short communication
ELMIRA MAHARRAMOVA1, EHSAN M. MOQANAKI2*, ELSHAD ASKEROV1, SAMANE FAEZI3, leopard populations in the Iranian Cauca- HOSSEIN ALINEZHAD4, MARZIEH MOUSAVI5, TOBIAS KUEMMERLE6,7, AUREL HEIDELBERG8 sus, or even depend on these populations AND NUGZAR ZAZANASHVILI9 as a source for dispersing individuals (As- kerov et al. 2015). However, to date no con- Transboundary leopard move- firmed evidence of leopard movements for the two proposed transboundary populati- ment between Azerbaijan and ons of Zangezur-Kiamaky and Talysh-West- ern Alborz ranges (Askerov et al. 2015) has Iran in the Southern Caucasus been documented. Here, we report the first hard evidence of such a movement event Understanding whether large cat populations are transboundary by nature is im- between Azerbaijan and Iran in the Talysh portant for conservation planning. We here report transboundary movement by Mountains. an adult male Persian leopard Panthera pardus tulliana (= P. p. ciscaucasica Since 2011, WWF (particularly WWF-Azer- = P. p. saxicolor) in the Talysh Mountains of the Southern Caucasus. Between 12 baijan Branch supported by WWF-Germany and 13 July 2013 this leopard, named Astkhan, was photographed by camera traps and WWF-Switzerland), together with the at three locations inside Hirkan National Park NP, Talysh Mountains, Azerbaijan. Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources On 7 February 2014 a local hunter killed an adult leopard in Chubar Highlands of of Azerbaijan Republic MENR, the Interna- Gilan Province, north-western Iran, approximately 30 km away from Hirkan NP tional Dialogue for Environmental Action (straight-line distance). Comparing photos of this poached leopard with those ob- IDEA and Humboldt University Berlin, has tained from Hirkan NP allowed us to identify this leopard as Astkhan. This is the conducted camera trap surveys of leo- first hard evidence of transboundary movements by Persian leopards in the Talysh pards and their prey in Hirkan NP, Talysh Mountains, and thus for linkages between leopard sub-populations in Azerbaijan Mountains, Azerbaijan (see Askerov et al. and northern Iran. This also suggests that the transboundary Talysh Mountains are 2015; Fig. 1). Two male leopards were pho- of utmost importance as a corridor between core leopard areas in the Caucasus to and video-captured at six sites during Ecoregion, and thus for the Persian leopard conservation in general. Joint survey an unknown number of camera trap days planning, reporting and data sharing can be a first step for transboundary coope- between May 2013 and July 2014. One ration in leopard conservation between the eco-regional countries. adult male, named Astkhan by the research 08 team, was photographed at three sites (photo and video identification based on The critical status of the Persian leopard 2017). Leopards currently occur only in a the right flank only; Fig. 2 & Supplemen- in the Caucasus Ecoregion urgently calls few locations in the Caucasus, and it has tary Online Material SOM Figure F1) on 12 for international cooperation between the been speculated that leopards in Azerbai- and 13 July 2013, approximately 2 km east eco-regional countries (Breitenmoser et al. jan and Armenia might be connected with and 4.5 km north of the border with Iran (straight-line distance; Fig. 1). In May 2014, the Gilan Provincial Office of the Iranian Department of Environment DoE at Talesh County, Iran, was informed about a case of leopard poaching by a local hunter near Mohammad Yurdi, Chu- bar Highlands (Fig. 1). The local hunter was eventually arrested, and authorities discovered two images of him with a po- ached leopard in his cell phone (Fig. 3 & SOM F2). The local hunter confessed to having killed this leopard while in search for forest-dwelling ungulates. He claimed that he had sold the leopard’s skin for IRR 70,000,000 (≈ US$ 2,750 in 2014) to an undisclosed person. We identified the date of this incident from the EXIF data of the poacher’s photos as 7 February 2014. The skin could not be traced by the legal authorities, but the leopard’s tail was later Fig. 1. Locations of camera trap photographs of a male Persian leopard, named Astkhan, discovered by authorities in the poacher’s inside Hirkan NP, Azerbaijan, between 12 and 13 July 2013 (red square 1), and his death hideout (SOM F3) and is now in the pos- in Chubar Highlands of Gilan Province, Iran on 7 February 2014 (red square 2). Another session of Gilan DoE. The local hunter was male leopard shot dead in Dizaj, Ardabil Province, Iran on 9 July 2007 (red triangle 3). Grey fined with IRR 50,000,000 (≈ US$ 2,000) polygons represent protected areas. in accordance with the former revision of
CATnews 67 Winter 2018 leopard movement between Azerbaijan and Iran
the Iranian Hunting and Fishing Law (2014), We propose establishing a transboundary References and sentenced to 42 months in prison for platform for planning survey and monitor- Askerov E., Talibov T., Manvelyan K., Zazanashvili leopard poaching and possession of an un- ing activities and for reporting and sharing N., Malkhasyan A., Fatullayev P. & Heidelberg registered firearm. data on leopard status and occurrence. This A. 2015. South-Eastern Lesser Caucasus: the During the workshop on “Revision of the would be a first and urgently needed step in most important landscape for conserving the Strategy for the Leopard Conservation in the this direction. Leopard (Panthera pardus) in the Caucasus Caucasus and Coordinating the Monitoring region (Mammalia: Felidae). Zoology in the of Leopard and Prey Species in the Ecore- Acknowledgements Middle East 61, 95-101. gion” in Tbilisi, Georgia held on 25 - 28 April WWF-Azerbaijan is thankful to the Ministry of Breitenmoser U., Askerov E., Soofi M., Breiten- 2017, representatives from Azerbaijan and Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan moser-Würsten C., Heidelberg A., Manvelyan Iran met and shared information about the Republic MENR and the International Dialogue K. & Zazanashvili N. 2017. Transboundary leo- leopard status on both sides of the border. for Environmental Action IDEA for support and pard conservation in the Lesser Caucasus and Comparison of the pelage pattern of Astkhan collaboration, particularly in the field of leopard the Alborz Range. Cat News 65, 24-25. with photos obtained from the poacher in conservation in Azerbaijan. The Iranian Cheetah Caucasus Leopard Working Group 2017. Strategy for Iran (Fig. 4) confirmed the killing of Astkhan Society’s research was funded by the Iranian the Conservation of the Leopard in the Caucasus in the Iranian part of the Talysh Mountains, Department of Environment DoE and World Land Ecoregion. Revised Version 2017. IUCN/SSC Cat approximately 30 km away from the last lo- Trust. Our special thanks go to IUCN/SSC Cat Specialist Group, Muri b. Bern, Switzerland and cation where the animal was photographed Specialist Group for general support to the pro- WWF Caucasus Office, Tbilisi, Georgia. 29 pp. inside Hirkan NP (straight-line distance; cess of leopard conservation in the region, and Farhadinia M. S., Ahmadi M., Sharbafi E., Fig. 1). This represents the first evidence particularly for coordinating the Caucasus Leo- Khosravi S., Alinezhad H. & Macdonald D. of leopard transboundary movements wi- pard Workshops in Tbilisi, Georgia (25 - 28 April W. 2015. Leveraging transboundary conser- thin Talysh Mountains, as well as the first 2017). Finally, we would like to thank Ali Jafari vation partnerships: persistence of Persian confirmed record of leopard movement bet- and the law enforcement team in Talesh Branch leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in the ween Iran and Azerbaijan. For the Iranian of Gilan DoE, and Pouyan Behnoud for assistance Iranian Caucasus. Biological Conservation Caucasus, this killed individual is the only in the identification of Astkhan. 191, 770-778. confirmed leopard occurrence in the Talysh Mountains during the past 20 years, besides a young male that was shot in Dizaj village, 09 Ardabil Province, approximately 15 km away from the border with Azerbaijan, on 9 July 2007 (Mowlavi et al. 2009, Moqanaki et al. 2013; Fig. 1 & SOM F4). Habitat suitability modelling and connecti- vity predicted the Talysh Mountains to be a critical linkage for connecting the bor- der landscape between Iran, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the presumed source leo- pard population in the Alborz Mountains in Northern Iran (Zimmermann et al. 2007, Fig. 2. First footage of Astkhan, photo- Fig. 3. A photo of Astkhan, dated 7 Fe- Farhadinia et al. 2015). The incident we re- graphed by a camera trap inside Hirkan bruary 2014, discovered by authorities in port here supports these predictive models. NP, Azerbaijan, on 12 July 2013 (Photo a poacher’s cell phone in Chubar, Gilan The Strategy for the Conservation of the WWF-Azerbaijan). Province, Iran. Leopard in the Caucasus Ecoregion, which has been revised in April 2017 (Caucasus Leopard Working Group 2017), stresses the need for strategic transboundary coop- eration in leopard conservation between the countries in the Caucasus. Considering the still very low number of individuals in this ecoregion (13 confirmed individuals), the loss of every leopard is a major setback in efforts for safeguarding this species. Recent evidence for leopard reproduction in the Talysh Mountains from Hirkan NP (Breitenmoser et al. 2017) are encouraging news, but also highlight that joint monitor- ing and conservation efforts between Iran Fig. 4. Identification of Astkhan was done based on pelage pattern of his head. See SOM and Azerbaijan are more crucial than ever. F1 & F2 for original photos.
CATnews 67 Winter 2018 original contribution
Moqanaki E., Breitenmoser U., Kiabi B. H., Ma- space for the leopard in the Caucasus. Cat 4 Gilan Provincial Office of Department of Envi- soud M. & Bensch S. 2013. Persian leopards News Special Issue 2, 28-33. ronment, Rasht, Iran in the Iranian Caucasus: a sinking ‘source’ 5 Wildlife and Inland Fishes Bureau, the Iranian population? Cat News 59, 22-25. Supporting Online Material Figures F1-F4 are Department of Environment, Tehran, Iran Mowlavi G., Marucci G., Mobedi I., Zahabiioon available at www.catsg.org. 6 Geography Department, Humboldt University F., Mirjalali H., & Pozio E. 2009. Trichinella Berlin, Germany britovi in a leopard (Panthera pardus saxi- 1 WWF-Azerbaijan, Baku, Azerbaijan 7 Integrative Research Institute on Transforma- color) in Iran. Veterinary parasitology 164, 2 Iranian Cheetah Society ICS, P.O. Box 14155- tions of Human-Environment Systems (IRI THE- 350-352. 8549, Tehran, Iran Sys), Humboldt University Berlin, Germany Zimmermann F., Lukarevsky V. S., Beruchashvili *
IMAN MEMARIAN1, STÉPHANE OSTROWSKI2*, HESAMODIN KORDESTANI3, FARBOD KHAK- Leopard Panthera pardus populations have POUR4 AND NIMA POUYANSHAD5 been reduced globally due to continued per- secution with increased human populations, The illegal use of snares and habitat fragmentation, increased illegal wildlife trade, excessive harvesting for cer- gin traps threatens endange- emonial use of skins, prey base declines, and poorly managed trophy hunting. This ne- red leopards in Iran gative trend supported the recent uplisting of the species from Near Threatened to Vul- We report on six cases of snare and gin trap captures of free-ranging Persian leo- nerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened pards Panthera pardus tulliana in northern Iran between 2012 and 2017. Three of Species (Stein et al. 2016). 10 these leopards died as result of severe injuries, the three others were rescued, one The leopard subspecies that survives in survived albeit disabled, two could be released to the wild but one of them died less South-west Asia and the Caucasus (P. p. sa- than two months after release. These captures were unintentional, and resulted from xicolor, recently revised as P. p. tulliana by snares and gin trap being deployed illegally by farmers to rid their crops and chicken- Kitchener et al. 2017) is listed in the IUCN coop from wild boars Sus scrofa (5) and possibly jackals Canis aureus / jungle cats Red List of Threatened Species as Endan- Felis chaus (1), respectively. These cases reveal the growing problem of habitat di- gered (Khorozyan 2008). In Iran, where it sturbance and loss for leopard and their natural prey in the Alborz mountain range and still has a wide distribution range mainly Caspian lowlands of Iran. across the Alborz and Zagros Mountains and their off-shots, it is vulnerable to local extinction in fragmented habitats because of anthropogenic activities (Sanei & Zaka- ria 2011). Acknowledging that the information was probably incomplete because of the leopard’s protected status, Kiabi et al. (2002) proposed that deliberate killing because of their al- leged attacks on livestock was probably one of the main threats to leopards in Iran since the mid 1970’s. These authors mentioned also accidents with cars and habitat loss as two important additional threats to the leo- pards. Sanei & Zakaria (2011) ranked in de- creasing order of likely incidence, (1) habitat destruction, degradation and fragmentation; (2) illegal hunting and poaching of leopards (in an attempt to destroy predators that may prey on livestock) and their prey species, Fig. 1. An anesthetised female Persian leopard with a gangrenous process affecting poisonous lures, capturing juvenile of prey its left fore-limb. The animal was unintentionally snared, rescued by the Department of species, as the two main groups of threats to Environment of Golestan Province, and sent 18 days later to Tehran for treatment, Janu- leopards in Iran. In a review of 71 mortality ary 2012 (Photo I. Memarian, Tehran Zoo and Pardisan Wildlife Rehabilitation Center). cases throughout the country between 2007-
CATnews 67 Winter 2018 Maharramova E., Moqanaki E. M., Askerov E., Faezi S., Alinezhad H., Mousavi M., Kuemmerle T., Heidelberg A. & Zazanashvili N. 2018. Transboundary leopard movement between Azerbaijan and Iran in the Southern Caucasus. Cat News 67, 8-10. Supporting Online Material.
SOM F1. Astkhan, a male Persian leopard, was photographed by a camera trap inside Hirkan National Park, Talysh Mountains, Azerbaijan on 13 July 2013 (Photo WWF- Azerbaijan)
SOM F2. A photo of Astkhan discovered in a poacher’s cell phone by legal authorities in Gilan Province, Iran. Identification of Astkhan was done by comparing the pelage pattern of his head in this photo with SOM F1 (See Fig. 4).
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SOM F3. A photograph of Astkhan’s tail discovered in a poacher’s hideout by wildlife authorities in Chubar, Gilan Province, Iran (Photo Ali Jafari/Gilan DoE).
SOM F4. A male Persian leopard shot dead by authorities after injuring 7 villagers in Dizaj, Ardabil Province in Iran on 9 July 2007 (Photo Ardabil DoE).
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