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ABOUT THE PROJECT
The Leopard Conservation Program in Armenia was launched in 2002 through joint efforts of WWF and the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia (the current Ministry of Environment) and with the support and funding from WWF Switzerland and WWF Germany.
The ongoing phase of the project is the next step of the long-term Leopard Conservation Program in the South Caucasus.
Since the start of the program, the number of recorded leopards in Armenia has increased from 0-1 during 2002-2012, to a country record of 8 adults and two cubs detected in Armenia during 2021. Current number of Leopards detected by our trail cameras is at least 6 adult individuals.
Armenia as a habitat of the Caucasian Leopard
Currently, the Leopard is listed in the Red Data Book of Armenia (2010) as critically endangered and is also classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List. The estimated population in Armenia is fewer than ten individuals.
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Leopards have been spotted in Armenia
Every Leopard has its unique spot pattern
Just like a human fingerprint!
Fur
Ranges from pale yellow to dark gold, with dark spots in rosettes
10-25°C
Leopards are adapted to a variety of climates, living in regions with moderate temperatures and rainfall
NEO THE LEOPARD
The coordinated and professional work toward increasing the populations and maintaining the habitats of both the Leopard and its prey species has enabled attaining tangible results.
Since December 2018, young male Leopard named Neo has set its basic residence at the Khosrov Forest State Reserve. The long-term monitoring reveals that Neo has been inhabiting Khosrov Forest State Reserve for over seven years now.
Although Neo was spotted roaming over 50 km in surrounding areas, including in Arpa Protected Landscape (2019), he consistently found his way back to Khosrov.
In the recent years, apparent presence of the animal in our country is the outcome of many years of hard and dedicated work.
See Neo in Khosrov Forest State Reserve ⬇︎
Project Goals
The goals set in the Leopard Conservation Project are to:
▶ Reduce illegal actions beyond the protected areas and establish compensation mechanisms to mitigate human-wildlife conflicts.
▶ Enhance capacities at the protected areas in Southern Armenia.
▶ Involve the target rural communities in additional community development activities.
▶ Facilitate continuous monitoring of the leopard and its prey species within target regions, as well as prepare the map of migration corridors for the leopard and implement this corridor.
▶ Improve public awareness about conservation of the leopard.
© WWF Armenia
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To continue long-term scientific monitoring of leopard and prey species in Armenia.
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To implement and strengthen mutual leopard conservation and monitoring activities with all target protected areas.
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To raise awareness of target communities and wider public about leopard conservation work via educational activities and to support selected villages with small community development investments.
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To run a network of leopard caretakers in Armenia and support their data collection about the leopard and its prey species using the EarthBeat application.
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To mitigate human-wildlife conflict in target communities and provide them with contemporary mitigation measures.
Expected Outcomes
The outcomes expected in the Leopard Conservation Project are:
▶ The status of leopard and its prey species in Armenia is reassessed and updated, for development of conservation recommendations and adjustments.
▶ At least 5 leopards inhabit target protected areas of Armenia, and prey species resources are sufficient for supporting the permanent resident population of leopards in the country.
▶ With the active involvement into the monitoring and conservation activities, the management effectiveness of target Protected Areas is increased as a result of capacity building, institutional and technical support from WWF-Armenia.
▶ Awareness about the Human-wildlife conflict is raised among the population in target communities, with the provided mitigation measures contributing to a decrease of the conflict at a local scale.
▶ Increased awareness of the population in target communities about the importance of leopard, its prey species, biodiversity and nature conservation.
© Ola Jennersten / WWF-Sweden