IUCN / SSC Cat Specialist Group - Digital Cat Library |
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| Khorozyan, I.; Malkhasyan, A.G.; Asmaryan, S.G.; Baryshnikov, G.F.; Cazon, A.; Abramov, A.V. | |
| Following the Ghost of the Mountains, the Leopard _Panthera pardus_ in Armenia | |
| 2007 Conference Proceeding | |
We present three issues of spatial ecology of the endangered leopard in Armenia: (1) taxonomy in the Caucasus in relation to other parts of the Middle East; (2) identification of leopard scats in the wild visually and by fecal bile acid thin-layer chromatography as a part of scat counts; (3) research of range structure, habitat use and detection probability in space and time by scat counts all over the country. The camera photo-trapping efforts are underway. Craniologically, the leopard from the Caucasus, Turkmenistan and northern Iran belongs to the Caucasian leopard _P. p. ciscaucasica_ (Satunin, 1914) which is a priority over the commonly used name Persian leopard _P. p. saxicolor_ Pocock, 1927. Visual identification of leopard scats is scientifically robust and appropriate for further use in practice. Detection probability of leopard scats is low. The two areas where it was the highest (p = 0.45) are designated as the Priority Leopard Conservation Areas (Nuvadi and Khosrov Reserve). Three other areas appear to be the true linkages (p = 0.24) and the remaining 11 areas are the would-be linkages (lowest p = 0.03). The critical habitats are xerophilous sparse forest and arid grassland. The survey design and conservation issues are discussed. |
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