Super busy at the moment but I'll have more on this issue. This post is also at Facebook if you wish to comment.
Lately there has been comment that because the leopard is not a protected species there should not be the resources allocated. Oh boy, am I going to have fun in my book with this. This once again shows the total ignorance from many sectors of what happens when a key predator is removed from habitat (poaching, retaliation killing etc). There is more and more criticism of IUCN conservation status ratings from conservationists as it is but they are still the holy grail for policy makers, most of who wouldn't know leopard shit from monkey shit. Protected status for the leopard is vital for effective ecosystem management, it has nothing to do with numbers, predator displacement can have a highly negative effect. I'll continue to fight for full protection of the leopard no matter what, however it is disturbing once again the lack of support on this issue, it just shows that basic knowledge of ecology is lacking.
