According to a new research, leopards have lost as much as 75% of their historic range.
A leopard (Panthera pardus). Image credit: Joseph Lemeris.
The leopard (Panthera pardus) is the smallest of the great cats (lion, tiger, and jaguar) that is natively found in a variety of different habitats across sub-Saharan Africa and southern Asia.
According to genetic analysis, nine subspecies of this species are recognized: Panthera pardus pardus, P. p. nimr, P. p. saxicolor, P. p. melas, P. p. kotiya, P. p. fusca, P. p. delacourii, P. p. japonensis and P. p. orientalis.
Leopards are powerfully built cats with a very elegant shape. They are sexually dimorphic as males tend to be larger than females: (i) males range in body mass from 31 to 65 kg and in length from 5.2 to 7.5 feet (1.6 – 2.3 m); (ii) females range in mass from 17 to 58 kg and in length from 5.6 to 6.2 feet (1.7 – 1.9 m).
They are solitary, nocturnal predators feeding on a wide spectrum of predominantly mammalian prey.
They hunt both on the ground and in the trees. They are excellent climbers and spend the vast majority of the daytime hours resting in the shade of the branches in the trees or under a sheltered rock.
The leopard’s broad geographic range, remarkable adaptability, and secretive nature have contributed to a misconception that this species might not be severely threatened across its range.
The new research, published online this week in the journal PeerJ, found that leopards historically occupied a vast range of about 13.5 million sq.miles (35 million sq.km) throughout Africa, the Middle East and Asia.
Today, however, they are restricted to 3.3 million sq.miles (8.5 million sq.km).
To obtain their findings, lead author Dr. Andrew Jacobson, of ZSL’s Institute of Zoology, University College London and the National Geographic Society’s Big Cats Initiative, and his colleagues analyzed 6,000 records from over 1,300 sources on the leopard’s historic and current distribution.
The results appear to confirm conservationists’ suspicions that, while the entire species is not yet as threatened as some other big cats, leopards are facing a multitude of growing threats in the wild, and three subspecies have already been almost completely eradicated.
“The leopard is a famously elusive animal, which is likely why it has taken so long to recognize its global decline,” Dr. Jacobson said.
“This study represents the first of its kind to assess the status of the leopard across the globe and all nine subspecies. Our results challenge the conventional assumption in many areas that leopards remain relatively abundant and not seriously threatened.”
The research found that while African leopards face considerable threats, particularly in North and West Africa, leopards have also almost completely disappeared from several regions across Asia, including much of the Arabian Peninsula and vast areas of former range in China and Southeast Asia.
According to the team, of the nine recognized subspecies, three (P. p. pardus, fusca, and saxicolor) account for 97% of the leopard’s extant range while another three (P. p. orientalis, nimr, and japonensis) have each lost as much as 98% of their historic range.
“This research represents a major advancement for leopard science and conservation,” said co-author Dr. Peter Gerngross, from the Austria-based mapping firm BIOGEOMAPS.
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Jacobson A.P. et al. 2016. Leopard (Panthera pardus) status, distribution, and the research efforts across its range. PeerJ 4: e1974; doi: 10.7717/peerj.1974
