like Marwell – while like many, it started as the private zoo of wealthy owners it has turned into an important place of conservation and science. Another of their successes, is the cooperative breeding that occurs as standard in current times, across Europe. Regular loaning of animals is essential, so that we can treat all of the zoo animals in Europe as one single population, thereby  making sure that all animals in the system are healthy.

There are many hundreds of zoos across Europe (some claim as many as 2000, though around 1500 is the estimated worldwide number suggesting that this is a rather large exaggeration. It is likely that around half of the worlds zoos are in Europe, and by cooperative breeding, we can make sure that healthy populations remain in captivity, so that should a population be lost from the wild, it can be returned, when the wild situation improves.

Almost all predictions about human population are expected to peak in the coming decades, and then decline after that. If this pattern is followed, it should be expected that we will need to re-establish wilderness in the future. 

Scimitar-horned oryx have been returned to the wild in Tunisia, and Chad and there are plans to return them to the wild in Niger, in the near future.

Extinction was caused by a variety of features, but the primary one was over-hunting. This has virtually been eliminated, after a ban on hunting of this species was put into effect in 2013. Should this species be allowed to fully recover. In 1985, there was a population of at least 500 of this species living in the wild, so it took only 15 years for it to disappear, as such what is clearly essential is a regular assessment on how this species is faring, allowing earlier interventions.

Saving the natural world, may require this kind of success to be a regular feature.

Guina (also called the Kodkod)

Guina or Kodkod

The Guina is found primarily in central and Southern Chile, as well as in parts of Argentina at the same latitudes.

Guina (kodkod) taken by Mauro Tammone

Melanistic (black versions) do occur in places. It is usually found in mixed temperate rainforests of the Southern Andean chain and coastal areas such as the Valdivian and Araucaria Forests of Chile, which has bamboo in its lower levels. It prefers evergreen temperate rainforests to deciduous temerate moist forests (or scierophyllous scrub or coniferous forests). It can be found in altered forest, so does alright in areas where humans have disturbed the forest, or in the edges of settled and cultivated areas. It is found as high as 1900m (which is at the treeline) In Argentina it has been recorded in moist Montane forest, which has Valdivian temperate rainforest characteristics, including those with many layered structure with bamboo or numerous lianas and epiphytes.

They are equally happy to be active in the day or the night, though rarely venture into open spaces during the day.

The main threat to their survival is the destruction of the rainforest. Those living near human habitation have also been killed after taking chickens. They are classed as vulnerable.

Analysis has shown that its closest relation is the Geoffrey’s cat

Leopard

African Leopard
Indian leopard
javan leopard
Arabian leopard
Persian (or Caucasian) Leopard
indochinese leopard
Sri Lankan leopard
Amur leopard
indochinese leopard

Leopard

Leopards are one of the so called big 5 of Africa (big game hunting) and are often an animal that people are really keen to see).Looking beautiful when we manage to spot it, its look is specifically such that allows it to blend into the shadows, making it as hard to see in the dappled light that is filtering through the leaves of a tree. Leopard populations have declined by at least 25% in Africa over the last 30 years.

Leopards were once found from western Turkey all the way to the far East of Russia, and are still found from the southern tip of Africa to the frozen lands of northern Siberia. What is incredible, is that its yellow and black coat is a good camouflage through an incredibly wide range of habitats, from snow, desert, rainforest and Savannah. It should be noted, that in the rainforests of the Malaysian Peninsular as much as 50% of the population is made up by black or melanistic leopards, seemingly because in the deep shadow of the rainforest there is a large example of this. As well as covering leopards, we will cover the subspecies (there are nine recognized subspecies of leopards including African, Indian, Javan, Arabian, Amur, North Chinese, Caucasian (also called Persian), Indochinese and Sri Lankan). Given the huge area of the planet where Leopards live, it is not surprising that there are this many subspecies.

Given the wide range of leopard habitats they differ in size very dramatically. It is also obviously true that their conservation status is that a variety of different levels. As search I will try to cover as many of these different habitats and subspecies as possible (over time).

Due to their habit of staying in cover, it is far harder to get an accurate idea of how many leopards are left, but below I will attempt to do that.

Kruger, the Serengeti, south Luangwa all have around 1000 leopards. Indeed it is even thought that the population of cape leopards, scattered across the western cape is around this number of 1000.

It is certainly true that Leopards are a far harder thing to see when you are in the bush, however with perseverance and some night drives, you should get at least a couple leopard sightings on a safari holiday.

Below we will list the currently recognized subspecies of leopard. We hope in the future to have links to places where you can see each of these. Each of these will appear within its page, access them by clicking on the tabs

Leopard subspecies pages

African Leopard

50 years ago, Africa was estimated to have 700,000 the current number is nearer to 50,000 (the 700,000 figure came from a study in 1988, estimates vary widely, when I have written all my African leopard pages, I will give an estimate based on all the country estimates (it should be noted, however that this may be no more accurate). This is not evenly spread, such that while 34 countries are thought to still host them. It should be noted, that the so called Barbary leopard is included in this subspecies. While there is still much debate (not least the suggestion that the Sahara might have stopped gene from from the Barbary region to the rest of Africa. In a similar way, there is discussion on a variety of different populations of leopards, but these will not get their own tab, until they are declared as recognized subspecies (there was, at one time as many as 37 claimed different subspecies of leopard spread across Africa and Asia, many were lost, when the genetic differences were found to be so small).

Now, obviously, the decline from 700,000 leopards to just 50,000 has been substantial, which suggests a potential for recovery, however the majority of these would have roamed outside protected lands, and with an increased population (the human population has tripled in the last 50 years, from just over 400 million to over 1.2 billion in the same time. As such, much wilderness has been lost to human habitation and crop growing. As you can see, Leopards have declined a great deal more, around the edge of the Sahara, than anywhere else. It should be noted, that many range maps cover the majority of sub-Saharan Africa as Leopard range, when this is clearly not the case.

It is listed as Vulnerable by CITES with a current population of estimated 50,000. Its decline and future threats come down to a number of issues:

  1. African Leopard have suffered from habitat loss and fragmentation, increased illegal wildlife trade, decline in prey and poorly managed trophy hunting.
  2. Prey species are increasingly under threat as a result of the  unsustainable human bushmeat trade across large parts of Africa’s savannas (if we eat the leopards prey, then they cannot). Leopards are also killed illegally for their widely sought-after skins and other body parts used for ceremonial purposes.
  3. African Leopard have limited levels of ecological resilience to human-caused habitat fragmentation, and as a result are more restricted to conservation areas – future decline is anticipated unless conservation efforts are undertaken. Being apex predators they each need quite some space (even in good habitat, at least 5 square miles) and a viable population is usually considered at least 100 animals, many protected areas are too small, requiring Leopards to leave the reserve and cross the human landscape in order to reach others.
While in theory, hunting areas (where these Leopards can be shot for sport) are well managed and large enough to have self-sustaining populations, this is not always the case. Zambia and South Africa have both banned hunting in recent years, but before this, there were a number of hunting areas that bordered places like the Kruger, then when the leopard crosses a line it can be shot.  The ban in South Africa only lasted 2 years, between 2016 and 2018, however, at the moment South Africa is only allowed to hunt 150 per years, which is unlikely to effect the population. Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Mozambique all still have hunting operations, but these vary in how safe the population is. Apart from the 2 destinations at the top of the page, a longer list is coming, which will be at the bottom of the page.

The largest leopard populations include:

South Luangwa and the Southern KAZA tranfrontier park are both areas of Zambia, that are particularly good for wild Leopards;

Despite the continuing loss of lions, large parts of Kenya still have impressively high densities of leopards (as high as 1 every 3 square miles), though the fact that in many of these areas, there are no lions, it is perhaps not surprising that the leopard is more common.

Other protected areas with leopard populations include: Taï National Park (Ivory coast), Etosha National Park (Namibia), Virunga National Park (democratic republic of the Congo, and Kruger National Park (South Africa). 

Indeed, virtually the only natural habitat which leopards do not live in is very sandy deserts.
Given the complexity and range of this subspecies of Leopard, I will deal with each country in turn

 

      • Limpopo transfrontier park 1000 (Kruger national park and Sabi Sands, as well as other smaller private and public reserves)
      • Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park 150
      • Western province (western cape) is thought to have 500, while the eastern province is thought to have 400 (Eastern Cape) these two populations are often jointly referred to as the Cape leopard. The Cape leopard is named after the Cape Fold Mountains in South Africa, where they are mainly found. They are smaller and lighter than other leopards, and prefer mountainous areas. They are also more threatened than other leopards due to habitat limitations and urbanization. 
      • I believe that it could reasonably be argued that a further 1000 or at a stretch 2000 might live in small reserves which are scattered  across the country       

That gets us to a very generous estimate of 4000. Official population estimates range between 2813-11632 (hard to give credibility to the upper estimate). However, it would suggest that there is a great deal of space for this population to recover.

The current best estimate of the Leopard population found in Botswana is thought to be around 4295, though this estimates suggests as high as 6700 and as low as 1893.

  • Chobe national park and the Okovango delta are both part of the KAZA transfrontier park, a vast mosaic of protected areas. These have healthy populations of the Leopard, as well as many other animals
  • Nxai pan and Makgadikgadi par are also in the southern reaches of this vast area. As such the upper estimate is certainly possible, though the area still needs some recovery.
  • Moremi Game Reserve
  • Savuti and Mashatu Game Reserve
  • Various private reserves also have high populations (I will hope to add many of these here) many of the private reserves are on the edge of public reserves so will have their leopard populations counted with the rest of their ecosystem.

In 2019 they estimated 11,733 though this was down from 14154 in just 2011. There are a variety of both reserves and national parks to visit in this country. We would love to list some, do get in touch.

Reserves, known to be good for Leopard in Namibia, include:

  • Okonjima Nature Reserve
  • Etosha National Park
  • Caprivi Strip

 

Leopards in Zimbabwe are thought to be doing relatively well with a population of 1200-2000. Zimbabwe is relatively lucky in its placement, as it has protected land connected to both the Limpopo transfrontier park (Gonarhezou national park) and the KAZA transfrontier park (Hwange National Park), which means that even if all leopards in Zimbabwe were to be killed, they would likely continue to enter.

Other destinations include

  • Mana Pools National Park
  • Matusadona National Park

Leopards are scattered throughout Mozambique, but they are locally extinct in areas with a lot of development. In 1988 a study estimated the size of the leopard population at over 37000. If this was accurate, it has not stayed this high. The fact that there is so little information about surveys is particularly suspicious, as much leopard hunting goes on within the country – it is quite possible that the hunting quotas are still being calculated on the basis of numbers vastly greater than they should be

Good places to see the leopard in Mozambique include:

  • Limpopo national park (a part of the Limpopo transfrontier park)
  • Gorongosa National Park
  •  Zinave National Park (the video above is of a scheme to reintroduce leopard into this park)
It should be noted, that both the second and third destination on this list, is places where leopards have been reintroduced in recent times.
  • Kafue national park: a hotspot in Zambia, though population estimates are hard to find
  • South Luangwa national park, a part of the Kaza transfrontier park is also thought to be good for leopards
  • Lower zambezi national park
  •  

Leopards are not uncommon in Malawi, though outside protected areas, they are less common. I have not found good video of the Leopard in Malawi, I may add one in the future.

  • Nyika National Park: thought to host the countries only viable population
  • Majete Wildlife Reserve: Leopards have been moved here, as an effort to restock the area (this started in 2011, before which no leopards had lived in the area for at lest 2 decades)
  • Mangochi Forest Reserve: while not known to host leopards, a camera trap has photographed an individual. Clearly it must have migrated into the area, but whether it will ever find a mate naturally (or indeed one get moved into the area, is anyones guess)

While the overall number of leopards are not clear (and there do not appear to be widely available population estimates, the places listed below are thought to still have good numbers of leopards.

    • Iona National Park
      A park that shares a border with Skeleton Coast National Park in Namibia. It’s home to a variety of animals, including leopards, cheetahs, and Angolan giraffes. 
    • Bicuar
      A region known for its wildlife, including leopards, African wild dogs, and spotted hyenas
    Having said all at the top, it is said, that it is likely that there are plenty of leopards, but it would be very hard to confirm this
     
     
     
 

Places in Tanzania which are recognized as having decent leopard populations include:

      • Serengeti National park                                        1000
      • Nyerere national park (formerly Selous)      4000  
      • Ruaha National park                                               4000
      • Ngorogoro and ecosystem                                 1000
Hunting areas are estimated at 300,000 square km, and Leopards are thought to live in these areas, but their density ranges from 0.1 to 30 per 100km  over this same area. This means that hunting zones can add anything from 300 leopards up to 9000. This gives Tanzania a leopard population somewhere in the range between 10,000 and 19,000. I mention this, because in other parts of Africa hunting blocks have been hired by those wanting to run photography safaris, as a result, it should be recognized that regular safaris by those who can afford them, are likely to increase the amount of land given over to preservation of a variety of species.
  • Massai mara: only around 30 resident Leopards in the area (this is considered as healthy for the reserve)
  • Tsavo is a huge and relatively healthy wilderness area, suggesting that there should be a relatively large leopard population, certainly hundreds perhaps more
  • Samburu, while not large, it is considered one of the best places to film Leopards
  • Amboselli: few Leopards within the park, but conservancies in the area are good.
  • Ol Pejete Conservancy hosts around 20 Leopards.
  • Other destinations include: Marsabit National Park, Nasolot National Park, Mwingi National Park, Kora National Park, Lewa Wildife Conservancy, Meru National Park, Mwea National Reserve, Bisanadi National Park and Simba Hills National Park
 
As recently as 1981, the leopard population of this country alone, was estimated at 12-18000. We hope to greatly increase the number of destinations we list, do add yours, we would love to help people find you. Click on list your wild place at the top of the home page (or Here). If anyone has better numbers for the Leopard in Kenya, do let me know

All studies suggest that leopards are common throughout the forests and savannahs of the DRC, though accurate estimates for how big this population is, are not easy to come by (and would likely have very wide error bars). Leopards, are very hard to view when in a rainforest ecosystem, which means that while there is likely a large and healthy leopard population, it is hard to actually view them as a tourist. The above video is taken from a camera trap, placed in the Okapi national park, a highly forested area.

The most reliable estimate is from 1987, when it was predicted that there was 4000 individuals. It is likely to have reduced since then, but how many there actually are is a big question, though more recent submissions, by hunting groups wanting a quota for leopards, suggested 2700, a significant fall of roughly 33% (though over the 37 years, this is lower than declines in other populations).

The above video, is a short documentary by a local man, both showing leopards in Uganda and giving information on where they are found.

Leopards are hard to see in Rwanda. Akagera national park is a savannah park, which hosts the big 5. It is estimated that just 15-20 leopards live within this park. Given that the park is a little over 1000 square km (400 square miles) leopards are by no means common even here.

Browsing around many pages about Rwanda, an alarming number claim that the leopard is extinct in the rest of the country. Given the fact that leopards are just as at home within rainforest as savannah (many suggest that leopard densities are the same across each habitat), and the fact that there are a variety of transfrontier conservations like the Virungas (and the Volcanoes national park across the border in Rwanda) exist, and that leopards are common in many of these reserves across the border, it seems hard to believe that there are not leopards living in the Rwanda forests. Never-the-less, it is also true, that humans are the apex predator, and that lions and other big cats like leopards, are well aware of this, and so generally steer clear of humans on foot (oddly, in many national parks, leopards can become very relaxed about people in cars, allowing (on occasion) a car to sit within mere meters)).

However, this clearly means that while leopards are found in forests, they will quite naturally not regularly be seen – the sound of humans walking carries far and wide, and gives the leopard time to disappear (and after all, leopards are the king of camouflage and therefore often only have to go a few meters into the undergrowth and freeze.

So what is the situation with leopard conservation in Rwanda? I will look out for news, and we hope to list articles that are relevant in the future, on these pages

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Leopards are found in a variety of habitats, including rainforests, savannas, deserts, and mountainous areas. They are one of the most adaptable wild cat species, but their distribution has decreased due to poaching and habitat loss. 

A leopard was reportedly seen pursuing a large western lowland gorilla in the Dzanga-Sangha Complex of Protected Areas, but was unable to catch it. Gorilla parts were found in leopard scat, which suggests that the leopard either killed or scavenged on the gorilla.

There are few videos of leopards in the republic of the Congo , so the video below is the only one I have been found. Click on the watch on youtube to be able to see it, before coming back here.

Leopards are found in rainforests living at densities similar to the highest in savannah ecosystems. Having said this, they are generally hard to view, as they hear humans long before humans can see, and are scared of humans (it is not natural behaviour for leopards to hunt humans though in places we are invading their spaces too much and changing this).

  • Batéké Plateau National Park
  • Ivindo National Park
  • Loango National Park

All three of these national parks have sizable populations of wild leopards, that are seen from time to time. However, the same rules apply as elsewhere – leopards are not apex predators, humans are which means that generally a leopards natural reaction to hearing leopards approaching, is to flee. Having said this, each of these national parks have areas of open land, either Bai or beaches (loango) which allows you to watch forest leopards out in the open (with luck, and forest leopards like all leopards are very wary).

Spotting leopards within equatorial guinea is very hard. This is because, despite there being a large number (they have even left the wild and started to live in suburbs in various places). Never-the-less, they are encountered, and more often than one might think.

Leopards are found throughout much of Cameroon, but as with other forest countries are rarely seen.

  • Campo Ma’an Conservation Area has seen the return of the leopard, after an absence of around 20 years. There are plans to put out many cameras, in order to try to keep an eye on these leopards as they return.

Leopards are thought to survive in all of south sudans reserves and national parks, however, they are shy and rarely see.

Leopards are thought to live in many of the countries reserves, though are little seen

Leopards are thought to still exist in the south of the country, in reserves which are close to reserves across the border. Whether these leopards are being left alone, or are regularly hunted is a different matter. It is likely that they are not encountered very regularly

Leopards are found in Ethiopia in a variety of habitats, including montane forests, semi-arid areas, and the Awash and Aledeghi regions:

Leopards in the highlands depend on the Afroalpine ecosystem’s montane forests.
Leopards can be found in the Harenna Forest, which is also home to melanistic leopards (black). They can also frequently seen in the Awash and Aledeghi regions.

Indian Leopard

The number of Indian leopards in the wild is a worryingly low number. Some places suggest around 9500, while others suggest 12,000-14,000 (remember that the area of India is 10% of Africa, so this is far better by area.

The Indian leopard is considered Vulnerable in India, Bhutan, and Nepal but Critically Endangered in Pakistan. The map to the right shows its current range.

We currently have no places listed to see this subspecies, but we hope to add some soon. Do list your site, if you run one (click here, or at the top of the page).

Below here, you will find any news that mention this species. Below that is a video of this species in the wild, and below that you will find any destinations that we have added, to help you plan your trip.

They have an estimated population of 13,874 within the huge country of India, though around 2/3 of these leopards live outside protected reserves, leaving them vulnerable to changes in attitudes, and often unavailable for tourists to see (though we hope in the long run, to change this with the use of “in the shadow of mankind” our section aimed at tourism for these animals) aiming to give them a financial value and therefore make it more likely that they will survive.

Protected areas within India, known to be good for leopards are listed below (we are eager to link with anyone working in these areas)

  • Jhalana Leopard Safari Park (known for its particularly large leopard population)
  • Jawai Leopard Reserve
  • Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Satpura National Park
  • Bandipur National Park
  • Nagarhole National Park
  • Nagarhole National Park
I hope to add more to this, in the future. Do help.

 

The documentary above comes from the national geographic channel though is fronted by Gordan Buchanan of BBC fame. It is unfortunately a fact that leopards can turn to eating humans, when there is not enough natural prey, or if they are given too little space (or indeed regularly meeting people as they invade its space). Unfortunately, all three is happening in many parts of India, and as such, there are places where leopards have started hunting humans. It is unfortunately, usually true, that once a big cat starts hunting humans, they will not stop. As such, what has often happened is either the animals in question are hunted down and killed (while a problem with small populations, if this does not happen, often the local human population will attempt to hunt and kill all of the population).

Leopards are thought to be widely spread in Nepal, though unfortunately, their population status and occupancy is poorly understood. I hope to add more destinations within the country, get in touch if you work in any.

  • Shivapuri Nagarjun National Park – a particularly good reserve in Nepal to see the leopard, as well as the red panda
Data has suggested, that as the tiger population of Nepal has improved, the leopards of Nepal, have been roaming outside reserves more often, and predating livestock. The documentary is that of a leopard living in a tiger reserve in Nepal.

Leopards can be found in deciduous and evergreen forests and as they are losing their habitats slowly due to human encroachment they can often be seen in conflict with humans in the fringe of their habitat.

They are more capable of surviving on small prey, given their solitary behaviour and their wildly varied size – meaning that studies have found that preys weight is generally between 10-15kg. This allows them to survive on small rodents and similar, and therefore to live in areas where larger predators like tigers, or pack hunters like wolves, which are also found within the country.

Perversely, while climate change is a large threat for snow leopards (as they generally need snow to survive) it is good for leopards, as it allows the leopard to expand its range further up the mountains, into what was once snow leopard territory.

The common leopard (so called, as it is not common in Pakistan) is thought to have a Pakistan population of between 100-200 within the countries boundaries. Thankfully, the leopard is part of a transboundary population, meaning that the whole leopard population is larger and therefore viable long-term.

The largest population of leopards in Pakistan is found in Ayubia National Park and adjoining areas of Galiyat and Abbotabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, located just north of the Margalla Hills (Galiyat also extends into parts of Punjab). These areas are close to the capital, and the leopard has been encountered in the suburbs of the large city.

Bangladesh does not have a viable leopard population, but there are occasional sightings in the forests of Sylhet, Chittagong Hill Tracts, and Cox’s Bazar. I hope to add this region the near future.

In southern Tibet, the Indian leopard was recorded in Qomolangma National Nature Preserve. It is unclear how many of this species lives in Southern Tibet, or the exact range of this animal within the country.

While they are known to be in the country, and are seen in various of the national parks and reserves from time to time, there is little known about the size of the population.

Javan Leopard

The Javan leopard is (unsurprisingly) a leopard subspecies that is restricted to the island of Java. Java has already lost the Javan tiger, and it is currently estimated to be between 188-571 (an incredibly wide range for an estimate). Unfortunately, Java is the most populous island in the world, and as such only 14% of the rainforest survive, which is where the leopard lives (habitat declined by 40% between 2000 and 2020 alone). As such, the future of this subspecies is not great – there is also little space for the population to increase.

Now, the sad fact, is that in being this fragmented, and the island having such a high population (largest human population for an island) even reserves that are close together may well be impossible to cross.

Should we be able to list any places to try to see this highly endangered species, they will be added lower down the page.


They can be found in the following national parks:

Gunung Halimun National Park

Ujung Kulon National Park

Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park

Ceremai National Park

Merbabu National Park

Merapi National Park

Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park

Meru Betiri National Park

Ijen Mountain

Baluran National Park

Alas Purwo National Park

Arabian Leopard

 In 2008, the size of this subspecies left in the wild was thought to be between 45 and 200. As such, it is perhaps not surprising that this subspecies has been critically endangered since 1996.

  • Around 50 survive in Oman, living in the mountain ranges of Jabal Samhan, Jabal Qara and Jabal Qamar.
  • Hajjah and Al Mahrah governorates in Yemen

The Negev desert is thought to have lost its last leopard around 2007 and Saudi Arabia (supporting 200 recently) maybe extinct. 

This unfortunately means that tourism around this species is not easy to come across. I will as always add it below if/when I find any. What is certainly true, is visiting areas which might still have a few of this rare leopard and making it clear you are interested in them, will give locals a reason to preserve what is left, though in many places it may well be too late.

Having said this, tourist looking for specific wild animals do encourage their preservation, so despite their rarity, should you be near a reserve within their range, it is well worth spending a day or two, searching for them with a camera, and supporting which tourism infrastructure exists in the area.

Persian or Caucasian Leopard

Caucasian (also called Persian) Leopard)                                                                                                               

Restricted to the Iranian Plateau and surrounding areas encompassing Türkiye, the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan.  

Other names include Anatolian leopard, Persian leopard, Caucasian leopard, Balochistan leopard and Asia Minor leopard

Status: endangered (since the 1960s) and currently has a population of around 1000 individuals. If this species is mentioned on this blog, any articles will appear below. Below that, is a video of this rare species, and below that, I will add any links that might help you see this species in the wild (should you work in wildlife guiding or tourism where this leopard is found do get in touch – click here .  As with other big cats, living in these animals shadow is not always easy, but I hope that over time, we can reach a point where the money coming in is good compensation for the complexities of living near animals like this.

The only place listed as good destinations to see this leopard subspecies is 

  • Golestan National Park

It does also mention the Iranian plateau, though this basically includes much of their range, and is far to vague to be useful in trying to find this animal in the wild.

Indo-Chinese Leopard

The Indo-Chinese leopard is found at latitudes similar to the Indian Leopard but is further east. They are rare outside protected areas, but at the current time, there is enough protected land to not threaten their long-term survival. On the Malay peninsular, the frequency of black (or melanistic) leopards can be as high as 1 in 2, in comparison to Africa, where as little as 1 in 1000 is born black. Indeed, this has meant that while white tigers are all closely related, and their coat makes their survival hard, there are no pockets of them in the wild. Even with the Amur tiger, they live without snow for more of the year than they have with it, so even here it is not a big advantage to have white fur. On the other hand, a black leopard can fade into the shadows, which means that for most leopards it is an advantage. In Africa, most of the time leopards spend their days sleeping high in a tree which means that it is only at night when they need camouflage, so you would think that being black would be advantageous to give birth to a black leopard dynasty in Africa, but apparently not.

 

 

There are a good range of reserves across where they are found, which means that provided they are not hunted, they should be able to survive into the future.

Some of the best places to see Indochinese leopards include:

  • Peninsular Malaysia: Considered a stronghold for Indochinese leopards
  • Northern Tenasserim Forest Complex: Located on the border of Thailand and Myanmar, this is considered a stronghold for Indochinese leopards
  • Eastern Cambodia: A priority site for Indochinese leopard conservation
  • Changqing National Nature Reserve: Located in the Qinling Mountains of southern China, this reserve is home to Indochinese leopards 
  • Thailand’s Western Forest Complex

Indochinese leopard has disappeared from 94% of its range They are now gone (extinct) in Singapore and functionally extinct (this means that while there may be a few leopards left, there are not enough to support the species long-term, and the last leopard will be gone in the next few years – whether this can be reversed by translocation is a possibility, though conservation in other parts of the range are probably more secure areas to do conservation work) in Laos and Vietnam. In Cambodia, the population is nearly extinct, and a 2021 study found no individuals.

 

The Indochinese leopard’s range has shrunk by more than 94%. They are now extinct in Singapore and functionally extinct in Laos and Vietnam. In Cambodia, the population is nearly extinct, and a 2021 study found no individuals. 

 Given, the few places where this leopard is found, I am not going to break it down into its range countries at this time, but will do so, if the number of destinations start to get high.

Sri Lankan Leopard

Only described in 1956, they are relatively similar to the Indian Leopard, and were thought to be part of that subspecies until then. There are only 800 of this subspecies of leopard, and they were listed as vulnerable in 2020, and unfortunately it is thought to still be declining. It is thought, that as a result of being the apex predator on the island, they have got bigger.

Melanistic leopards are considered particularly rare. Indeed it was only 2019 that the first confirmed in the wild in the country.

Places that are good for looking for the Javan Leopard include

  • Yala National Park: one of quite a number of reserves who claim to have the highest density of leoaprds in the world – but likely the place with the highest density of Javan leopards in the world. It is thought to have a population of 40-70 ( 979 square kilometres (378 sq mi), giving a density of 1 leopard per 5.4, while Sabi sands has a density of 1 in just over every 3 square miles
  • Wilpattu National Park
Frame from a camera trap in the Amur range

Amur (or Siberian) Leopard

Perhaps one of the hardiest leopard subspecies, it is hard to remember that this animal is incredibly similar to its cousin that roams the hot areas of the Savannahs in Africa.

What a short period of time makes for the standing for a species. Back in 2001 when planet earth was first released, they had managed to film them in the wild

What is more impressive is that at the time there were only 30 in the wild.  Setting out to find a secretive animal, when there are only 30 left is quite impressive.

Conservation has gone wonderfully in the time that has elapsed since, with an estimated population of at least 100. When I say at least, this is a likely low estimate. With a 2019 estimate of 46 of these cats in China, and a 2022 survey identifying 125 individuals. That gives an estimated combined population of 171, or almost 6 times increase in population over just 20 or so years. Russia set up the land of the leopard reserve, and the reserve below was set up by China, across the border.

The below video clip, is a video filmed in China which caught a female with 2 cubs in China, possibly the first cubs to be born in China in as long as 50 years.

There is an increasing quantity of ecotourism around this animal, and an increasing reliability of finding the cat in the wild, particularly as its population grows.

  • Land of the leopard national park: this lies in Russia, and protects most of the remaining range of this cat (within Russia), and extends to a little over 1000 square miles (2600 square km)
  • Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park: Northeast China Tiger and Leopard National Park is a national park in northeastern China’s Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces spanning over an area of 14,612 km2 (5,642 sq mi) in the southern part of the Changbai Mountains.
North- China Tiger

North China Leopard

Records from before 1930 suggest that this species of Leopard used to live near Beijing and in the mountains to the North-west. The wild population is estimated at around 110, so is one of the more endangered leopard species in the world. It is thought that this population and the Amur Leopard species were connected until just a few hundred years ago. As such, it may well be possible to boost genetic variability if that were to become necessary.

As with some of the other subspecies of the leopard, there appears to be little tourism centred around this species, but should I find any, this will appear at the bottom of the page as well. Above that, you will find our regular list of any articles on this subject and a video of this species in the wild. Please do get in touch to help with people finding your reserve if it protects this rare leopard.

Like many cats – both big and lesser cats, they have rare colourings. These are not separate species, instead they are either melanistic, or albino.

 These are not common in most ecosystems (though it should be noted that in places where the colouring might be useful, it can be common – one example is the black leopard in Malaysia which has around 50% black)

 

Destinations

Limpopo Transfrontier park including Kruger sabi sands and other conservation areas
Greater Serengeti
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Rare black tiger photographed in the wild

Big cats have a range of colours that they can be found in. It is certainly true that their standard colour is more common, but in different parts of their range other colourings might be more helpful. For instance, an Amur tiger that was white may find it easier to creep up on its prey.

A black tiger photographed in the wild

On the Malay peninsular, as much as half of the leopards are black, as this gives them an advantage.

In this case, a black tiger was photographed. The animals was not entirely black, but having far wider stripes, its back looks more black with yellow stripes rather than the other way round. Fewer animals are taken out of the wild than in the past, when an animal like this would likely have been caught and sold to a zoo for many times the price that tigers normally fetch – as this tiger will increase visitor numbers.

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Black leopard sighting Kenya

Will Burrard-Lucas / Camtraptions Ltd

Will  Burrard Lucas,  a British wildlife photographer, has taken the wildlife jackpot shot and managed to photograph a wild black leopard in Africa, in Laikipia Wilderness Camp in Kenya.

Her took the photo in Kenya, on a camera trap he had set up. Black leopards (as with jaguars, servals, tigers and other cats) are normal leopards which have an extremely rare recessive gene. Given that the gene in question is recessive it is rare that a leopard would have both parents carrying the recessive gene and so ends up black.

In specific parts of the world,  black leopards are far less rare – on the Malaysian peninsula as much as half of the leopards are black. However, these leopards live in dark jungles which means there is more dark shadows for the leopards top hide in. This means that there is a higher advantage for black leopards, making them more likely to have many young.

While leopards are active mostly at night, and therefore black leopards can be easier camouflaged, for savannah leopards they need to be able to hide during the day.  Although they mostly lie up a tree during the day, a black leopard is more visible.

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