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Rare Persian leopard held at Kurdistan zoo faces uncertain future | Wild animals


Wildlife experts fear a rare Persian leopard being held in an Iraqi zoo faces an uncertain future.

Six weeks ago, the male leopard was trapped by a trap set by a resident, this leopard lost dozens of goats in the mountainous area of ​​Batifa, northern Duhok province, in the autonomous Kurdistan region, and had to be amputated. right hind leg.

A veterinarian, Dr Sulaiman Tameer, was called in to help capture the animal, and he said he joined villagers and Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers on a hike into the mountains, tracking the leopard behind. when it climbs a mountain top, pulls a trap that grips its leg. .

Tameer estimated the leopard had been in the trap for at least 10 days and lost a lot of blood. The animal fell from the mountain and plunged into the river about 30m deep. There, dogs surrounded it and Tameer was able to shoot it with a tranquilizer gun.

A Persian leopard at the Jihlava Zoo, Czech Republic.
A Persian leopard at the Jihlava Zoo, Czech Republic. Photo: Slávek Růta / Rex / Shutterstock

The trap broke bones, tore muscles and tendons, and punctured an artery. It was clear to Tameer that he would have to amputate the lower half of the leopard’s leg immediately.

A team of experts through the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) was asked to help treat the leopard. Dr Hans Nieuwendijk, a Dutch veterinary surgeon, and Dr Iman Memarian, an Iranian wildlife veterinarian, visited Duhok in late January. They performed a second surgery to amputate the leg just below the hip joint, creating an operating theater in a cage at the zoo.

Dubbed the Plinga Batifa (the Batifa leopard), the 65kg (10 stone) male is about five or six years old; Its expected lifespan is 10-15 years. The animal is recovering well from the surgeries, but was never able to return to the wild. Missing a hind leg and missing three fangs, it is possible that while captured, it cannot jump or hunt.

Plinga Batifa now spends most of her time in a 3 x 4 meter dark room, which provides some insulation from the noise and odors of the zoo, and opens up to a 120 square meter enclosure. (1,300 square meters) that the leopard ventured. only come after dark, when the zoo is closed and everyone is gone. The smell of jaguars and tigers in neighboring enclosures also makes the leopard very nervous. A recent video of the animal shows it moving around the cage, lying low to the ground.

Experts hope it can be quickly moved to a more suitable location. “It’s best to go to a rehabilitation center, otherwise it will be an animal in captivity and stay in the zoo for the rest of its life,” Tameer said, but he notes that there is no such option. so in Iraq or neighboring countries.

The leopard’s current home is the worst place for it, according to Nieuwendijk. The Persian leopard is “a very solitary animal,” he explained. They are used to being within thousands of miles, meeting only one other cheetah once a year, for a day, to mate.

“It was very scared and so it was very aggressive,” said Nieuwendijk, noting that the animal was not only a danger to itself in the zoo but also to those around it. “If the animal stays, I just hope it dies quickly.”

Persian newspaper Had found only in Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Armenia and the Caucasus Mountains and are endangered: less than 1,000 are estimated to remain in the wild. Hana Raza, a biologist and founder of a leopard conservation program in Kurdistan, Iraq, says there are only about 20 to 25 leopards left in Iraq. They fly through beech forests in the mountains, but their habitat is shrinking. The number of leopards in the wild is very small, so removing even one individual puts the entire population at risk. “Right now we don’t know what we’re losing,” she said.

An adult Persian leopard jumps on the water.
An adult Persian leopard jumps on the water. Photo: Gerard Lacz / Alamy

The region lacks the resources and expertise to breed clouded leopards as part of species conservation efforts. Raza would like to see the leopard on loan to a facility in Europe, where it will be cared for and used in a breeding program recommended by the IUCN, but will remain the property of the Kurdistan region, as well. as any potential hybrid. “This will be very good for the reputation of Kurdistan,” Raza said.

She is trying to get the support of the local government, but so far has not been able to secure a meeting with the provincial governor. How quickly the leopard can move, she said, “all depends on how urgent the government is about this”.

Abdulrahman Seediq, head of the environmental panel of the Kurdistan regional government, said the government’s position was to keep the leopard in the country, “under the supervision and care of veterinary teams and experts in a single environment.” suitable environment”.



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