Title
Panthera pardus (amended version of 2019 assessment)
Author(s)
A.B. Stein; V. Athreya; P. Gerngross; G. Balme; P. Henschel; U. Karanth; D. Miquelle; S. Rostro-Garcia; J.F. Kamler; A. Laguardia; I. Khorozyan; A. Ghoddousi
Published
2020
Publisher
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Abstract
Leopards are widely distributed across Africa and Asia, but populations have become reduced and isolated, and they are now extirpated from large portions of their historic range. Due to their wide geographic range, secretive nature and habitat tolerance, Leopards are difficult to categorize as a single species. Evidence suggests that Leopard populations have been dramatically reduced due to continued persecution with increased human populations (Thorn et al. 2013, Selvan et al. 2014), habitat fragmentation (UN 2014), increased illegal wildlife trade (Datta et al. 2008), excessive harvesting for ceremonial use of skins (G. Balme pers. comm. 2015), prey base declines (Hatton et al. 2001, du Toit 2004, Fusari and Carpaneto 2006, Datta et al. 2008, Lindsey et al. 2014, Selvan et al. 2014) and poorly managed trophy hunting (Balme et al. 2009). Throughout North, East and West Africa, Middle East, East and South-east Asia, Leopards have suffered marked reductions and regional extirpations due to poaching for illegal wildlife trade, habitat loss and fragmentation, and prey loss. Human populations have increased by 2.57 percent annually from 1994 to 2014 (UN 2014) driving a 57% increase in the conversion of potential Leopard habitat to agricultural areas from 1975 to 2000 (Brink and Eva 2009). Deforestation in South-east Asia has increased for palm oil and rubber plantations (Sodhi et al. 2010, Miettinen et al. 2011). These factors were not incorporated in the previous assessment and likely have a substantial impact on suitable Leopard range

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