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Leopard
Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
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Sri Lankan Leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
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The release of this leopard didn't go as planned
 *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author  *This image is copyright of its original author LEOPOCON Sri Lanka
"A male leopard trips a remote camera trap on Yala National Parks Butwa beach."
 *This image is copyright of its original author Kulu Safaris Sri Lanka
Massive male YM07/Harak Hora from Yala National Park
 *This image is copyright of its original author Ravihara Jeewakarathne 
Edge effects and distribution of prey forage resources
influence how an apex predator utilizes Sri Lanka’s largest protected area Abstract: Apex carnivores are integral to effectively functioning ecosystems, but their popula- tions are declining worldwide. To ensure the long-term viability of top carnivore populations, it is important to understand their ecology and behavior throughout their remaining range, including in protected areas, as these can act as vital refuges. In Sri Lanka, an endangered, endemic leopard sub-species (Panthera par- dus kotiya) is the apex predator, and while its island-wide distribution is inuenced by forest cover and protection level of the landscape, ecological and anthropogenic inuences of ner scale landscape utilization are poorly understood. In the interior of Sri Lanka’s largest protected area, Wilpattu National Park, we used remote cam- eras and a spatially explicit capture-recapture methodology to estimate leopard pop- ulation density and quantify relative prey availability. We then employed linear models to compare four alternative hypotheses proposed to identify factors inu- encing observed leopard habitat selection within the PA. Adult leopard density was estimated at 10.4 individuals/100 km 2 which is at the higher end of the global spectrum of recorded leopard densities, and only marginally lower than other Sri Lankan National Parks which appear to have considerably higher available prey abundance. Leopard site utilization increased with increasing distance from park boundaries, suggesting the presence of edge effects due to anthropogenic distur- bance. Leopard occurrence was also higher close to grazing lawns used by prey but not areas of higher prey abundance, evidence of ‘leap-frogging’, whereby carni- vores bias movement toward spatially anchored preferred resources of their prey instead of prey directly. The relatively high core area leopard density, combined with avoidance of boundary areas and frequent observation of injuries suggests the possibility of density-dependent intra-specic competition and needs to be further investigated. These results illuminate essential aspects of leopard ecology in a key part of its remaining Sri Lankan range, providing important insights for protected area management
Robust leopard from Horton Plains National Park
 *This image is copyright of its original author Dhanushka Perera
Veteran male from Kumana National Park
 *This image is copyright of its original author vinura_rajapakshe_photography
Chandare, a rarely seen male from Yala National Park
 *This image is copyright of its original author jb_jungle_boy
Harak Hora
 *This image is copyright of its original author Source: Yala Leopard Diary - Block 1 Leopard Identification (private Facebook group) 
Leopards from Wilpattu national Park.
 *This image is copyright of its original author source: https://www.dailynews.lk/2020/11/05/tc/2...ional-park
YM53 Simba from Yala National Park
 *This image is copyright of its original author Dinusha Pushpawansa |
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