Leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) in Armenia: basic trends, dangers and hopes

Abstract

SUMMARY This article describes ecological, genetic, psychological, juridical and economic aspects of the leopard (Panthera pardus ciscaucasica) conservation in Armenia. It also suggests certain tools for species preservation by means of ecotourism and ungulate breeding development and provides an overview of global perils to leopard, namely the cat skin trade, sport hunting and eradication by shepherds and livestock breeders. In the short-term perspective, the current abundance of leopard (25 individuals) ensures the reproduction group size (effective population size) of 15–20 animals and loss of genetic variability (heterozygosity) at a rate 2.5–3% per generation. Individual range and biomass values are 89.2 km2 and 0.5 kg/km2, respectively. If today's trends remain the same, leopard population in Armenia is likely to run down to extinction after approximately 30 generations. These data, however, do not imply the leopard's early demise as its ability to overcome the problem of inbreeding in small populations by adaptability and natural selection is still unknown. In psychological terms, the leopard has the highest preservation value of intangible characteristics — existence value, bequest value, option value and vicarious (recreational) value. The juridical and economic backgrounds of the man—leopard conflict are confined to the assessment of different views on the illegal killing of leopards by farmers and conservationists. Owners of the domestic animals attacked by leopards need full reimbursement of material detriment, while wildlife rangers and conservation authorities blame farmers for deliberate killing of the predators and punish them without understanding the reasons which instigate the livestock breeders to commit the misdeed.