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opencc-zeroNov 2023View details →

Prey selection by leopards (Panthera pardus fusca) in the mid-hill region of Nepal

Information on prey selection and the diet of the leopard (Panthera pardus fusca) is essential for leopard conservation. We conducted an investigation into the prey species and the proportion of each species in the leopard's diet in a human-dominated mid-hill region of Nepal. The analysis of 96 leopard scats collected between August 2020 and March 2021 revealed that leopards consumed 15 prey species, including small and medium-sized mammals and livestock. In addition to these prey species, we also found plastic materials, bird feathers, and some unidentified items in the leopard scats. Wild ungulates (such as barking deer, Muntiacus muntjak, and wild boar, Sus scrofa) constituted only 10% of the biomass in the scats, while livestock contributed 27%, and other wild prey contributed 50%. Among all species, domestic goats had the highest relative biomass in the scats, followed by the jungle cat (Felis chaus), domestic dog (Canis familiaris), and large Indian civet (Viverra zibetha). Similarly, the Indian hare (Lepus nigricollis) had the highest proportion of relative individuals present in the scat samples, followed by the jungle cat and the large Indian civet. A lower proportion of biomass from wild ungulates in the leopard's diet and a higher dependency of the leopard on domestic prey and other wild prey indicate a shortage of medium-sized wild prey, such as barking deer and wild boar, in leopard habitats. Therefore, the conservation of wild prey species, especially medium-sized prey, is crucial for reducing the leopard's dependence on livestock and mitigating human-leopard conflicts in the future.

opencc-zeroApr 2024View details →

Leopard and spotted hyena camera trap dataset

Human disturbance has the potential to alter competitive interactions, favoring species better able to adapt to areas used by humans. One such species is the spotted hyena (Crocutu crocuta), which has been successful in human dominated areas throughout Africa, competing through kleptoparasitism with other carnivore species (e.g., leopards [Panthera pardus]). In the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania, leopard density declines sharply close to human settlements and hyenas are their only competitors. Using camera trap data and a spatio-temporal occupancy model, we assessed the relative dominance of each species through spatial co-occurrence, altered activity patterns and temporary site avoidance. We tested the hypothesis that hyenas gain a competitive advantage over leopards in human-dominated areas due to their relatively higher tolerance for anthropogenic activities. We found that while hyena occupancy was best predicted by prey occupancy and not strongly affected by landscape factors associated with humans, leopards, especially male leopards, were less likely to be detected close to human settlements. Female leopards, which are smaller than males, exhibited activity shifts and temporary site avoidance in response to hyenas, whereas hyenas shifted their activity patterns in response to male leopards. These results suggest that while hyenas may be behaviorally dominant over female leopards, they are subordinate to male leopards. We found that male leopards and hyenas were less likely to co-occur closer to people, especially where prey was scarce, suggesting subordinance of hyenas to male leopards may be mitigated by human disturbance. Furthermore, young male leopards shifted their activity patterns to be more diurnal in response to hyena presence, suggesting that dominance relationship between hyenas and leopards develops with age and is probably related to body size. These results indicate that human disturbance has the potential to affect the competitive relationship between leopards and hyenas in the Udzungwa mountains, but that relationships will vary with sex and body size.

opencc-zeroSep 2022View details →

Leopard (Panthera pardus) occupancy in the Chure range of Nepal

Conservation of large carnivores like leopards requires large and interconnected habitats. Despite the wide geographic range of the leopard globally, only 17% of their habitat is within protected areas. Leopards are widely distributed in Nepal but their population status and occupancy is poorly understood. We carried out the sign-based leopard occupancy survey across the entire Chure range (~19,000 km2)to understand the habitat occupancy along with the covariates affecting their occupancy. Leopard signs were obtained from in 70 out of 223 grids surveyed, with a naïve leopard occupancy of 0.31. The model-averaged leopard occupancy was estimated to be 0.5732 (SE 0.0082) with a replication level detection probability of 0.2554 (SE 0.1142). The top model shows the additive effect of wild boar, ruggedness, presence of livestock and human population density positively affecting the leopard occupancy. The detection probability of leopard was higher outside the protected areas, less in the high NDVI (normalized difference vegetation index) areas, and higher in the areas with livestock presence. Presence of wild boar was strong predictor of leopard occupancy followed by presence of livestock, ruggedness and human population density. Leopard occupancy was higher in west Chure (0.70±SE 0.047) having five protected areas compared to east Chure (0.46 ±SE0.043) with no protected areas. Protected areas and prey species had positive influence on leopard occupancy in west Chure range. Similarly in the east Chure, the leopard occupancy increased with prey, NDVI, and terrain ruggedness. Enhanced law enforcement and mass awareness activities are necessary to reduce poaching/killing of wild ungulates and leopards in the Chure range to increase leopard occupancy. In addition, maintaining the sufficient natural prey base can contribute to minimize the livestock depredation and hence, decrease the human-leopard conflict in the Chure range.

opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

Data for habitat suitability of the Persian leopard along the Iran-Iraq border

Habitat fragmentation has major negative impacts on wildlife populations and the connectivity could reduce these negative impacts. This study was conducted to assess habitat suitability and structural connectivity of the Persian leopard along the Iran-Iraq border (i.e., the Zagros Mountains) and compare the situation of identified core habitats and connectivity with existing conservation areas (CAs). An ensemble modeling approach resulting from five models was used to predict habitat suitability. To identify core habitats and corridors along the Iran-Iraq border, factorial least-cost path analyses were applied. The results revealed that topographic roughness, distance to conservation areas, annual precipitation, vegetation/cropland density and distance to rivers were the most influential variables for predicting the occurrence of the Persian leopard in the study area. By an estimated dispersal distance of 82 km (suggested by previous studies), three core habitats were identified (two cores in Iran and one core in Iraq). The largest cores were located in the south and the center of the study area, which had the highest connectivity priorities. The connectivity from these cores was maintained to the core within the Iraqi side. Only about one-fifth of detected core habitats and relative corridors were protected by CAs in the study area. Detected core habitats and connectivity areas in this study could be an appropriate road map to accomplish the CAs network along the Iran-Iraq border regarding Persian leopard conservation. Establishing transboundary CAs, particularly in the core habitat located in the center of the study area, is strongly recommended to conserve existing large carnivores, including the Persian leopard.

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

Patterns of livestock depredation by snow leopards and effects of intervention strategies: lessons from the Nepalese Himalaya

Context. Large carnivores are increasingly threatened by anthropogenic activities, and their protection is among the main goals of biodiversity conservation. The snow leopard (Panthera uncia) inhabits high-mountain landscapes where livestock depredation drives it into conflicts with local people and poses an obstacle for its conservation. Aims. The aim of this study was to identify the livestock groups most vulnerable to depredation, target them in implementation of practical interventions, and assess the effectiveness of intervention strategies for conflict mitigation. We present a novel attempt to evaluate intervention strategies for particularly vulnerable species, age groups, time, and seasons. Methods. In 2020, we conducted questionnaire surveys in two regions of the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal (Manang, n = 146 respondents and Upper Mustang, n = 183). We applied sample comparison testing, Jacobs' selectivity index, and generalised linear models (GLMs) to assess rates and spatio-temporal heterogeneity of depredation, reveal vulnerable livestock groups, analyse potential effects of applied intervention strategies, and identify husbandry factors relevant to depredation. Key results. Snow leopard predation was a major cause of livestock mortality in both regions (25.4–39.8%), resulting in an estimated annual loss of 3.2–3.6% of all livestock. The main intervention strategies (e.g. corrals during night-time and herding during daytime) were applied inconsistently and not associated with decreases in reported livestock losses. In contrast, we found some evidence that dogs, deterrents (light, music playing, flapping tape, and dung burning), and the use of multiple interventions were associated with a reduction in reported night-time depredation of yaks. Conclusions and implications. We suggest conducting controlled randomised experiments for quantitative assessment of the effectiveness of dogs, deterrents, and the use of multiple interventions, and widely applying the most effective ones in local communities. This would benefit the long-term co-existence of snow leopards and humans in the Annapurna region and beyond.

opencc-zeroDec 2011View details →

Data from: Prey preference of snow leopard (Panthera uncia) in South Gobi, Mongolia

Accurate information about the diet of large carnivores that are elusive and inhabit inaccessible terrain, is required to properly design conservation strategies. Predation on livestock and retaliatory killing of predators have become serious issues throughout the range of the snow leopard. Several feeding ecology studies of snow leopards have been conducted using classical approaches. These techniques have inherent limitations in their ability to properly identify both snow leopard feces and prey taxa. To examine the frequency of livestock prey and nearly-threatened argali in the diet of the snow leopard, we employed the recently developed DNA-based diet approach to study a snow leopard population located in the Tost Mountains, South Gobi, Mongolia. After DNA was extracted from the feces, a region of ~100 bp long from mitochondrial 12S rRNA gene was amplified, making use of universal primers for vertebrates and a blocking oligonucleotide specific to snow leopard DNA. The amplicons were then sequenced using a next-generation sequencing platform. We observed a total of five different prey items from 81 fecal samples. Siberian ibex predominated the diet (in 70.4 % of the feces), followed by domestic goat (17.3 %) and argali sheep (8.6 %). The major part of the diet was comprised of large ungulates (in 98.8 % of the feces) including wild ungulates (79 %) and domestic livestock (19.7 %). The findings of the present study will help to understand the feeding ecology of the snow leopard, as well as to address the conservation and management issues pertaining to this wild cat.

opencc-zeroDec 2013View details →

Data from: Forest without prey: livestock sustain a common leopard population in Pakistan

Human–carnivore conflict is one of the major challenges in the management of populations of large carnivores. Concerns include the increasing human population; habitat loss as a result of degradation and fragmentation of forest; and livestock predation as a result of a lack of natural prey, leading to retaliatory killings of wild carnivores. Conflicts may be further aggravated by occasional attacks that result in injury and loss of human life. The level of consumption of prey species by a predator is a benchmark to evaluate the scale of this conflict. We used a newly developed DNA-based diet analysis to study the prey profile of common leopards Panthera pardus in Ayubia National Park, Pakistan. The results suggest that the common leopard is a generalist predator, subsisting mainly on domestic animals. Based on the frequency of occurrence of prey items in 57 faecal samples, the diet of the leopard is dominated by domestic goat Capra hircus (64.9%), followed by domestic dog Canis lupus familiaris (17.5%) and cow Bos taurus (12.3%). Domestic animals (goat, dog, cow, water buffalo Bubalus bubalis, horse Equus caballus and sheep Ovis aries) occurred in 54 (95%) of the 57 samples. We recommend a two-step strategy to mitigate this conflict: (1) introducing incentives for increased acceptance of leopards among local communities in the vicinity of the protected area and (2) increasing the availability of wild prey. We hope that the results of this study will contribute to the survival of the leopard in Pakistan.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Habitat heterogeneity affects the thermal ecology of the federally endangered blunt-nosed leopard lizard 2019 data

Global climate change is already contributing to the extirpation of numerous species worldwide, and sensitive species will continue to face challenges associated with rising temperatures throughout this century and beyond. It is especially important to evaluate the thermal ecology of endangered ectotherm species now so that mitigation measures can be taken as early as possible. A recent study of the thermal ecology of the federally endangered Blunt-Nosed Leopard Lizard (Gambelia sila) suggested that they face major activity restrictions due to thermal constraints in their desert habitat, but that large shade-providing shrubs act as thermal buffers to allow them to maintain surface activity without overheating. We replicated this study and also included a population of G. sila with no access to large shrubs to facilitate comparison of the thermal ecology of G. sila in shrubless and shrubbed populations. We found that G. sila without access to shrubs spent more time sheltering inside rodent burrows than lizards with access to shrubs, especially during the hot summer months. Lizards from a shrubbed population had higher midday body temperatures and therefore poorer thermoregulatory accuracy than G. sila from a shrubless population, suggesting that greater surface activity may represent a thermoregulatory tradeoff for G. sila. Lizards at both sites are currently constrained from using open, sunny microhabitats for much of the day during their short active seasons, and our projections suggest that climate change will exacerbate these restrictions and force G. sila to use rodent burrows for shelter even more than they do now, especially at sites without access to shrubs. The continued management of shrubs and of burrowing rodents at G. sila sites is therefore essential to the survival of this endangered species.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

Data from: Consistency in the flight and visual orientation distances of habituated chacma baboons after an observed leopard predation: Do flight initiation distance methods always measure perceived predation risk?

Flight initiation distance (FID) procedures are used to assess the risk perception animals have for threats (e.g., natural predators, hunters) but it is unclear whether these assessments remain meaningful if animals have habituated to certain human stimuli (e.g., researchers, tourists). Our previous work showed that habituated baboons displayed individually distinct and consistent responses to human approaches, a tolerance trait, but it is unknown if the trait is resilient to life-threatening scenarios. If it were consistent, it would imply FIDs might measure specific human threat perception only and not generalise to other threats such as predators when animals have experienced habituation processes. We used FID procedures to compare baseline responses to the visual orientation distance, FID, and individual tolerance estimates assessed after a leopard predation on an adult male baboon (group member). All variables were consistent despite the predation event, suggesting tolerance to observers was largely unaffected by the predation and FID procedures are unlikely to be generalisable to other threats when habituation has occurred. FID approaches could be an important tool for assessing how humans influence animal behaviour across a range of contexts, but careful planning is required to understand the type of stimuli presented.

FIG. 3 in Morphological Change during Rapid Population Expansion Confounds Leopard Frog Identifications in the Southwestern United States

FIG. 3. Distribution of morphometric characters for Rana berlandieri (Rb), uncertain individuals, and Rana yavapaiensis (Ry). Trait values are log transformed. Different letters indicate significant differences between groups based on Tukey multiple comparison tests (ANOVA, P, 0.05). Abbreviations as in Table 2.

FIG. 4. Character states for the left and right dorsolateral folds for R in Morphological Change during Rapid Population Expansion Confounds Leopard Frog Identifications in the Southwestern United States

FIG. 4. Character states for the left and right dorsolateral folds for R. berlandieri, uncertain individuals, and R. yavapaiensis. Points along the dark line indicate individuals with the same character state for the left and right dorsolateral folds. See text for description of character states. We have applied a small amount of random noise to the points to enhance visibility.

FIG. 2 in Morphological Change during Rapid Population Expansion Confounds Leopard Frog Identifications in the Southwestern United States

FIG. 2. Map of southeastern California, USA depicting historical localities of Rana yavapaiensis (black dots), contemporary localities of Rana berlandieri (white dots), and the uncertain specimens that we examine here (red dots).

FIG. 1 in Morphological Change during Rapid Population Expansion Confounds Leopard Frog Identifications in the Southwestern United States

FIG. 1. Types of dorsolateral folds observed in Rana berlandieri and Rana yavapaiensis. These representations depict the right dorsolateral folds. The color of the medially inset, posterior folds (states 1–6) indicate similarity of the tissue to the primary dorsolateral folds (see text for more information). Black depicts posterior folds that are similar in appearance to the primary fold, and lighter shades of gray indicate skin features that are less pronounced than the raised, glandular tissue of the primary folds. State 1 is typical of R. berlandieri across its native range, and state 5 is typical of R. yavapaiensis. Modeled after Pace (1974: fig. 23).

FIG. 5 in Morphological Change during Rapid Population Expansion Confounds Leopard Frog Identifications in the Southwestern United States

FIG. 5. Majority rule consensus tree of the posterior distribution of trees from the Bayesian analysis of the concatenated alignment (two mitochrondrial and four nuclear markers, with the model of evolution for each marker specified in Table 1). Individuals with uncertain species identification are shown in bold. Numbers below nodes are estimated posterior probabilities. See Data Accessibility for tree file.

Figure 4 in The complete mitochondrial genome of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata (Triakidae)

Figure 4. Visualisation of the tRNA secondary structure encoded in the mitochondrial genome of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata.

Figure 2 in The complete mitochondrial genome of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata (Triakidae)

Figure 2. Codon usage in 13 protein-coding genes encoded in the mitochondrial genome of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata.

Figure 5 in The complete mitochondrial genome of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata (Triakidae)

Figure 5. Phylomitogenomic analysis of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata and related species in the family Triakidae. Total-evidence phylogenetic tree obtained from a maximum likelihood analysis based on a concatenated alignment of the 13 protein-coding genes (translated) encoded in the mitochondrial genome. Numbers above or below branches are bootstrap support values for the different internal nodes. Photograph of Triakis semifasciata from Matthew Field (used with permisssion).

Figure 3 in The complete mitochondrial genome of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata (Triakidae)

Figure 3. Selective pressure analysis in the mitochondrial protein-coding genes of the leopard shark Triakis semifasciata. The estimated Ka/Ks ratio for each protein-coding gene is shown.

opennotspecifiedJul 2021View details →

FIGURE 3 in Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov., a new species of Leopard Gecko from Guangxi China (Squamata: Eublepharidae)

FIGURE 3. Goniurosaurus chengzheng sp. nov. A. Dorsal view of holotype, ECNU-V0090 (left) and paratype, ECNU-V0068 (right); B. Ventral view of the chin, holotype; C. Dorsal view of the snout tip, holotype; D. Precloacal region, with the precloacal pores numbered.