Zanzibar Leopard | |
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File:Zanzibar leopard.jpeg | |
Information | |
Range | 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 | |
Extinct |
The Zanzibar leopard (also known as Panthera pardus adersi) is an extinct population of leopard. It was hunted to extinction in 2002 by local hunters.
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.