WWF to reintroduce leopards to the Caucasus
24/07/2006 00:00:00Leopards in the Caucasus
- The Persian leopard, Panthera pardus tulliana, once inhabited almost all of the Caucasus. However, the population declined drastically in late 19th – early 20th centuries. Only a few leopards now inhabit the most remote places of the Russian Caucasus. The number of leopards here is considered to be too small for the species to reproduce itself; and only occasional ‘visits’ of the Persian leopards from bordering countries help to maintain the population. Therefore, natural restoration of the leopard here is impossible; only reintroduction can help return the species to the Northern Caucasus.
WWF-Russia has launched a six-year project, supported by the Russian Ministry of Nature Resources, aimed at reintroducing the Persian leopard into the Northern Caucasus. The holding pens will shortly be built in Sochi National Park and animals from several zoos will be transported to Sochi. The baby leopards born in the pens will become the founders of the new population.
Sponsors
The project will become the first WWF-Russia conservation project that is mostly sponsored by Russian businesses. Among companies that sponsor the project are Russian mobile operator Vympelcom (Beeline) and the Roza Khutor ski resort.
