Conservation Efforts

ALF~ Anatolian Leopard Foundation~

(quoted directly from the official website)

Mission of ALF

Presented with indications that the elusive leopard still survives in certain remote areas of Turkey, the Anatolian Leopard Foundation (ALF) was established in 2008 to support an inquiry and survey, starting in an area of the Taurus Mountains of Southwest Anatolia. Our mission is as follows:

1. Establish the survival of the leopard in Turkey using systematic surveys with modern non-invasive methods and equipment.
2. Upon confirmation promote and support the research for recovery and conservation of the leopard in Turkey, linking in with conservation programs in neighboring countries.
3. Collate information on the (historical) ecology of leopards in Turkey by consultation of experts and others with knowledge on the subject.
4. Help solve the taxonomic debate around the Anatolian leopard subspecies with respect to other subspecies in southwest Asia.
5. Support conservation activities and research for the protection and ecological understanding of leopards throughout their range in southwest Asia, including the Middle East, Asia Minor and Transcaucasia, linking in with ongoing initiatives.

The foundation consists of a team of four Dutch researchers and one Turkish researcher with a background and training in ecological research and/or conservation ecology.

Another association that is working to protect the Anatolian Leopard as well as other wild cats is 'Big Cat Rescue'.

Big Cat Rescue~(quoted directly from official website)

Our Mission

Big Cat Rescue, a non profit educational sanctuary, is devoted to rescuing and providing a permanent home for exotic (i.e. wild, not domestic) cats who have been abused, abandoned, bred to be pets, retired from performing acts, or saved from being slaughtered for fur coats, and to educating the public about these animals and the issues facing them in captivity and in the wild.

The sanctuary is home to the most diverse population of exotic cats in the world, with 16 species and subspecies of wild cat represented among more than 100 residents. These include tigers, lions, liger, leopards, cougars, bobcats, lynx, ocelots, servals, caracals and others, many of whom are threatened, endangered, or now extinct in the wild.

Diet and Habitat

.

The Anatolian Leopards Diet

The Anatolian Leopard, being a carnivore, hunts deer, chamois, moun

tain goats, and occasionally wild boar. If necessary, they also prey on birds and domestic livestock.

For Food Diagram please go to this website: (You might have to copy and paste as it is not an official link)

file:///Users/chantalle/Library/Caches/TemporaryItems/map.htm(T93E)/map.htm(T93E)

The Anatolian Leopard's

Habitat

The Anatolian Leopard lives in the mountain ranges

.

of Turkey otherwise known as Anatolia.

This is located in the Biome of dry steppe. (source #5)

The Anatolian Leopard's original habitat is Turkey.Usually they can be found in the forest and hill

areas of the Aegean, Mediterranean and east

Anatolian regions.

This particular region consists of Mountain

chains of the Ponus and Taurus Mountains making

this habitat steep and dangerous.

Bibliography

5 Main References I Used to Collect My Information (MLA format)

1)"Anatolian Leopard is Alive." Big Cat Rescue. Big Cat Rescue. Web. 5 Oct. 2009. .

2) Brakefield, Tom, and Alan Shoemaker. "Big Cats: kingdom of might." Google books. Web. 6 Oct. 2009. .

3) "The last Anatolian Leopard." The last Anatolian Leopard. Web. 6 Oct. 2009. .

4) "The Anatolian Leopard Foundation." The Anatolian Leopard Foundation. The Anatolian Leopard Foundation. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. .

5) "Biome." Biome. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. Web. 8 Oct. 2009. .

Basic Information

The Anatolian leopard is of the...

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Suborder: Feliformia

Family: Felidae

Subfamily: Felinae

Genus: Panthera

Species: (Binominal name) Panthera Pardus (Trinominal name) Panthera Pardus Tulliana

An Endangered Species...

Endangered?

The Anatolian Leopard was classified as a critically endangered species by the 2000 IUCN Red List which was published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.

The near extiction of the

Anatolian Leopard is due

almost entirely to trophy

hunting...

"The Anatolian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana) of Turkey, Syria, and northern

Lebanon is one of the largest-- maybe the largest- of all the leopard subspecies and is almost extinct. Heinrich Mendelssohn, in a 1990 issue of Cat News, stated that this cat was still

relatively common in Galilee in northern Israel in the 1920s and '30s, but the last specimen, a

very old male, was killed in 1965 before nature conservation became effective in Israel. Anatolian leopards may still survive in Turkey, but local biologists estimate that the population is probably too small to breed." (quoted from- Big Cats: kingdom of might by Tom Brakefield and Alan Shoemaker)

In Turkey, throughout the 20th century numerous leopards were caught in tiger-traps and killed by buck-shots. After World War I, hunting leopards for a trophy was a favourite sport and activity in Turkey. In May 1937, the first hunting regulation classified leopards and tigers as hazardous animals who were a danger. Hunters were allowed to kill them at all times. Thereafter hunters proudly posed with their pelts and dead bodies for cameras. Hasan Bele, one of the known hunters of that time, made his mark having killed 15 leopards between the years 1930 and 1950. "Known as Mantolu Hasan, the 'Robed Hasan', he draped the pelts of his kills over his shoulders like pelerines. His ruthless killing only ended when İsmet İnönü, then President of the Republic of Turkey, awarded him a new shotgun on the strict condition that under no circumstances he should attempt to aim his gun at a leopard any more." (source 3)

*(It is also known that Romans used the Anatolian Leopards as circus animals in earlier years.)

Due to the frenzied hunt at that time, the Anatolian Leopard is a critically endangered

species with an estimated population of less than 250 adult individuals; its population having decreased at

least 80% in ten years when an investigation was done before 2002.

Originally, in previous reports, it was believed that this species of leopards was completely extinct. However,

people have lately been claiming that they have seen leopards in the mountains of Anatolia. Although these

leopards are not extinct, as previously believed, the Anatolian Leopard still remains in grave danger.

Physical Characteristics

Adult Anatolian Leopards grow

to about 200-250 centimeters long

and can weigh up to 90 kilograms.

According to previous research on

these leopards, their lifespan is

approximately 20 years.