Persian Leopard - Distribution and Habitat

Distribution and Habitat

Leopards were most likely distributed once over the whole Caucasus, except for steppe areas. Surveys conducted between 2001 and 2005 confirmed that there are no more leopards in the western part of the Greater Caucasus, and that they survived only at a few sites in the eastern part. The largest populations survive in Iran. The political and social changes in the former Soviet Union in 1992 caused a severe economic crisis and a weakening of formerly effective protection systems. Ranges of all wildlife were severely fragmented. The former leopard range declined enormously as leopards were persecuted and wild ungulates hunted. Inadequate baseline data and lack of monitoring programmes make it difficult to evaluate declines of mammalian prey species.

As of 2008, of the estimated 871–1,290 mature leopards

• 550–850 live in Iran, which is the leopard stronghold in Southwest Asia;
• about 200–300 survive in Afghanistan, where their status is poorly known;
• about 78–90 live in Turkmenistan.
• fewer than 10–13 survive in Armenia;
• fewer than 10–13 survive in Azerbaijan;
• fewer than 10 survive in the Russian North Caucasus;
• fewer than 5 survive in Turkey;
• fewer than 5 survive in Georgia;
• about 3–4 survive in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Persian leopards avoid deserts, areas with long-duration snow cover and areas that are near urban development. Their habitat consists of subalpine meadows, broadleaf forests and rugged ravines from 600–3,800 m (2,000–12,500 ft) in the Greater Caucasus, and rocky slopes, mountain steppes, and sparse juniper forests in the Lesser Caucasus and Iran. Only some small and isolated populations remain in the whole ecoregion. Suitable habitat in each range country is limited and most often situated in remote border areas. Local populations depend on immigration from source populations in the south, mainly in Iran.