Zanzibar leopard
Zanzibar leopard | |
---|---|
Mounted specimen in the Zanzibar Museum | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Carnivora |
Suborder: | Feliformia |
Family: | Felidae |
Subfamily: | Pantherinae |
Genus: | Panthera |
Species: | P. pardus |
Subspecies: | P. p. pardus
|
Population: | Zanzibar leopard |
The Zanzibar leopard is an African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) population on Unguja Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, Tanzania, that is considered extirpated due to persecution by local hunters and loss of habitat. It was the island's largest terrestrial carnivore and apex predator.[1][2] Increasing conflict between people and leopards in the 20th century led to the demonization of the Zanzibar leopard and determined attempts to exterminate it. Efforts to develop a leopard conservation program in the mid-1990s were shelved when wildlife researchers concluded that there was little prospect for the population's long-term survival.[3] In 2018, a leopard was recorded by a camera trap, thus renewing hopes for the population's survival, although some experts remain skeptical.[4][5]
Taxonomy
The Zanzibar leopard was described as a leopard
Evolutionary history
The Zanzibar leopard population is thought to have evolved in isolation from mainland African leopards since at least the end of the
Behaviour and ecology
Very little is known about the Zanzibar leopard's behaviour and ecology.[12] It has never been studied in the wild, and the last confirmed sighting of a living leopard was in the early 1980s.[13] Most zoologists have since presumed the Zanzibar leopard to be extinct or very nearly so.[3]
Only six skins were deposited at museums, including the
Conservation
Descriptions of the leopard and its habits by rural Zanzibaris are characterized by the widespread belief that witches keep leopards and send them to harm or harass villagers. This belief includes elaborate ideas about how witches breed and train leopards to do their evil bidding. With these ideas, local farmers explain predation by leopards, and more generally also their appearance "out of place" in the vicinity of farms and villages.[14]
The growth of human
A leopard conservation program was drafted by the
These conflicting perceptions of the Zanzibar leopard's status and the possibility of its conservation have yet to be reconciled, presenting a dilemma that has been highlighted by researchers.[20][21][22][23]
In 2018, a leopard was recorded on Unguja Island by a camera trap set during filming of the Animal Planet series Extinct or Alive. Some authorities do not consider this video to be reliable evidence due to the exact locality of the video being unknown, and few reliable sources have picked up on it. However, its author (Forrest Galante) has defended its authenticity. Although the footage definitely shows a leopard, the exact pattern of rosettes remains unclear, and it could be a feral African leopard introduced to Zanzibar. DNA evidence may be the only way to verify this video.[4]
See also
- Leopard subspecies: African leopard • Amur leopard • Arabian leopard • Panthera pardus tulliana • Indian leopard • Indochinese leopard • Javan leopard • Sri Lankan leopard • Panthera pardus spelaea
References
- ^ .
- ^ a b Walsh, M. T. & Goldman, H. V. (2008). "Updating the Inventory of Zanzibar Leopard Specimens". Cat News. 49: 4–6.
- ^ a b Stuart, C. & Stuart, T. (1997). A Preliminary Faunal Survey of South-eastern Unguja (Zanzibar) with Special Emphasis on the Leopard Panthera pardus adersi. Loxton, South Africa: African-Arabian Wildlife Research Centre.
- ^ a b Li, J. (2018). "Zanzibar Leopard Captured on Camera, Despite Being Declared Extinct". Inside Edition. Retrieved 2018-09-15.
- ^ S2CID 218943307.
- .
- ^ .
- S2CID 304770.
- ^ Goldman, H.V. & Walsh, M.T. (2019). "Classifying, Domesticating and Extirpating the Zanzibar Leopard, a Transgressive Felid". Norsk Antropologisk Tidsskrift: 205–219.
- ^ Pakenham, R.H.W. (1984). The Mammals of Zanzibar and Pemba Islands. Harpenden: Pakenham.
- ^ Kingdon, J. (1989). Island Africa: The Evolution of Africa's Rare Animals and Plants. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
- ^ a b Walsh, M. T. & Goldman, H. V. (2003). "The Zanzibar Leopard Between Science and Cryptozoology". Nature East Africa. 33 (1/2): 14–16.
- ^ a b Swai, I. S. (1983). Wildlife Conservation Status in Zanzibar (M.Sc. dissertation). Dar es Salaam: University of Dar es Salaam.
- ^ Goldman, H. V. & Walsh, M.T. (1997). A Leopard in Jeopardy: An Anthropological Survey of Practices and Beliefs which Threaten the Survival of the Zanzibar Leopard (Panthera pardus adersi) (Report). Zanzibar Forestry Technical Paper No. 63, Jozani-Chwaka Bay Conservation Project. Commission for Natural Resources, Zanzibar. Retrieved 2011-05-29.
- ^ Walsh, M.T.; Goldman, H.V. (2007). "Killing the King: The Demonization and Extermination of the Zanzibar Leopard". In Dounias, E.; Motte-Florac, E.; Dunham, M. (eds.). Le symbolisme des animaux: L'animal, clef de voûte de la relation entre l'homme et la nature? [Animal symbolism: Animals, keystone of the relationship between man and nature?]. Paris: Éditions de l’IRD. pp. 1133–1182.
- S2CID 143598792.
- ^ Nowell, K. & Jackson, P. (1996). "Leopard Panthera pardus (Linnaeus, 1758)" (PDF). Wild Cats: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Gland, Switzerland: IUCN SSC Cat Specialist Group. pp. 44–47.
- ^ Marshall, S. (1994). The Status of the Zanzibar Leopard. SIT Tanzania & Commission for Natural Resources, Zanzibar.
- ^ Selkow, B. (1995). A Survey of Villager Perceptions of the Zanzibar Leopard. SIT Tanzania & Commission for Natural Resources, Zanzibar.
- ^ Goldman, H.V. & Walsh, M.T. (2007). Human-Wildlife Conflict, Unequal Knowledge and the Failure to Conserve the Zanzibar Leopard (Panthera pardus adersi). Felid Biology and Conservation Conference, Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, University of Oxford, 17–21 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- ^ Goldman, H.V. & Walsh, M.T. (2008). When Culture Threatens the Conservation of Biological Diversity: The Tragic Case of the Zanzibar Leopard (Panthera pardus adersi). Sustaining Cultural and Biological Diversity in a Rapidly Changing World: Lessons for Global Policy, Thirteenth Annual Symposium of the Center for Biodiversity and Conservation, American Museum of Natural History, New York, 2–5 April 2008. Retrieved 2009-07-23.
- S2CID 143598792.
- ISBN 9781315567297.