The Persian leopard confirmed its presence in the territory of Dagestan

The press service of the World Wildlife Fund reported that the leopard was photographed by a camera trap installed on the territory of the Khunzakhsky Nature Park.

“Earlier it was believed that Dagestan could be used by the leopard mainly in summer as a migration corridor. However, the fact that the leopard was caught by a camera trap in Khunzakh in winter indicates that the Persian leopard enters Dagestan during the cold season, it has enough food and is satisfied with the living conditions in this area,” said the director of the representative office of the World Wildlife Fund in the ecoregion "Russian Caucasus" Valery Shmunk.

Dagestan is included in the historical range of these animals, however, in the middle of the last century, the entire population of leopards in Russia was completely exterminated by humans. Since then, not a single case of the birth of cubs in the wild has been recorded. In 2005, the World Wildlife Fund, together with the IPEE RAS, developed a program for the restoration of the Persian leopard in the Caucasus and is implementing it with the support of the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources and other partners.

Dagestan is currently being considered as a potential release site for leopards. In this regard, the foundation conducts educational work with the local population in mountainous areas and supports the monitoring of potential habitats for the rare cat.