Leopard: Difference between revisions

In 2007, a leopard reintroduction programme was initiated in the Russian Caucasus, where captive bred individuals are reared and trained in {{cvt|0.5–0.9|ha}} large enclosures in [[Sochi National Park]]; six individuals released into [[Caucasus Nature Reserve]] and [[Alaniya National Park]] in 2018 survived as of February 2022.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Rozhnov, V.V. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Yachmennikova, A.A. |author3=Dronova, N.A. |author4=Naidenko, S.V. |author5=Hernandez-Blanco, J.A. |author6=Chistopolova, M.D. |author7=Pkhitikov, A.B. |author8=Tembotova, F.A. |author9=Trepet, S.A. |author10=Chestin, I.E. |year=2022 |title=Experience of the leopard re-covering through reintroduction in the Russian Caucasus |journal=Cat News |issue=Special issue |pages=67–71 |url=http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.14._SI_15/Cat_News_Special_Issue_15_Persian_leopard_FINAL.pdf#page=67 |access-date=2023-11-11 |archive-date=2023-11-11 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231111083835/http://www.catsg.org/fileadmin/filesharing/5.Cat_News/5.3._Special_Issues/5.3.14._SI_15/Cat_News_Special_Issue_15_Persian_leopard_FINAL.pdf#page=67 |url-status=live }}</ref> The leopard is locally extinct in [[Morocco]],{{efn|As recently as 2022, a small population of [[African Leopard]]s have been living in the [[Atlas mountains]] border of Morocco and Algeria.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://themaghrebtimes.com/reappearance-of-the-atlas-leopard-in-the-algerian-desert/| title=“Reappearance” of the Atlas Leopard in the Algerian Desert | website=themaghrebtimes.com | date=7 December 2022 |access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://animalia.bio/african-leopard| website=animalia.bio| title=African Leopard| access-date=6 August 2024}}</ref>}} [[Mauritania]], [[Togo]], [[Libya]], [[Tunisia]], [[Lebanon]], [[Syria]], Israel, Jordan, [[Kuwait]], the United Arab Emirates, [[Uzbekistan]], [[Tajikistan]], [[Hong Kong]], [[Singapore]], [[South Korea]] and most likely in [[Gambia]], [[Lesotho]], [[Laos]], [[Vietnam]] and [[North Korea]].<ref name=IUCN/>

The leopard is primarily threatened by [[habitat fragmentation]] and conversion of forest to agriculturally used land, which lead to a declining natural prey base, [[human–wildlife conflict]] with livestock herders and high leopard mortality rates. It is also threatened by [[trophy hunting]] and [[poaching]].<ref name=IUCN /> Contemporary records suggest that the leopard occurs in only 25% of its historical range.<ref name=Jacobson2016>{{cite journal |last1=Jacobson|first1=A. P.|last2=Gerngross |first2=P. |last3=Lemeris |first3=J. R. Jr.|last4=Schoonover |first4=R. F. |name-list-style=amp |last5=Anco |first5=C. |last6=Breitenmoser-Würsten |first6=C. |last7=Durant |first7=S. M. |last8=Farhadinia |first8=M. S. |last9=Henschel |first9=P. |last10=Kamler |first10=J. F. |last11=Laguardia |first11=A. |last12=Rostro-García |first12=S. |last13=Stein |first13=A. B. |last14=Dollar |first14=L. |title=Leopard (''Panthera pardus'') status, distribution, and the research efforts across its range |journal=PeerJ |date=2016 |volume=4 |pages=e1974 |doi=10.7717/peerj.1974 |pmid=27168983 |pmc=4861552 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=Williams2017>{{cite journal|last1=Williams|first1=S. T.|last2=Williams |first2=K. S. |last3=Lewis|first3=B. P.|last4=Hill|first4=R. A. |name-list-style=amp |title=Population dynamics and threats to an apex predator outside protected areas: implications for carnivore management |journal=Royal Society Open Science |date=2017 |volume=4 |issue=4 |pages=161090 |doi=10.1098/rsos.161090|pmid=28484625 |pmc=5414262 |bibcode=2017RSOS....461090W}}</ref>