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Animal Database
Zanzibar Leopard
Mounted specimen of the Zanzibar Leopard
Information
Range Unguja Island, Zanzibar
Estimated Population 0
Scientific Classification
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia
Order Carnivora
Family Felidae
Genus Panthera
Species P. pardus

P. p. adersi

Conservation Status
EXSpecies
Extinct

Zanzibar leopard (also known as Panthera pardus adersi​​​​​​) is an extinct population of leopard. The Zanzibar leopard was hunted by the government's orders for witchcraft. It was hunted to extinction in 2002 by local hunters. In 2015, big cat prints have been found in Zanzibar meaning that it is a clue that the Zanzibar leopard. In 2018, Zanzibar leopard was caught and recorded by a camera-trap, thus renewing hopes for the population's survival.

Description[]

Zanzibar leopard were very similar in size to the African leopard but along with insular dwarfism, they evolved a longer tail and a lower stance. This low center of gravity allowed the powerful Zanzibar leopard to drag prey three times their own weight up into the canopies to feast. When people say "a leopard never changes its spots" but for the Zanzibar leopard, the spots are different while the African leopard has rosettes big patches of spots and Zanzibar leopard has very small spots as the result this differentiation is according to the environmental situation of the area of Zanzibar.

Behavior and ecology[]

An insufficient amount of behavior and ecology is known of the Zanzibar leopard. It had never been studied in the wild, and the Zanzibar leopard was last sighted in the early 1980s. Most zoologists have since assumed the leopard to be extinct or very nearly so.

Only 6 skins have been seen in museums, including the  type specimen in the Natural History Museum of London and a much-faded mounted specimen in the Museum of Zanzibar. However, Zanzibar government statistics demonstrate that leopards were still being hunted by hunters in the mid-1990s, and islanders continue to report sightings of the Zanzibar leopard and livestock predation.

Gallery[]

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