tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4489237133433437126.post7574624652518306962..comments2023-09-29T00:50:23.707-07:00Comments on The Zanzibar Leopard: THE PERCEIVED PERSISTENCE OF THE ZANZIBAR LEOPARDMartin Walshhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12861269342303762201noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4489237133433437126.post-24317441384895945452011-05-09T00:58:51.424-07:002011-05-09T00:58:51.424-07:00The Zanzibar leopard has only been recorded on Ung...The Zanzibar leopard has only been recorded on Unguja island (also called Zanzibar island, especially in the older literature) and its adjoining islets, e.g. Uzi island, which is connected to Unguja by mangrove forest at low tide. Unguja was once connected to the African continent, and the leopard was presumably isolated on the island when sea levels rose at the end of the last Ice Age. The other large island in the Zanzibar archipelago, Pemba, has a very different geological history, and is separated from both the African mainland and Unguja by deep channels. As a result it has few terrestrial mammals and they may all be relatively recent introductions (no leopards I'm afraid).<br /><br />Other than local stories about leopard-keeping, we have no evidence that leopards have ever been captured on Unguja island, for whatever purpose.Martin Walshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12861269342303762201noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4489237133433437126.post-72301314026002459712011-05-08T08:44:25.338-07:002011-05-08T08:44:25.338-07:00Thank you for that link. It's incredible that...Thank you for that link. It's incredible that this happens in my own backyard....many Tucsonans are very protective of the desert environment (which is a positive thing). As for the leopard keepers, I agree...it's all fairy tales and unicorns in these modern times. What's unfortunate is that as I travel to many countries, I'm seeing the wild elements slowly encroached upon by human settlements....and the illegal poaching!!! that cannot be regulated due to a lack of rangers or perhaps turning the head the other way. However, it was powerful to see the locals stepping up to the plate and writing down the boat numbers etc and spreading the word to other tribes and communities in the area. 2 years ago, I watched helplessly as we were in the Amazon and a boating vessel slaughtered a group of wild peccaries swimming across the river in the "safe" zone of the jungle. I'm happy to hear that the safaris don't happen like I had previously thought. There are websites that show leopards killed in the wild on these hunting expeditions with people smiling over their kill. The sad part is that this leopard is endemic to that island....which leads me to ask....has it ever been found on surrounding islands? Perhaps captured by others? I lived in Cape Verde and we had a lizard that survived only on the island of Sal, but with banana shipments etc to other islands, I always wondered if they slipped into crates etc.Rohrerbothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02136631378931478644noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4489237133433437126.post-82084083631514079772011-05-07T11:50:41.800-07:002011-05-07T11:50:41.800-07:00Many thanks for this informative comment. I caught...Many thanks for this informative comment. I caught more of the northern Jaguar story online, including here: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/jaguar/index.html<br /><br />Encountering large carnivores in the wild is indeed a breathtaking experience. As discussed elsewhere in our draft paper and other publications, we don't think that leopard-keepers exist, but class them among the 'imaginary beings' of our title. As far as we know there is no hunting by outsiders in Zanzibar, and there never have been organised hunting safaris of the kind found on the East African mainland and popularised by the likes of 'Teddy' Roosevelt and 'Papa' Hemingway. The Zanzibar leopard's demonisation by islanders themselves was enough to push it to the brink of extinction. Like you we hope that some still survive. Unlike the northern jaguar, it's an island endemic, and there's no possibility of the population being replenished from elsewhere.Martin Walshhttp://notesandrecords.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4489237133433437126.post-55713675397155645342011-05-07T09:50:51.743-07:002011-05-07T09:50:51.743-07:00This is interesting. I only write this because of...This is interesting. I only write this because of an incident similiar to the Jaguar of Southern Tucson. There were rumors for many years that 2 Jaguars had returned back into the Sonoran Desert near the Buenos Aires Bird Refuge near Tucson Arizona. It took years and eventually a photo shot was produced of this elusive animal. It is my hope that they are just as elusive. But our story concluded with tragedy as they caught the male Jaguar and put a tag on it. It died quickly after. Major issues arose in our conservation efforts afterwards on how all of this was handled. People were enraged by the Jaguar's death as it has been thought many years extinct from our region. With conservation efforts both from Mexico and the US side, the Jaguar is seen as a possible comeback story for our Sonoran Desert mountain ranges. The studies continue and hope is there......as I hope there is for this species of leopard. It took scientists years to track this Jaguar. In the Amazon, I saw my first Jaguar and it took my breath away. These "leopard keepers" may hold a bit of the future if they do really exist. But it seems education is necessary for everyone on that island to prevent killings by hunters from abroad and local. My guess is that some may keep the killing secret but as scientists you have to keep all things possible.Perhaps like the Jaguar of Southern Arizona or the hidden community Highland Gorillas, there is a population of Leopards that are hiding away from the public eye....and that is encouraging.Rohrerbothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02136631378931478644noreply@blogger.com