LEOPARD (Panthera pardus L.) IN PURWODADI, TEPUS, GUNUNGKIDUL, YOGYAKARTA, INDONESIA

Abstract

<p>Indonesia is a beautiful archipelago country. It has many habitat type and ecosystem. The most interesting area is karst. By its special characteristics like high concentration of calcium (Ca), makes karst area has a specific and uniquely ecosystem. Gunungsewu is the largest karst area in Indonesia. The surface ecosystem of karst (eksokarst) in Indonesia is very dry, however we can find Leopard (Panthera pardus L), especially in Southern part of Karst Gunungsewu. That is why we are interested to study about it. In this study, we use observation and interview method. From the temporally result (research still on progress), we know that in Purwodadi, Tepus area live two sub-species of Leopards, those are Spotted Leopard (Panthera pardus pardus) and Javanese Black Leopard (Panthera pardus melas) with porcupine (Hystrix javanica), squirrel (Caloscurus notatus), Mongoose (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), and other small mammals and some birds as their prey. In some cases, we find Leopard eats the dead human body but they rarely eat cattle although it takes in the middle of the farms. The habitat of Leopard was fragmented. Now they only life in five fragmented part of karst Gunungsewu and their habitat degrade slowly from year to year. From the results, we can conclude that conservation in Karst of Gunungsewu especially in Purwodadi, Tepus, Gunungkidul is badly needed. It must be done soon because Leopard becomes extinct. We can use local wisdom to conserve it because it has proven can make a good interaction between human and Leopards in their habitat. </p><p><strong>Keyword</strong>: predator, tropical, karst, Gunungsewu</p><p> </p>