North Chinese Leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis)

[Ngala]

Leopards of Northern China - PART 4
By Song Dazhao
Photographs by Song Dazhao & Wang Buping
Translated by Trevor Padgett(CAN)

Leopards in the Lens
The conservation of any animal, from large mammals to small insects, is a complicated endeavor. It is a science built on data and the most foundational number necessary is the size of a population. Without this number, which is a representation of genetic health and wealth, as well as reproductive potential, any conservation effort is just wandering blindly.

For the North Chinese leopard, squeezing this number out of the forest is an ongoing and arduous task. It is not possible to capture or identify each and every individual in a population and the habitats in which many of the worlds endangered species live are simply too unforgiving, and oftentimes impenetrable, and the species themselves are usually secretive and elusive.

Badgers are one of the main preys of leopards. This photo shows a badger and its cubs. A female usually nurtures 2–3 cubs during a breeding season.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Expeditions tracking large mammals, such as the leopard, need to cover large expanses of time and space. A single leopard can occupy a vastarea, sometimes in the tens to hundreds of square kilometers, so the chance of encountering even one individual is unlikely. Infrared camera traps help remedy this. Triggered automatically when an animal passes infront of the camera, these can see the forest as it really is, by day and by night, and have the benefit of creating almost no disturbance. Camera traps allow our eyes to be spread out over a larger area and to watch for an extended period of time. The small little boxes we strap to the trees become our never tiring eyes in the forest.

Unlike some species that are willing to share habitat with conspecifics (that is members of the same species), North Chinese leopards are protectively solitary. With the exception of females and their own cubs, males often force out any other leopard from their territory. Knowing this, to obtain a robust assessment of just how many North Chinese leopards there are in the Taihang Mountains, we divided the region into grids, each unit smaller than the smallest known habitat size. Thenwe set out to fix infrared camera traps at each grid point, ensuring that if a leopard was there, it would be captured on film.

Each of our expeditions last between 10 and 15 days and, time being one of the most important commodities for research, we quickly get into a daily routine. I divide the team into pairs and each morning these pairs take off before sunrise and start our trek up the mountain to those different grid points. Even though we have spent a lot of time in the mountains, and have met with much success, there are still problems.

We are a small non-governmental environmental organization and suffer a continual shortage of funds. To cover such a vast area with so many expensive cameras is challenging but we remain strong. After years surveying the mountains, my team and I have come to see the leopards as family. In the eyes of people who do not appreciate the beauty and importance of nature, the leopard may seem inconsequential. To their eyes, the forest and mountains may seem all the same, one undeveloped swath of land. To us, the mountains are alive but the life of one inhabitant is on the edge.

Memory cards in the cameras often give us unexpected surprises: other animals, also the prey of leopards, such as wild boar and roe deer. The abundance of these ungulates determines whether the population of leopards can be sustained or not. There is also another endangered species in this area–the brown-eared pheasant.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Though our research faces obstacles, it is not all bad news. Since 2008, we have identified fifteen North Chinese leopards in our study region in the Taihang Mountains. We also have records of three separate breeding events. We are now focusing on return customers – individuals that have been repeatedly captured by our cameras – in an effort to figure out the longevity and ranges of specific individuals, a key piece in the understanding of leopard ecology. One male, for example, has been photographed continuously for the past 6 years. We have watched this leopard grow from a cub to a teenager, and then to a dominant male. Today, his old face bears scars, wounds fromterritorial battles won in the past but there is a new generation of young males showing up in the images and his dominance may be challenged. It can only be guessed how many more years he will return to our cameras or when a younger male takes over the reign of his land as a new heir to the throne.

Will Fear of Predators make them Extinct on the Central Plains?
The North Chinese leopard may be one of the world’s most endangered leopards. While we struggle to do our best with the resources and trained experts that we have, we are always running into barriers.

In the past, the Taihang Mountains, particularly the region we survey, was accessible by only one single road, just a thin strip of asphalt that cut through the vast wilderness. Now that lone road is being replaced with a multi-lane highway and a growing traffic load. Our study has shown that leopards can and do cross the existing road at night. With a wider road, we can only shudder at the fate of these majestic cats. And roads beget roads, meaning that this is only the beginning. What was once a small slice through viable leopard habitat will soon be a gaping scar, and then a network of gaping scars, cutting the forest into yet smaller pieces. The leopard we met on the camera forso many years is not only facing the threat of a new male competing for territory, but also the loss of the vary territory being fought over.

It is not just the road and the fragmentation that is troubling; it is the development of leopard habitat in general. It is striking to think that one of the first specimens of the North Chinese leopard was recorded in what is now the metropolis of Beijing. Where these apex predators once roamed now sits a new jungle of concrete and pollution, a land stripped bare of any piece of the habitat that once existed there.

Despite all these obstacles, our goal remains: to make the conservation of the North Chinese leopard a reality. We have established a group of dedicated volunteers who patrol protected areas of Shanxi, attempting to reduce poaching of leopards for their skin andto stopretaliatory killings by farmers. We go to work every day with our goal in mind and hope that our efforts can at least make one region – the Taihang Mountains of Shanxi– a refuge for the majestic predator that once calledmuch of China home.

How many North Chinese leopards are living in the Taihang Mountains? Or in all of China? No one can answer that. Leopards are large, vigilant carnivores living in vast habitats; thus, it is difficult to monitor their population. Speaking of leopards, most people show interest, yet only a few of them step into the deep mountains and devote their life to conservation projects. That is why the work of volunteers from CFCA is so important and meaningful.

*This image is copyright of its original author

Perhaps only after a national conservation area is established can these cats be truly protected. Without the teeth of law and the awareness and conviction of the people, their fate remains uncertain. Despite this uncertain future, I will continue to walk in the Taihang Mountains and I will continue to be vigilant in my quest to protect the leopards. Maybe the next time I am in the mountains, I will see the elusive cat for myself, perched upon a cliff’s edge looking back at me.

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