IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Farhadinia, M.S.; Memarian, I.; Hobeali, K.; Shahrdari, A.; Ekrami, B.; Kaandorp, J.; Behnoud, P.; Moharrami, A.; Salehi, H.; Salahshour, Z.; Jowkar, H.; Johnson, P.J.; Hunter, L.T.B.; MacDonald, D.W. | |
| GPS collars reveal transboundary movements by Persian leopards in Iran | |
| 2017 Cat News (65): 28-30 | |
Comparatively little is known about the socio-spatial organisation of leopards _Panthera pardus_, and how it affects their probability of population persistence in west and central Asia where the species has lost around 84% of its former range. Remote habitat and cryptic nature make the leopards inherently difficult to study while sufficient information is crucial on which to base effective conservation. Here, we report preliminary findings from the first comprehensive telemetry study on Persian leopard _Panthera pardus saxicolor_ in north-eastern Iran, near the Turkmenistan border. Between September 2014 and August 2016, we captured six adult leopards (5 males and 1 female) and fitted them with GPS-satellite Iridium collars to provide information on basic ecology of the Persian leopard. We calculated MCP 100% home ranges of 62.9 to 1,098.3 km2. With the exception of a young, possibly dispersing male, leopards had smaller ranges than that of the only other Persion leopard collared prior to this study. Two leopards crossed international borders and wandered into Turkmenistan, revealing that two countries may share connected leopard population across the Kopet Dag region. |
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