The
Anatolian leopard (
Panthera pardus tulliana) was once described as a distinct
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of
leopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera; the other three being the tiger, lion and jaguar...
native to
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
(Asia Minor),
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. However, modern taxonomic analyses have demonstrated that the leopards of Asia Minor genetically differ little from other west- and central Asian leopards and should therefore be included into the
Persian leopardThe Persian leopard , is one of the leopard subspecies native to western Asia. It is endangered throughout its range up to the Middle East.- Description :...
(
Panthera pardus saxicolor) subspecies.
It is unknown whether any leopards still exist in the wild in Anatolia.
These animals once prowled the forest and hill habits of the Aegean, Mediterranean, and East
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
n regions.
The
Anatolian leopard (
Panthera pardus tulliana) was once described as a distinct
subspeciesSubspecies in biological classification, is 1) a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, or 2) a taxonomic unit, a taxon in that rank...
of
leopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera; the other three being the tiger, lion and jaguar...
native to
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
(Asia Minor),
TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
. However, modern taxonomic analyses have demonstrated that the leopards of Asia Minor genetically differ little from other west- and central Asian leopards and should therefore be included into the
Persian leopardThe Persian leopard , is one of the leopard subspecies native to western Asia. It is endangered throughout its range up to the Middle East.- Description :...
(
Panthera pardus saxicolor) subspecies.
It is unknown whether any leopards still exist in the wild in Anatolia.
Distribution/Physical Features
These animals once prowled the forest and hill habits of the Aegean, Mediterranean, and East
AnatoliaAnatolia is a geographic region of Western Asia, comprising most of the modern Republic of Turkey. The region is bounded by the Black Sea to the north, the Caucasus to the northeast, the Iranian plateau to the southeast, the Mediterranean Sea to the south and the Aegean Sea to the west...
n regions. Adults grow 50-100 centimeters long and may weigh up to 90 kg; their lifespan is approximately 20 years. In
IsraelIsrael officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
, there were Anatolian leopards until the 1980s, there were also some unconfirmed reports of encounters with leopards in the
GalileeGalilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country...
, and the
Golan HeightsThe Golan Heights is a strategic plateau and mountainous region at the southern end of the Anti-Lebanon Mountains and remains a highly contested land straddling the borders of Syria and Israel. Two-thirds of the area is currently governed by Israel...
.
Diet
In the wild, the leopard's prey consists of wild ungulates, which include
deerDeer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. They include for example Moose, Red Deer, Reindeer, Roe and Chital. Animals from related families within the order Artiodactyla are often also considered to be deer – these include muntjac and water deer...
,
chamoisThe chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, is a goat-antelope species native to mountains in Europe, including the Carpathian Mountains of Romania, the European Alps, the Gran Sasso region of the central Italian Apennines, the Tatra Mountains, the Balkans, parts of Turkey, and the Caucasus. The chamois has...
, mountain goats, and occasionally wild boar. The animal would also go after birds and domestic livestock, if needed.
http://www.freewebs.com/anatolianleopard
Sightings
The last official sighting of the Anatolian leopard was in 1974. The animal was killed after an attack on a woman in Bağözü village, Beypazarı 5 km from Beypazarı. Although some scientists have suggested the subspecies has become extinct, others have suggested that there are still between 10-15 leopards in the wild. In 2001, the animal was spotted in the locality called "Dandi" near the town of Mut in the
Taurus MountainsTaurus Mountains are a mountain complex in southern Turkey, from which the Euphrates and Tigris descend into Iraq. It divides the Mediterranean coastal region of southern Turkey from the central Anatolian Plateau....
in Turkey's
Mediterranean RegionThe Mediterranean Region is one of the seven geographical regions of Turkey. It borders the Aegean Region to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Southeastern Anatolia Region to the east, and the Central Anatolia Region to the north....
, and around Muskili Brook on the eastern
Black Seaur a loser!The Black Sea is an inland sea bounded by Europe, Anatolia and the Caucasus and is ultimately connected to the Atlantic Ocean via the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas and various straits. The Bosporus strait connects it to the Sea of Marmara, and the strait of the Dardanelles connects it to...
. In 2003 remote sensing cameras captured an adult male leopard in the
Vashlovani National ParkVashlovani National Park is a national park located in the eastern part of Georgia, and was established in 1935 to preserve its unique, shallow forests. In April 2003 the Reserve's area was expanded to 84.80 km² and Vashlovani National Park was made...
in
GeorgiaGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
. Another sighting was reported in 2004 in Pokut Plateau. In 2002 the team at the Big Cat Rescue began an inventory expedition at an altitude of around 2000 meters. The expedition was started because photographer Cemal Gulas brought the team a photograph of a paw print which they determined to be that of a leopard. On the expedition, the team sighted a leopard but it evaded them before a photo could be taken. The next day, the team succeeded in photographing the leopard and confirmed its continued existence. It is, however, believed that there are only 10-15 members of this species left in the wild. Currently, the Anatolian Leopard Foundation is studying the animal's population on Mount Taurus using trap cameras. Researcher Selim Guray and his group found some tracks in the forest, which can be observed at
http://www.anatolianleopardfoundation.nlthis site.
Cause for Decline
It was thought that extensive
trophy huntingTrophy hunting is the selective hunting of wild game animals. While parts of the slain animal may be kept as a hunting trophy or memorial , the carcass itself is sometimes used as food....
was the prime factor in the decline and possible extinction of the Anatolian leopard. One hunter named Mantolu Hasan, singlehandedly killed at least fifteen of these animals, possibly as many as fifty .
The Kaplani of Samos Island in Greece
There are no recent reports of encounters with the animal in
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, though at the end of the
18th centuryThe 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini/Common Era numbering system.However, Western historians sometimes specifically define the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work...
an Anatolian leopard from Asia Minor was forced, either by a flooding of the
Maeander RiverThe Büyük Menderes River ; , Ancient Greek: Μαίανδρος, Maíandros) is a river in southwestern Turkey. It rises in west central Turkey near Dinar before flowing west through the Büyük Menderes graben until reaching the Aegean Sea in the proximity of the ancient Ionian city Miletus...
or by
wildfireA wildfire is any uncontrolled fire that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Reflecting the type of vegetation or fuel, other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, vegetation fire, and wildland fire may be used to describe the same phenomenon...
, to swim over to the greek
Samos IslandSamos is a Greek island in the North Aegean sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese, and off the coast of Asia Minor.-Geography:...
, where, due to the lack of it’s wild prey, became the scourge of domestic animals.
The Kaplani ( from meaning
TigerThe tiger is a member of the Felidae family; the largest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera. Native to much of eastern and southern Asia, the tiger is an apex predator and an obligate carnivore...
) was hunted by farmers and shepherds and was forced to take refuge in a cave. The entrance was documented as being blocked with large stones so that the animal would die out of
hungerHunger is a feeling experienced when one has a desire to eat. Satiety is the absence of hunger. The often unpleasant feeling of hunger originates from the hypothalamus releasing hormones that target receptors in the liver...
and
thirstThirst is the craving for fluids, resulting in the basic instinct of animals to drink. It is an essential mechanism involved in fluid balance. It arises from a lack of fluids and/or an increase in the concentration of certain osmolites such as salt...
. After some time, a villager named Gerasimos Gliarmis, opened a hole and climbed down the cave unarmed, to find the leopard’s corpse. But the animal had managed to survive eating the remains of its old prey and drinking the water which gathered in a cave’s hollow. The leopard tried to fight his way out, but the villager’s brother, Nikolaos Gliarmis, also climbed down the cave for help and managed to kill it. Gerasimos Gliarmis was injured by the wildcat in his chest and died a short time later from infection.
The dead leopard was embalmed and is today displayed at the Natural History Museum of the Aegean , on Samos Island. The story of the animal and the exhibit inspired distinguished greek author
Alki ZeiAlki Zei is a Greek novelist and children's author. She studied in the philosophy school of Athens University, the Drama School of the Athens Odeion, and in the screenwriting department of the Moscow Cinema Institute. From 1954 to 1964 she lived in the Soviet Union as a political refugee...
for her novel
Wildcat under glass
See also
- Pardus
Pardus is a Linux distribution developed in Turkey, as a product of the Pardus Project. It was named after the Latin name for the Anatolian leopard. Lots of daily used applications are in its standard package...
, a Turkish Linux distribution named after the Anatolian leopard
- Ankaraspor A.Ş., Turkish football club which is nicknamed after the animal