''Panthera pardus tulliana'', also called Persian leopard, Anatolian leopard, and Caucasian leopard in different parts of its range, is a

leopard The leopard (''Panthera pardus'') is one of the five extant cat species in the genus ''Panthera''. It has a pale yellowish to dark golden fur with dark spots grouped in rosettes. Its body is slender and muscular reaching a length of with a ...

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

that was first described in 1856 based on a

zoological specimen A zoological specimen is an animal or part of an animal preserved for scientific use. Various uses are: to verify the identity of a (species), to allow study, increase public knowledge of zoology. Zoological specimens are extremely diverse. Exampl ...

found in western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. It is native to the

Iranian Plateau The Iranian plateau or Persian plateau is a geological feature spanning parts of the Caucasus, Central Asia, South Asia, and West Asia. It makes up part of the Eurasian plate, and is wedged between the Arabian plate and the Indian plate. ...

and the surrounding region from eastern Anatolia and the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region spanning Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is situated between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, comprising parts of Southern Russia, Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan. The Caucasus Mountains, i ...

to the

Hindu Kush The Hindu Kush is an mountain range in Central Asia, Central and South Asia to the west of the Himalayas. It stretches from central and eastern Afghanistan into northwestern Pakistan and far southeastern Tajikistan. The range forms the wester ...

, where it inhabits foremost

subalpine Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is a crucial f ...

meadows,

temperate broadleaf and mixed forest Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest is a temperate climate terrestrial habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature, with broadleaf tree ecoregions, and with conifer and broadleaf tree mixed coniferous forest ecoregions. Thes ...

s and rugged

ravine A ravine is a landform that is narrower than a canyon and is often the product of streambank erosion. Ravines are typically classified as larger in scale than gullies, although smaller than valleys. Ravines may also be called a cleuch, dell, ...

s at elevations of . It preys mostly on

ungulate Ungulates ( ) are members of the diverse clade Euungulata ("true ungulates"), which primarily consists of large mammals with Hoof, hooves. Once part of the clade "Ungulata" along with the clade Paenungulata, "Ungulata" has since been determined ...

s reliant on these habitats. Today, the leopard population in this region is estimated at fewer than 1,100 adults. It is threatened by

habitat fragmentation Habitat fragmentation describes the emergence of discontinuities (fragmentation) in an organism's preferred environment (habitat), causing population fragmentation and ecosystem decay. Causes of habitat fragmentation include geological proces ...

due to land use changes,

poaching Poaching is the illegal hunting or capturing of wild animals, usually associated with land use rights. Poaching was once performed by impoverished peasants for subsistence purposes and to supplement meager diets. It was set against the huntin ...

, loss of wild prey species and killing in retaliation for preying on livestock. It is internationally protected under CITES Appendix I and in Appendix II of the

Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the '' de facto'' capital of Switzerland, referred to as the " federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has governmental i ...

Taxonomy

''Felis tulliana'' was the

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin gramm ...

proposed by

Achille Valenciennes Achille Valenciennes (9 August 1794 – 13 April 1865) was a French zoology, zoologist. Valenciennes was born in Paris, and studied under Georges Cuvier. His study of parasitic worms in humans made an important contribution to the study of parasi ...

in 1856, who described a skin and skull from a leopard killed near

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

, in western Anatolia. In the 19th and 20th centuries, several naturalists described leopard

s from the Middle East: * ''Felis pardus tulliana'' was proposed by

Richard Lydekker Richard Lydekker (; 25 July 1849 – 16 April 1915) was a British naturalist, geologist and writer of numerous books on natural history. He was known for his contributions to zoology, paleontology, and biogeography. He worked extensively in cata ...

in 1899 after examining a leopard skin from the Caucasus. * ''Felis ciscaucasica'' was proposed by Konstantin Alekseevich Satunin in 1914, based on a leopard specimen from the

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

region in the

North Caucasus The North Caucasus, or Ciscaucasia, is a subregion in Eastern Europe governed by Russia. It constitutes the northern part of the wider Caucasus region, which separates Europe and Asia. The North Caucasus is bordered by the Sea of Azov and the B ...

. * ''Panthera pardus saxicolor'' was proposed by

Reginald Innes Pocock Reginald Innes Pocock, (4 March 1863 – 9 August 1947) was a British zoologist. Pocock was born in Clifton, Bristol, the fourth son of Rev. Nicholas Pocock and Edith Prichard. He began showing interest in natural history at St. Edward's ...

in 1927, who described leopard skins from different areas of Persia, but recognized their similarity to Caucasian leopard skins. His

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

was a skin and a skull of a male leopard from Asterabad. * ''P. p. sindica'' was proposed by Pocock in 1930 for a single skin and two skulls from the Kirthar Mountains in

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region o ...

; the skin closely resembled Persian leopard and Asia Minor leopard skins, but its colour differed from the colour of the

Indian leopard The Indian leopard (''Panthera pardus fusca'') is a subspecies of the leopard (''P. pardus''). It is widely distributed on the Indian subcontinent. It is threatened by illegal trade of skins and body parts, and persecution due to human-leopard ...

(''P. p. fusca''). It was subsumed to ''P. p. saxicolor'' based on molecular genetic analysis in 1996. In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Anatolian leopard was considered a distinct leopard subspecies that occurred only in western Turkey. The leopard specimens available in zoological museum collections do not differ significantly in the sizes and shapes of skulls. Therefore, the

subspecific name In biology, trinomial nomenclature is the system of names for taxa below the rank of species. These names have three parts. The usage is different in zoology and botany. In zoology In zoological nomenclature, a trinomen (), trinominal name, or ...

s ''tulliana'', ''ciscaucasica'' and ''saxicolor'' are currently considered

synonym A synonym is a word, morpheme, or phrase that means precisely or nearly the same as another word, morpheme, or phrase in a given language. For example, in the English language, the words ''begin'', ''start'', ''commence'', and ''initiate'' are a ...

s. The

Indus River The Indus ( ) is a transboundary river of Asia and a trans-Himalayas, Himalayan river of South Asia, South and Central Asia. The river rises in mountain springs northeast of Mount Kailash in the Western Tibet region of China, flows northw ...

is thought to form a

topographical Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary scienc ...

barrier to the dispersal of this subspecies. An analysis of leopard samples from Afghanistan revealed that they were ''P. p. saxicolor'', but

intergrade In zoology, intergradation is the way in which two distinct subspecies are connected via areas where populations are found that have the characteristics of both. There are two types of intergradation: primary and secondary intergradation. Primary ...

with the Indian leopard. A

genetic analysis Genetic analysis is the overall process of studying and researching in fields of science that involve genetics and molecular biology. There are a number of applications that are developed from this research, and these are also considered parts ...

of 49 leopard skin samples collected in Azad Jammu Kashmir and Galyat regions of northern Pakistan corroborated this intergradation; these samples revealed

haplotype A haplotype (haploid genotype) is a group of alleles in an organism that are inherited together from a single parent. Many organisms contain genetic material (DNA) which is inherited from two parents. Normally these organisms have their DNA orga ...

s of both Persian and Indian leopards. In 2017, the Persian leopard population was subsumed to ''P. p. tulliana'', which is the oldest available name for the leopard subspecies in West Asia.

Phylogeny

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics () is the study of the evolutionary history of life using observable characteristics of organisms (or genes), which is known as phylogenetic inference. It infers the relationship among organisms based on empirical dat ...

analysis indicates that ''P. p. tulliana''

matrilineally Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritanc ...

belongs to a

monophyletic In biological cladistics for the classification of organisms, monophyly is the condition of a taxonomic grouping being a clade – that is, a grouping of organisms which meets these criteria: # the grouping contains its own most recent co ...

group that diverged from the African (''P. p. pardus'') and the

Arabian leopard The Arabian leopard (''Panthera pardus nimr'') is the smallest leopard subspecies. It was described in 1830 and is native to the Arabian Peninsula, where it was widely distributed in rugged hilly and montane terrain until the late 1970s. Today, t ...

(''P. p. nimr'') in the second half of the

Pleistocene The Pleistocene ( ; referred to colloquially as the ''ice age, Ice Age'') is the geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fin ...

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

indicates that the leopards in Iran belong to a single

gene pool The gene pool is the set of all genes, or genetic information, in any population, usually of a particular species. Description A large gene pool indicates extensive genetic diversity, which is associated with robust populations that can survi ...

and form a distinct

subclade In genetics, a subclade is a subgroup of a haplogroup. Naming convention Although human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome DNA (Y-DNA) haplogroups and subclades are named in a similar manner, their names belong to completely separate syst ...

Characteristics

''P. p. tulliana'' has a grayish, slightly reddish fur with large rosettes on the flanks and back, smaller ones on the shoulder and upper legs, and spots on the head and neck. It varies in colouration; in Iran both pale and dark individuals occur. Its average body length is , with a long skull and a long tail. It weighs up to . Biometric data collected from 25 female and male individuals in various provinces of Iran indicate an average body length of . A young male from northern Iran weighed .

Distribution and habitat

The habitat of ''P. p. tulliana'' in the

Greater Caucasus The Greater Caucasus, ''Didi K’avk’asioni''; is the major mountain range of the Caucasus Mountains. It stretches for about from west-northwest to east-southeast, from the Taman Peninsula of the Black Sea to the Absheron Peninsula of t ...

meadows,

s and rugged

s from ; and in the

Lesser Caucasus The Lesser Caucasus or Lesser Caucasus Mountains, also called Caucasus Minor, is the second of the two main ranges of the Caucasus Mountains, of length about . The western portion of the Lesser Caucasus overlaps and converges with east Turkey an ...

and Iran rocky slopes, mountain

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without closed forests except near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the tropical and subtropica ...

s and sparse

juniper Junipers are coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus ''Juniperus'' ( ) of the cypress family Cupressaceae. Depending on the taxonomy, between 50 and 67 species of junipers are widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere as far south ...

forests. In northern Anatolia, zoologists found evidence of leopards in the upper forest and alpine zones of the

Pontic Mountains The Pontic Mountains or Pontic Alps (, meaning 'North Anatolian Mountains'), form a mountain range in northern Anatolia, Turkey. They are also known as the "Parhar Mountains" in the local Turkish and Pontic Greek languages. The term ''Parhar'' ...

during surveys carried out between 1993 and 2002. Its presence in the Pontic Mountains was questioned in 2016 due to a lack of evidence. A

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor or an active infrared ...

photograph obtained in

Trabzon Province Trabzon Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 4,628 km2, and its population is 818,023 (2022). Located in a strategic ...

in the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bound ...

region in September 2013 is said to show a leopard. Its preferred habitat is thought to be sparse forest areas, followed by rocky areas, agriculture and pasture areas, and

riparian zone A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. In some regions, the terms riparian woodland, riparian forest, riparian buffer zone, riparian corridor, and riparian strip are used to characterize a ripari ...

s. In southeastern Turkey, its presence was documented in the Çınar district of

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province (; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. Its area is 15,101 km2, and its population is 1,804,880 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Diyarbakır. The Kurdish majority province ...

and in Bitlis Province. In 2018 and 2019, it was photographed on the northern slopes of

Mount Cudi Mount Judi (; ; ; ) is a mountain in Turkey. It was considered in antiquity to be Noah's or "Place of Descent", the location where the Ark came to rest after the Great Flood, according to very early Christian and Islamic traditions (the latte ...

Şırnak Province Şırnak Province (, ) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in Turkey in the Southeastern Anatolia Region. Şırnak Province was created in 1990, with areas that were formerly part of the Siirt Province, Siirt, Hakkâri Province, Hakkâri and Mardin ...

, and this may be a corridor for movement between Turkey and Iraq. It has also been photographed in the north-eastern province of

Artvin Artvin (Laz language, Laz and ; ; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in northeastern Turkey about inland from the Black Sea. It is the seat of Artvin Province and Artvin District.Beydağları Coastal National Park, two leopards were recorded in 58 video and photographs between August 2019 and May 2023. Nature_reserve_of_Zangezur

In the Caucasus, leopards were sighted around the

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

area and in the Shida Kartli province in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, where they live primarily in dense forests. Several individuals were sighted in the lowland plains of the

Kakheti Kakheti (; ) is a region of Georgia. Telavi is its administrative center. The region comprises eight administrative districts: Telavi, Gurjaani, Qvareli, Sagarejo, Dedoplistsqaro, Signagi, Lagodekhi and Akhmeta. Kakhetians speak the ...

region in 2004. Leopard signs were also found at two localities in Tusheti, the headwaters of the Andi Koysu and Assa rivers bordering

Dagestan Dagestan ( ; ; ), officially the Republic of Dagestan, is a republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe, along the Caspian Sea. It is located north of the Greater Caucasus, and is a part of the North Caucasian Fede ...

. Leopards are thought to occasionally move through Georgia from Russia, but naturalists hope they might become resident in Georgia in future if well protected in both countries. Between October 2000 and July 2002, tracks of 10 leopards were found in an area of in the rugged and cliffy terrain of Khosrov State Reserve on the southwestern slopes of the Gegham mountains. During surveys in 2013–2014, camera traps recorded leopards in 24 locations in southern Armenia, of which 14 are in the

Zangezur Mountains The Zangezur Mountains (, ) are a mountain range that defines the border between Armenia's southern provinces of Syunik, Vayots Dzor, and Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. The Zangezur region has the second-largest tract of forests ...

. This trans-boundary mountain range provides important breeding habitat for leopards in the Lesser Caucasus. In March 2007 and in October 2012, an individual was photographed by a camera trap in Hirkan National Park. This protected area in southeastern Azerbaijan is in the

Talysh Mountains Talysh Mountains (, , ) is a mountain range in far southeastern Azerbaijan and far northwestern Iran within Ardabil Province and Gilan Province. Geography The Talysh Mountains extend southeastward from the Lankaran Lowland in southeastern Azer ...

, which are contiguous with the

Alborz The Alborz ( ) range, also spelled as Alburz, Elburz or Elborz, is a mountain range in northern Iran that stretches from the border of Azerbaijan along the western and entire southern coast of the Caspian Sea and finally runs northeast and merge ...

Mountains in Iran. During surveys in 2013–2014, camera traps recorded leopards in five locations in Hirkan National Park. The first male leopard crossing from Hirkan National Park into Iran was documented in February 2014. It was killed in the Chubar Highlands in north-western Iran's

Gilan province Gilan Province () is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, in the northwest of the country and southwest of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is the city of Rasht. The province lies along the Caspian Sea, in Iran's Regions of Iran, Region 3, west of ...

by a local hunter. This incident indicates that the Talysh Mountains are an important corridor for trans-boundary movement of leopards. In September 2012, the first female leopard was photographed in Zangezur National Park close to the border with Iran. During surveys in 2013–2014, camera traps recorded leopards in seven locations in Zangezur National Park, including two different females and one male. All sites are close to the border with Iran. Five cubs were documented in two sites in the Lesser Caucasus and the Talysh Mountains. Between July 2014 and June 2018, four leopards were identified in the Talysh Mountains and 11 in the trans-boundary region of Nakhchivan and southern Armenia. Leopards have been sporadically recorded in northern Iraq. In October 2011 and January 2012, a leopard was photographed by a camera trap on Jazhna Mountain in the Zagros Mountains forest steppe in the

Kurdistan Region Kurdistan Region (KRI) is a semi-autonomous Federal regions of Iraq, federal region of the Iraq, Republic of Iraq. It comprises four Kurds, Kurdish-majority governorates of Arabs, Arab-majority Iraq: Erbil Governorate, Sulaymaniyah Governorate ...

. Between 2001 and 2014, at least nine leopards were killed by local people in this region. In 2020, a leopard was recorded in the mountains of the

Sulaymaniyah Governorate Sulaymaniyah Governorate (; ; ) or Sulaymaniyah Province is a Governorates of Iraq, governorate in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Its largest city is Sulaymaniyah. Halabja Governorate was formerly the Halabja District, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Hal ...

in the country's northeast. Around Balacheli - panoramio

Iran is considered a stronghold of the leopard in the region. It is more abundant in the northern than in the southern part of the country, and in the 2010s was recorded in 74 of 204 protected areas. The

Caspian Hyrcanian mixed forests The Hyrcanian forests (; ) are a zone of lush lowland and montane forests covering about near the shores of the Caspian Sea in Iran and Azerbaijan. The forest is named after the ancient region of Hyrcania. The World Wide Fund for Nature refers t ...

along the Alborz Mountains are one of the most important habitats for the leopard in the country. Most leopards were recorded in habitats with temperatures of , maximum 20 days of ice cover per year and an annual rainfall of more than . The Central Alborz Protected Area covering more than is one of the largest reserves in the country where leopards roam. Evidence for breeding of leopards was documented in six localities inside protected areas in the Iranian part of the Lesser Caucasus. In northeastern Iran, four leopard families with two cubs each were identified during a survey carried out from 2005 to 2008 in Sarigol National Park. A male leopard was photographed in January 2008 spraying urine on a ''

Berberis ''Berberis'' (), commonly known as barberry, is a large genus of deciduous and evergreen shrubs from tall, found throughout temperate and subtropical regions of the world (apart from Australia). Species diversity is greatest in South America a ...

'' tree; he was photographed several times until mid-February 2008 in the same area.

Camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by motion in its vicinity, like the presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor—usually a passive infrared (PIR) sensor or an active infrared ...

ping surveys in summer 2016 documented the presence of 52 leopards in Sarigol, Salouk and Tandooreh National Parks. These included 10 cubs in seven families, thus highlighting that the Kopet Dag and Aladagh Mountains are important leopard refugia in the region. Leopards were also photographed in a protected area in Sefid Kuh, Kermanshah in 2020. Between September 2014 and August 2016, two radio-collared leopards moved from Iran's Kopet Dag region into Turkmenistan, revealing that the leopard population in the two countries is connected. Leopards were recorded by camera traps in the Badkhyz Nature Reserve in the country's south-west. In 2017, a young male leopard from Iran's Tandooreh National Park dispersed to and settled in Turkmenistan. In 2018, an old male Persian leopard had moved from Iran to Turkmenistan. In Bamu National Park in

Fars province Fars Province or Pars Province, also known as Persis or Farsistan (فارسستان), is one of the 31 provinces of Iran. Its capital is the city of Shiraz. Pars province has an area of 122,400 km2 and is located in Iran's southwest, i ...

, surveys carried out from autumn 2007 to spring 2008 revealed seven individuals in a sampling area of . One individual was recorded by a camera trap in Afghanistan's

Bamyan Province Bamyan, also spelled Bamiyan, Bāmīān or Bāmyān (), is one of the thirty-four provinces of Afghanistan with the city of Bamyan as its center, located in central parts of Afghanistan. The terrain in Bamyan is mountainous or semi-mountainous ...

in 2011. In Pakistan, it inhabits

Himalaya The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than 100 pea ...

n forests and montane regions; leopards were recorded in and around Machiara National Park, Pir Lasora National Park and Ayubia National Park. In

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

, a leopard was recorded for the first time in 2000 in

Jambyl Region Jambyl or Zhambyl Region (; ), formerly known as Dzhambul Region () until 1991, is a region of Kazakhstan. Its administrative center is Taraz. The population of the region is 1,209,665; the city is 335,100. The region borders Kyrgyzstan, and is ...

. In 2007 and 2015, two leopards were killed in Mangystau Region farther west in the country. Between September and December 2018, camera traps recorded a leopard on a cliff in Ustyurt Nature Reserve.

Historical range

''P. p. tulliana'' was most likely distributed over the entire Caucasus, except for the steppe areas. The northern foothills of the Greater Caucasus formed the northern boundary of its historic range. During surveys conducted between 2001 and 2005, no leopard was recorded in the western Greater Caucasus; it probably survived only at a few sites in the eastern part. In Armenia, people and leopards have co-existed since prehistoric times. In the mid-20th century, the leopard was relatively common in the country's mountains. Stone traps for leopards and other predators dating to the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

still exist in the

Taurus Mountains The Taurus Mountains (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Toros Dağları'' or ''Toroslar,'' Greek language, Greek'':'' Ταύρος) are a mountain range, mountain complex in southern Turkey, separating the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coastal reg ...

in southern Turkey. The last leopard in

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

is reported to have been killed in 1963 in the Syrian Coastal Mountain Range. ''P. p. tulliana'' was once numerous in the

Aegean Region The Aegean region () is one of the 7 Geographical regions of Turkey, geographical regions of Turkey. The largest city in the region is İzmir. Other big cities are Manisa, Aydın, Denizli, Muğla, Afyonkarahisar and Kütahya. Located in w ...

between

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

and

Antalya Antalya is the fifth-most populous city in Turkey and the capital of Antalya Province. Recognized as the "capital of tourism" in Turkey and a pivotal part of the Turkish Riviera, Antalya sits on Anatolia's southwest coast, flanked by the Tau ...

, with the

Beşparmak Mountains Beşparmak Mountains (; ) are a ridge of many Mountain spur, spurs located in the Muğla Province, Muğla and Aydın Province, Aydın provinces of Turkey, running in an east–west direction along the north shore of the former Latmian Gulf on t ...

considered a stronghold. Several factors contributed to the decline of the leopard population in this region between the late 1940s and mid 1970s, including

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

, conversion of natural habitat to

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

s, road construction and killing of leopards in retaliation for preying on livestock. Since surveys were not carried out in western Turkey until the mid-1980s, biologists doubted whether leopards still survived in the region. Sighting reports from the environs of

Alanya Alanya (; ), formerly Alaiye, is a beach resort town, resort city, a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Antalya Province, Turkey. It is on the southern coast of Turkey, in the country's Mediterranean Region, Turkey, Mediterranean R ...

in the south of the

Lycia Lycia (; Lycian: 𐊗𐊕𐊐𐊎𐊆𐊖 ''Trm̃mis''; , ; ) was a historical region in Anatolia from 15–14th centuries BC (as Lukka) to 546 BC. It bordered the Mediterranean Sea in what is today the provinces of Antalya and Muğ ...

n peninsula suggested that a scattered population existed between

Finike Finike (), the ancient Phoenix or Phoinix (), also formerly Phineka, is a municipality and district of Antalya Province, Turkey. Its area is 768 km2, and its population is 49,720 (2022). It lies on the Mediterranean coast of Antalya Provinc ...

, Antalya and Alanya in the early 1990s. Fresh faecal pellets found in Mount Güllük-Termessos National Park in 1992 were attributed to an Anatolian leopard. However surveys in western Turkey between 2000 and 2004 found no contemporary evidence of leopards. Extensive

trophy hunting Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for field sports, sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the "game (hunting), game", is typically a mature male specimen from a p ...

is thought to be the prime factor for the decline of the Anatolian leopard in this area. It is considered locally extinct in western Turkey since the mid-1970s. No signs of the presence of leopards were detected in Termessos National Park during surveys in 2005, and local people and national park personnel were not aware of any. The leopard population in southern Russia had been reduced to two small and isolated populations by the 1950s, and by 2007, there were fewer than 50 individuals in the region. Since 1954, leopards were thought to be extirpated in Georgia, following kills by hunters. The political and social changes caused by the breakup of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1992 caused a severe economic crisis and weakening of formerly effective protection systems; wildlife habitats were severely fragmented, leopards were persecuted and wild

s were hunted. In addition, inadequate baseline data and lack of monitoring programmes made it difficult to evaluate declines of mammalian prey species. In the winter of 2003, zoologists found footprints of a leopard in Vashlovani National Park in southeastern Georgia. Camera traps recorded one young male individual several times. The individual was not recorded again between 2009 and 2014. A survey in 2019 found no leopards. Leopards also survived in northwestern Azerbaijan in the Akhar-Bakhar section of Ilisu State Reserve in the foothills of the Greater Caucasus, but in 2007 numbers were thought to be extremely low. In Afghanistan, the leopard is thought to inhabit the central highlands of the

and the

Wakhan corridor The Wakhan Corridor (; ) is a narrow strip of territory in the Badakhshan province of Afghanistan. This corridor stretches eastward, connecting Afghanistan to Xinjiang, China. It also separates the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region of Tajiki ...

, but none have been photographed. The long-lasting conflict in the country badly affected both predator and prey species, so that the national population is considered to be small and severely threatened. In the 1970s, it was still recorded in Pakistan's Kirthar Mountains, northeastern

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

and Murree Hills.

Behaviour and ecology

The diet of ''P. p. tulliana'' varies depending on habitat. In southern Armenia and Iran, it preys mostly on

wild goat The wild goat (''Capra aegagrus'') is a wild goat species, inhabiting forests, shrublands and rocky areas ranging from Turkey and the Caucasus in the west to Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east. It has been listed as near threaten ...

(''Capra aegagrus''),

mouflon The mouflon (''Ovis gmelini'') is a wild sheep native to Cyprus, and the Caspian region, including eastern Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Iran. It is also found in parts of Europe. It is thought to be the ancestor of all modern domest ...

(''Ovis gmelini''),

wild boar The wild boar (''Sus scrofa''), also known as the wild swine, common wild pig, Eurasian wild pig, or simply wild pig, is a Suidae, suid native to much of Eurasia and North Africa, and has been introduced to the Americas and Oceania. The speci ...

(''Sus scrofa''), roe deer (''Capreolus capreolus''), goitered gazelle (''Gazella subgutturosa''), Indian crested porcupine (''Hystrix indica'') and

European hare The European hare (''Lepus europaeus''), also known as the brown hare, is a species of hare native to Europe and parts of Asia. It is among the largest hare species and is adapted to temperate, open country. Hares are herbivorous and feed mainly ...

(''Lepus europaeus''). It occasionally attacks livestock and herding dogs. In Iran, the presence of leopards is highly correlated with the presence of wild goat and wild sheep. An attack by a leopard on an

onager The onager (, ) (''Equus hemionus''), also known as hemione or Asiatic wild ass, is a species of the family Equidae native to Asia. A member of the subgenus ''Asinus'', the onager was Scientific description, described and given its binomial name ...

(''Equus hemionus'') was also recorded. In Turkey, it also preys on

chamois The chamois (; ) (''Rupicapra rupicapra'') or Alpine chamois is a species of Caprinae, goat-antelope native to the mountains in Southern Europe, from the Pyrenees, the Alps, the Apennines, the Dinarides, the Tatra Mountains, Tatra to the Carpa ...

(''Rupicapra rupicapra''). Adult males usually share their

home range A home range is the area in which an animal lives and moves on a periodic basis. It is related to the concept of an animal's territory which is the area that is actively defended. The concept of a home range was introduced by W. H. Burt in 1943. ...

s entirely or partially with two or three adult females. The mating season lasts from mid-January to mid-February. In Sarigol National Park, three females were documented in late April to May 2008 with one to two cubs each. A female with two cubs was also photographed in the Alborz Mountains.

Threats

Caucasus Leopard in Georgian National Museum 04

Since 2016 these leopards have been listed as

Endangered An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, inv ...

on the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

, as the wild population is estimated at less than 1,000 mature individuals. ''P. p. tulliana'' is threatened by

, depletion of prey base due to poaching, human disturbance such as presence of military and training of troops in border areas, and habitat loss due to

, fire,

agricultural expansion Agricultural expansion describes the growth of agricultural land ( arable land, pastures, etc.) especially in the 20th and 21st centuries. The agricultural expansion is often explained as a direct consequence of the global increase in food and e ...

, overgrazing, and infrastructure development. In the 1980s,

anti-personnel mine An anti-personnel mine or anti-personnel landmine (APL) is a form of land mine, mine designed for use against human, humans, as opposed to an anti-tank mine, which target vehicles. APLs are classified into: blast mines and fragmentation mines; ...

s were deployed along the northern part of the Iran-Iraq border to deter people from entering the area. Leopards roaming the area are safe from poachers and industrial development, but at least two individuals are known to have stepped on mines and been killed. The main threat in northern Iraq is deforestation, which in the early 2020s is being worsened by an economic crisis. In April 2001, an adult female was shot on the border to

Kabardino-Balkaria Kabardino-Balkaria (), officially the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, is a republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus. As of the 2021 Census, its population was 904,200. Its capital is Nalchik. The area contains the highest mountain in ...

; her two cubs were captured and taken to

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

Zoo in Russia. Between 2004 and 2007, a total of 85 leopard skins were seen being offered in markets in

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. Leopards were known to live on the Meghri Ridge in the extreme south of Armenia, where only one individual was imaged by a camera trap between August 2006 and April 2007, but no signs of other leopards were found during track surveys conducted over an area of . The local prey base could support 4–10 individuals. But the combined impact of

, disturbance caused by livestock breeding, gathering of edible plants and mushrooms, deforestation and human-induced wild fires was so high that the tolerance limits of leopards was exceeded. Only some small and isolated populations remain in the whole Caucasus. Suitable habitat is limited, and most often situated in remote border areas. Local populations depend on immigration from source populations mainly in Iran. In Turkey, the leopard has been killed illegally in traps and through poison. Several leopards are known of have been killed since 1974 in Beypazarı, Siirt Province,

and Tunceli Provinces. Despite ongoing efforts to reforest Turkey, the country lacks a plan to reconnect fragmented forests , which may further fragment leopard populations in the region. In Iran, primary threats are habitat disturbances,

and excess of livestock in leopard habitats. Leopards are unlikely to persist outside of protected areas. Droughts in wide areas of leopard habitats affected the main prey species such as wild goat and wild sheep. An assessment of leopard mortality in Iran revealed that 71 leopards were killed between 2007 and 2011 in 18 provinces; 70% were hunted or poisoned illegally, and 18% died in road accidents. Between 2000 and 2015, 147 leopards were killed in the country. More than 60% of them died due to poaching, through poisonous bait, and were shot by rangers,

trophy hunter Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the "game", is typically a mature male specimen from a popular species of collectable ...

s and the military. About 26% of them died in road accidents. More males than females were killed. Between 2007 and spring 2021, 78 leopards died in Iran because of humans; 62 were shot or poisoned by herders or killed by their dogs. Retaliatory killings of leopards occur after attacks on livestock. Leopards injured 30 people and killed one in the country between 2012 and 2020, mostly thought to be defensive reactions by animals surprised by livestock herders.

Conservation

''Panthera pardus'' is listed in CITES Appendix I. It is listed as a strictly protected species in Appendix II of the

. In Azerbaijan, the leopard has been protected by law since 1969; in Armenia and in the Soviet Union, it was protected by law in 1972; the Caucasus leopard population was listed in Russia's Red Data Book under Category I as threatened with extinction. It has been protected by law in Iran since 1999. In 2001, hunting leopards was banned in

Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic (, ) is a landlocked country, landlocked Enclave and exclave, exclave of the Azerbaijan, Republic of Azerbaijan. The region covers Official portal of Nakhchivan Autonomous RepublicNakhchivan Autonomous Republi ...

, and

anti-poaching Anti-poaching is the organised act to counter the poaching of wildlife. However, it is generally used to describe an overall effort against the illegal wildlife trade. The act of anti-poaching is normally carried out by national parks on public ...

activities were regularly conducted in southern Armenia since 2003. Since 2005, seven protected areas have been established in the Lesser Caucasus covering an area of , and three in the

with an area of . The total protected area in the country now amounts to . In Georgia's national Red Data Book, the leopard has been listed as Critically Endangered since 2006. Penalties for killing leopards were adopted and increased several times in Armenia and Azerbaijan. In Afghanistan, it was included in the country's Protected Species List in 2009. In Kazakhstan, hunting was made a criminal offence in 2021. In Turkey the leopard is one of the species in the action plan being prepared for the country's endangered species. In 2001, a five-year leopard conservation project was initiated in the Caucasus, which supported systematic surveys in the region, the planning of new and enlargement of existing protected areas, training of border guards and school education campaigns in Armenia and Azerbaijan; an anti-poaching unit was set up in Armenia. In 2005, the Armenian Ministry of Environment approved a conservation plan with the leopard as an

umbrella species Umbrella species are species selected for making wildlife conservation, conservation-related decisions, typically because protecting these species indirectly protects the many other species that make up the ecological community (ecology), communit ...

, and a strategy for leopard conservation in the Caucasus in 2008. In Iran, a leopard conservation and management action plan was endorsed in 2016, and Future4Leopards Foundation is a non-profit conservation organization in the country. , Nature Iraq is mapping potential habitat near the border with Iran as the first stage of a conservation project. Conservationists hope that it will encourage people to protect, connect and restore suitable habitat, including international

Wildlife corridor A wildlife corridor, also known as a habitat corridor, or green corridor, is a designated area habitat (ecology), that connects wildlife populations that have been separated by human activities or structures, such as development, roads, or land ...

s. Wildlife corridors for the safe dispersal of leopards between there and other protected areas in Iran's Alborz Mountains have been mapped in an area of . As of 2022 further conservation work is needed to conserve corridors, including protecting more areas. Three core habitats and suitable corridors between protected areas in the

Zagros Mountains The Zagros Mountains are a mountain range in Iran, northern Iraq, and southeastern Turkey. The mountain range has a total length of . The Zagros range begins in northwestern Iran and roughly follows Iran's western border while covering much of s ...

were identified along the international border between Iran and Iraq. In 2021, several authors suggested that there is enough suitable habitat in the Caucasus as a whole for over 1,000 leopards, but a

metapopulation A metapopulation consists of a group of spatially separated populations of the same species which interact at some level. The term metapopulation was coined by Richard Levins in 1969 to describe a model of population dynamics of insect pests in a ...

will only be viable if persecution is reduced and prey restored.

Reintroduction projects

In 2009, the Leopard Breeding and Rehabilitation Centre in Russia's

Sochi National Park Sochi National Park (, also Sochinsky National Park) is Russia's oldest national park, established on May 5, 1983. It is located in the Western Caucasus, near the city of Sochi, in Southern Russia. Topography Sochi National Park covers within t ...

received two leopards from Turkmenistan as part of a leopard breeding and reintroduction programme. Since then, leopards have been brought from various zoos. Their offspring were released into the wild in 2016 and 2018, including three males and one female into the Caucasus Biosphere Reserve, and one male and one female into Alaniya National Park in

North Ossetia–Alania North Ossetia–Alania (; ), officially the Republic of North Ossetia–Alania, is a republics of Russia, republic of Russia situated in the North Caucasus of Eastern Europe. It borders the country of Georgia (country), Georgia to the south, a ...

In captivity

As of 2021 there are over 100 captive Persian leopards in zoos worldwide, and the

European Endangered Species Programme The EAZA Ex-situ Programme (EEP) is a population management and Ex situ conservation, conservation programme by European Association of Zoos and Aquaria, European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) for wild animals living in European zoos. The p ...

has a captive breeding program to sustain a backup population.

In history and culture

Representations of the Anatolian leopard found in the ancient city of

Thyatira Thyateira (also Thyatira; ) was the name of an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, now the modern Turkish city of Akhisar ("white castle"), Manisa Province. The name is probably Lydian. It lies in the far west of Turkey, southwest of Istanb ...

in Anatolia date from the

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

period to the end of the 6th century BC. The leopard is depicted on statues, potteries, ivory works and coins associated with the

Lydia Lydia (; ) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom situated in western Anatolia, in modern-day Turkey. Later, it became an important province of the Achaemenid Empire and then the Roman Empire. Its capital was Sardis. At some point before 800 BC, ...

n culture. Several pieces were found in areas that were used for

worship Worship is an act of religious devotion usually directed towards a deity or God. For many, worship is not about an emotion, it is more about a recognition of a God. An act of worship may be performed individually, in an informal or formal group, ...

. Roman statesman

Marcus Tullius Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, orator, writer and Academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises tha ...

, while he was serving as Governor of Kilikia around 50 BC, asked for leopards to be sent from Kibyratis in Anatolia, for

gladiator A gladiator ( , ) was an armed combatant who entertained audiences in the Roman Republic and Roman Empire in violent confrontations with other gladiators, wild animals, and condemned criminals. Some gladiators were volunteers who risked their ...

s to fight: hence the scientific name from his middle name. Leopard skin patterns were also used on Anatolian carpets and

kaftan A kaftan or caftan (; , ; , ; ) is a variant of the robe or tunic. Originating in Asia, it has been worn by a number of cultures around the world for thousands of years. In Russian usage, ''kaftan'' instead refers to a style of men's long suit ...

s. The Natural History Museum of the Aegean on

Samos Island Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greece, Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

exhibits a stuffed animal said to have been killed on the island in 1862, labelled ''Kaplani'', , meaning leopard. Its size, shape and coat colour is rather unnatural for a leopard, but may have been altered in the process of

taxidermy Taxidermy is the art of preserving an animal's body by mounting (over an armature) or stuffing, for the purpose of display or study. Animals are often, but not always, portrayed in a lifelike state. The word ''taxidermy'' describes the proces ...

. It is possible that a leopard reached the island by swimming across the wide channel from the Turkish coast. One more leopard had reached Samos in 1836 and was trapped. The story of the leopard and the exhibit inspired Greek author Alki Zei to write a novel for children titled , translated as ''Wildcat Under Glass''.

References

External links

* * *
Leopards .:. wild-cat.org – Information about research and conservation of leopards in Asia
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q754336 Leopards Mammals of Turkey Leopard, Persian Mammals of the Middle East Leopard, Persian Mammals of Azerbaijan Mammals of Russia Mammals of Central Asia Felids of Asia Endangered fauna of Asia