Following on briefly from my post yesterday, one of the most pressing issues for panthera pardus is the lack of recognition, even in the conservation science community, of local and/or ecological extinction. While the leopard may be relatively abundant in some areas, its numbers are seriously declining or have zeroed out in others thus resulting in trophic cascade and other ecosystem breakdowns. Panthera pardus survives and adapts from sea level to well over 4500m making it far more adaptable than charisma species such as tiger and snow leopard. The importance of the leopard is seriously under rated, this has to change. The apathy from governments, the conservation sector and the public is matched by the lack of understanding. The leopard is a hard sell, it's reputation as a conflict animal (unfortunately resulting in many human fatalities) and its secretive nature belie its importance in the food chain. A solid population of leopards in one place means nothing if the animal is regionally extinct in another where the ecosystems suffer as a consequence. Friend and colleague geneticist Prajwol Manandhar and I call panthera pardus the "Super Cat"... we need a lot more people to truly understand why... I've realized one of the great challenges now is to "sell" this understanding...
