Panthera pardus tulliana
Panthera pardus tulliana is a leopard subspecies native to the Iranian Plateau and surrounding areas encompassing Turkey, the Caucasus, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan and possibly Pakistan.[2] Since 2016, it has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, as the wild population is estimated at less than 1,000 mature individuals.
Taxonomy
Felis tulliana was the scientific name proposed by Achille Valenciennes in 1856, who described a skin and skull from a leopard killed near Smyrna, in western Turkey. In the 19th and 20th centuries, several naturalists described leopard zoological specimens from the Middle East:
- Felis pardus tulliana was proposed by Richard Lydekker in 1899 after examining a leopard skin from the Caucasus.
- Felis ciscaucasica was proposed by Konstantin Alekseevich Satunin in 1914, based on a leopard specimen from the Kuban region in the North Caucasus.[7][8]
- Panthera pardus saxicolor was proposed by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1927, who described leopard skins from different areas of Persia, but recognized their similarity to Caucasian leopard skins. His holotype was a skin and a skull of a male leopard from Asterabad.
- P. p. sindica was proposed by Pocock in 1930 for a single skin and two skulls from the Kirthar Mountains in Balochistan. He wrote that the skin closely resembled those of P. p. saxicolor, but was distinguishable from the typical Indian leopard (P. p. fusca) in colour. It was subsumed to P. p. saxicolor based on molecular genetic analysis in 1996.
In the 19th and 20th centuries, the Anatolian leopard was considered a distinct leopard subspecies that occurred only in western Turkey. The leopard specimens available in zoological museum collections do not differ significantly in the sizes and shapes of skulls. Therefore, the subspecific names tulliana, ciscaucasica and saxicolor are currently considered synonyms.
An analysis of leopard samples from Afghanistan revealed that they belong to P. p. saxicolor, but intergrade with the Indian leopard (P. p. fusca) in eastern Afghanistan.
Characteristics
P. p. tulliana has a grayish, slightly reddish fur with large rosettes on the flanks and back, smaller ones on the shoulder and upper legs, and spots on the head and neck. It varies in colouration; in Iran both pale and dark individuals occur. Its average body length is 158 cm (62 in), with a 192 mm (7.6 in) long skull and a 94 cm (37 in) long tail. It weighs up to 60 kg (130 lb).
Distribution and habitat
The habitat of P. p. tulliana in the Greater Caucasus is subalpine meadows, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and rugged ravines from 600 to 3,800 m (2,000 to 12,500 ft) ; and in the Lesser Caucasus and Iran rocky slopes, mountain steppes and sparse juniper forests. It avoids areas with long-duration snow cover and areas near urban development.
In northern Anatolia, zoologists found evidence of leopards in the upper forest and alpine zones of the Pontic Mountains during surveys carried out between 1993 and 2002. Its presence in the Pontic Mountains was questioned in 2016 due to a lack of evidence.A camera trap photograph obtained in Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region in September 2013 is said to show a leopard. Its preferred habitat is thought to be sparse forest areas, followed by rocky areas, agriculture and pasture areas, and riparian zones.In southeastern Turkey, its presence was documented in the Çınar district of Diyarbakır Province and in Bitlis Province. In 2018 and 2019, it was photographed on the northern slopes of Mount Cudi in Şırnak Province, and this may be a corridor for movement between Turkey and Iraq. It has also been photographed in the north-eastern province of Artvin, which borders Georgia, but whether the animals are resident is not known.[citation needed] In Beydağları Coastal National Park, two leopards were recorded in 58 video and photographs between August 2019 and May 2023.
In the Caucasus, leopards were sighted around the Tbilisi area and in the Shida Kartli province in Georgia, where they live primarily in dense forests. Several individuals were sighted in the lowland plains of the Kakheti region in 2004.Leopard signs were also found at two localities in Tusheti, the headwaters of the Andi Koysu and Assa rivers bordering Dagestan.Leopards are thought to occasionally move through Georgia from Russia, but naturalists hope they might become resident in Georgia in future if well protected in both countries.Between October 2000 and July 2002, tracks of 10 leopards were found in an area of 780 km2 (300 sq mi) in the rugged and cliffy terrain of Khosrov State Reserve on the southwestern slopes of the Gegham mountains.During surveys in 2013–2014, camera traps recorded leopards in 24 locations in southern Armenia, of which 14 are in the Zangezur Mountains.This trans-boundary mountain range provides important breeding habitat for leopards in the Lesser Caucasus. In March 2007 and in October 2012, an individual was photographed by a camera trap in Hirkan National Park. This protected area in southeastern Azerbaijan is in the Talysh Mountains, which are contiguous with the Alborz Mountains in Iran. During surveys in 2013–2014, camera traps recorded leopards in five locations in Hirkan National Park.The first male leopard crossing from Hirkan National Park into Iran was documented in February 2014. It was killed in the Chubar Highlands in north-western Iran's Gilan Province by a local hunter. This incident indicates that the Talysh Mountains are an important corridor for trans-boundary movement of leopards.In September 2012, the first female leopard was photographed in Zangezur National Park close to the border with Iran.During surveys in 2013–2014, camera traps recorded leopards in seven locations in Zangezur National Park, including two different females and one male. All sites are close to the border with Iran.Five cubs were documented in two sites in the Lesser Caucasus and the Talysh Mountains.Between July 2014 and June 2018, four leopards were identified in the Talysh Mountains and 11 in the trans-boundary region of Nakhchivan and southern Armenia.
Threats
P. p. tulliana is threatened by poaching, depletion of prey base due to poaching, human disturbance such as presence of military and training of troops in border areas, and habitat loss due to deforestation, fire, agricultural expansion, overgrazing, and infrastructure development. In the 1980s, anti-personnel mines were deployed along the northern part of the Iran-Iraq border to deter people from entering the area. Leopards roaming the area are safe from poachers and industrial development, but at least two individuals are known to have stepped on mines and been killed. The main threat in northern Iraq is deforestation, which in the early 2020s is being worsened by an economic crisis.
In Turkey, the leopard has been killed illegally in traps and through poison.Several leopards are known of have been killed since 1974 in Beypazarı, Siirt Province, Diyarbakır Province and Tunceli Provinces. Despite ongoing efforts to reforest Turkey, the country lacks a plan to reconnect fragmented forests as of 2020, which may further fragment leopard populations in the region.
SOURCE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panthera_pardus_tulliana
https://youtu.be/46ogmd8Eevo?si=Wm1Q1YHiatQkJP-g
https://youtu.be/AY-52qBaGEg?si=JZwBRLn3unrcEiK3
https://youtu.be/RXWcf4q57_k?si=I0NvB-4QiuRjQlK-
