“Those who have never seen a leopard under favourable conditions in his natural surroundings can have no conception of the grace of movement, and beauty of colouring, of this the most graceful and the most beautiful of all animals in our Indian jungles.”- Jim Corbett
The 3rd of May is World Leopard Day. Leopards are incredibly versatile and adaptable, occurring in a wide range of habitats. There are eight sub-species of leopards (not to be confused with snow leopards, a completely different species). On the African Continent, they can be found in sub-Saharan desert environment, grasslands in the southern countries, mountainous landscapes in Eastern areas, and tropical forests of coastal and central Africa. Leopards in Asia enjoy a similar range of habitats and are also present in urban areas where they live side by side with humans, sometimes without them even knowing it. Leopards are notoriously secretive and only since the use of monitoring technology, they have been found living in close proximity to human settlements. The northernmost distribution of leopards- the Amur leopard sub-species, stretches across the coniferous forests of Siberia. The smallest leopard sub-species is the Arabian leopard, and occurs in the baking deserts of Saudi Arabia, Yemen, and Oman. Leopards in Eastern Africa and on the island of Java exhibit a high level of melanism which could be an adaptation to their densely vegetated habitats.
Despite being so widespread, leopards face multiple threats, all of which are anthropogenic in origin. With their gorgeous coat patterns, leopards have long been hunted for their fur, claws, and bones which are used in ceremonial garments. In the past, Tibetans used Indian leopard and snow leopard skins for their ceremonies, but thanks to the intervention of the Dalai Lama, this practice has reduced greatly. Similarly, the local tribes living in Kwa-Zulu Natal took great pride in using African leopard skins for their traditional Shembe rituals. Thanks to ongoing work by researchers who took the local heritage into account, today, the tribes use faux fur for their sacred gatherings.
Trophy hunting is controversial and even among wildlife researchers, there is considerable disagreement regarding the positive and negative aspects of this activity. In some parts of Africa, the leopard populations are so low that even sub-adults which have not had the chance to reproduce are killed. This has a serious impact on the gene pool of future generations, something which has already been noticed in some populations. Poorly regulated hunting regulations threaten to the persistence of many leopard populations. Although many African countries recognised the threat and trophy hunting bans were established, many were lifted in recent years.
Illegal hunting has an important impact on leopard populations. Pastoralists kill leopards as a response to losing livestock and will even attempt to wipe out localised populations to keep their cows and goats/sheep safe. Livestock are a status symbol for certain communities where the more, the better, while others rely on selling their livestock to survive. Many communities today have a system to compensate for the loss of animal, but the efficiency of this payment depends on the amount of corruption present.
In some parts of the world where the human population is high, leopards come into conflict as they negotiate inadequately small habitats and prey densities. In northern Africa, leopards have lost 97% of their original distribution and only exist in isolated, highly fragmented populations. They are likely to go extinct if there are no changes to make their natural environment habitable again.
Their habitat is shrinking due to the rapidly expanding human population and being converted for cultivation and settlements. According to the African Wildlife Foundation, the last three generations of leopards have lost 31% of their range worldwide. Climate change will likely impact on leopard distribution and range as previously unsuitable habitats become hospitable. This change in distribution will probably be accompanied by increased conflict with humans for space and resources.
The populations of their preferred prey species are collapsing, and, in some areas, this is a direct consequence of bushmeat hunting. People resort to killing wild animals for sustenance in the poorest places where cultivation is not an option. Leopards living alongside these people rely on game birds, monkeys, and small antelopes like duikers for survival. A study across 78 protected areas in Africa shows an estimated 59% decrease in small mammal populations.
Leopards also face some non-anthropogenic threats; the survival rate of their cubs is relatively low. Most cubs will not reach maturity as leopards share their landscape with other big cats like lions and cheetahs. Inter-predatory killings have the direct result of reducing competition for prey. Male leopards are known to kill young cubs as a way of triggering the female to become fertile and thus furthering its genetic lineage. Infanticide accounts for nearly half of all leopard cub mortality. Another unlikely enemy of leopards is the baboons. Habitats like Mana Pools in Zimbabwe with a large baboon population will have a low leopard density, as baboons have long threatened the survival of leopard cubs. Could it be instinct or something else? Baboons know that leopard cubs will grow into one of the more formidable predators of their landscape and have the potential to take out several members of their family.
As researchers work with local communities and government organisations, efforts are ramping up to understand the species’ ecology better and protect it, their habitat, and their prey.
My journey with leopards began at a very young age when my parents would take our family to the forests of Southern India to enjoy nature and wilderness. Although I didn’t see a leopard for many years, it was all the more tantalizing, having been drawn into the books and poems by Jim Corbett. As I tracked, studied, and documented leopards across the jungles of southern India, savannas of Africa, Sri Lanka, and even Yemen, Jim Corbett’s words and field experience became a part of me and my work. Among the most thrilling experiences is spending time with a leopard. It begins with a sign: either a scat or a pugmark, and from there the search begins. More often than not, the leopard remains elusive, but the few times the exploration is successful and the leopard is found, it is an unparalleled encounter. Sometimes the leopard is on the move, and you can follow it on its journey where it is either stalking prey or marking its territory, and on other occasions, it is sleeping and only the tail is active. Watching this magnificent animal full of grace and power, reminds me of the harshness of their lives and the battles they must face to survive each day.
Sources:
- Leopard cub survival rates: https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/oryx/article/survival-rates-and-causes-of-mortality-of-leopards-panthera-pardus-in-southern-africa/75283EFDC3466FE61D7952AAD1A351E1
- Infanticide in leopards: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347213003412
- Climate change: https://news.mongabay.com/2023/01/with-climate-change-nepals-leopards-get-a-bigger-range-and-more-problems/, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9311780/
