ٰOn February 23th 2016, the 25th WildTalk Seminar was held with guest speakers from the ICS-supported Persian Leopard Project in Northeastern Iran. Running in collaboration with University of Oxford’s WildCRU, Iran Department of Environment, and Panthera, the project senior researchers discussed 10 lessons learnt from the past 3-year of this project.
Using a combination of the cutting-edge GPS-satellite telemetry, remote camera-trapping, genetic sampling, field surveys, and questionnaire surveys with local people in three different leopard reserves in northeastern Iran, the project team presented for the first time the preliminary results about: (1) spatial distribution of leopards and c-predators on this landscape using occupancy modeling; (2) density estimation of leopards in two key reserves using remotely-triggered camera traps; (3) training a team of Iranian biologist for all procedures of trapping and handling leopards for fitting GPS collars; (4) movement ecology and spatial distribution of leopards using GPS-satellite collars; (5) fine-scale feeding ecology of Persian leopards; (6) Transboundary dispersal of leopards between Iran and Turkmenistan; (7) Intraspecific competition between and killing of Persian leopards; (8) facilitating co-existence between local people and leopards; (9) creating a specialist a rescue team for leopards; and (10) awareness campaign and environmental education focusing on the Endangered Persian leopards.
