African leopard: Difference between revisions

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Throughout Africa, the major threats to leopards are habitat conversion and intense persecution, especially in retribution for real and perceived livestock loss.<ref name="ray05">Ray, J. C., Hunter, L., Zigouris, J. (2005) ''Setting conservation and research priorities for larger African carnivores.'' Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, USA.</ref>
Throughout Africa, the major threats to leopards are habitat conversion and intense persecution, especially in retribution for real and perceived livestock loss.<ref name="ray05">Ray, J. C., Hunter, L., Zigouris, J. (2005) ''Setting conservation and research priorities for larger African carnivores.'' Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, USA.</ref>


The impact of [[trophy hunting]] on populations is unclear, but may have impacts at the demographic and population level, especially when females are shot. In [[Tanzania]], which allows only males to be hunted, females comprised 28.6% of 77 trophies shot between 1995 and 1998.<ref>Spong, G., Johansson, M., Bjorklund, M. (2000) ''High genetic variation in leopards indicates large and long-term stable effective population size.'' Molecular Ecology 9: 1773-1782.</ref>
The impact of [[trophy hunting]] on populations is unclear, but may have impacts at the demographic and population level, especially when females are shot. In [[Tanzania]], which allows only males to be hunted, females comprised 28.6% of 77 trophies shot between 1995 and 1998.<ref>Spong, G., Johansson, M., Bjorklund, M. (2000) ''High genetic variation in leopards indicates large and long-term stable effective population size.'' Molecular Ecology 9: 1773-1782.</ref> Removing an excessively high number of males may produce a cascade of deleterious effects on the population. Although male leopards provide no parental care to cubs, the presence of the sire allows mothers to raise cubs with a reduced risk of infanticide by foreign males. There are few reliable observations of infanticide in leopards but new males entering the population are likely to kill existing cubs.<ref>Cat Specialist Group (2005) Cat Project of the Month – November 2005: ''Conservation biology of leopards (Panthera pardus) in a fragmented landscape; spatial ecology, population biology and human threats'' IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group</ref>


==References==
==References==

Revision as of 21:38, 11 December 2010

African Leopard

Near Threatened  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Felidae
Genus:
Panthera
Species:
P. pardus
Subspecies:
P. p. pardus
Trinomial name
Panthera pardus pardus
Linnaeus
, 1758

The African Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) is a

Near Threatened, stating that they may soon qualify for the Vulnerable status due to habitat loss and fragmentation. They are becoming increasingly rare outside protected areas. The trend of the population is decreasing.[1]

Description

African leopards exhibit great variation in coat color, depending on location and habitat. Coat color varies from pale yellow to deep gold or tawny, and is patterned with black rosettes while the head, lower limbs and belly are spotted with solid black. Male leopards are larger, averaging 60 kg (132 lb) with 91 kg (200 lb) being the maximum weight attained by a male. Females weigh about 35–40 kg (75–90 lb) on average.

Leopards inhabiting the mountains of the Cape Provinces appear physically different from leopards further north. Their average weight may be only half that of the more northerly leopard.[3]

Between 1996 and 2000, 11 adult leopards were radio-collared on Namibian farmlands. Males weighed 37.5 to 52.3 kg only, and females 24.0 to 33.5 kg.[4]

Distribution and habitat

Leopard in a tree in the Serengeti, Tanzania

African leopards used to occur in most of sub-Saharan Africa and were found in all habitats with annual rainfall above 50 mm, occupying both rainforest and arid desert habitats.[5] But already in the 1980s, leopards appeared to have become rare throughout much of West Africa.[6] Now, they remain patchily distributed within historical limits.[1]

In North Africa, a tiny relict population persists in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco.[7]

African Leopards inhabit a wide range of habitats within Africa, from mountainous forests to grasslands and savannahs, excluding only extremely sandy desert. However they are most abundant in undisturbed rainforest. Leopards are most at risk in areas of semi-desert, where scarce resources often result in conflict with nomadic farmers and their livestock. Like most large mammals, they are generally absent in areas with a high population density of people.

Diet and hunting

Leopards have a very varied diet, which includes

nocturnal
and usually don’t hunt until dusk, however, they are opportunists and will hunt in the daylight when necessary.

Leopards are very stealthy and like to stalk close and run a relatively short distance after their

prey
. They kill through suffocation by grabbing their prey by the throat and biting down with their powerful jaws. They rarely fight other predators for their food.

In the

guinea fowl and starling. They were less successful in hunting zebras, kongonis, giraffes, mongooses, genets, hyrax and small birds. Scavenging from the carcasses of large animals made up a small proportion of their food.[8]

Threats

Throughout Africa, the major threats to leopards are habitat conversion and intense persecution, especially in retribution for real and perceived livestock loss.[9]

The impact of trophy hunting on populations is unclear, but may have impacts at the demographic and population level, especially when females are shot. In Tanzania, which allows only males to be hunted, females comprised 28.6% of 77 trophies shot between 1995 and 1998.[10] Removing an excessively high number of males may produce a cascade of deleterious effects on the population. Although male leopards provide no parental care to cubs, the presence of the sire allows mothers to raise cubs with a reduced risk of infanticide by foreign males. There are few reliable observations of infanticide in leopards but new males entering the population are likely to kill existing cubs.[11]

References

  1. ^
    International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link
    )
  2. OCLC 62265494
    .
  3. ^ Martins, Q.; Martins, N. (2006) Leopards of the Cape: conservation and conservation concerns. International Journal of Environmental Studies, Vol. 63, No. 5, October 2006: 579–585
  4. ^ Marker L.L., Dickman A.J. (2005) Factors affecting leopard (Panthera pardus) spatial ecology, with particular reference to Namibian farmlands. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 35: 105-115
  5. ^ Nowell, K., Jackson, P. (1996) Wild Cats: status survey and conservation action plan. IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group, Gland, Switzerland. book preview
  6. ^ Martin, R.B. and de Meulenaer, T. (1988) Survey of the status of the leopard (Panthera pardus) in sub-Saharan Africa. CITES Secretariat, Lausanne.
  7. ^ Cuzin, F. (2003) Les grands mammifères du Maroc méridional (Haut Atlas, Anti Atlas et Sahara): Distribution, Ecologie et Conservation. Ph.D. Thesis, Laboratoire de Biogéographie et Ecologie des Vertèbrés, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Université Montpellier II.
  8. ^ Bertram, B. (1974) Radio-Tracking Leopards in the Serengeti. African Wildlife Leadership Foundation News 1974 (9): 8-10.
  9. ^ Ray, J. C., Hunter, L., Zigouris, J. (2005) Setting conservation and research priorities for larger African carnivores. Wildlife Conservation Society, New York, USA.
  10. ^ Spong, G., Johansson, M., Bjorklund, M. (2000) High genetic variation in leopards indicates large and long-term stable effective population size. Molecular Ecology 9: 1773-1782.
  11. ^ Cat Specialist Group (2005) Cat Project of the Month – November 2005: Conservation biology of leopards (Panthera pardus) in a fragmented landscape; spatial ecology, population biology and human threats IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panthera pardus.
Wikispecies has information related to Panthera pardus.
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