TY - JOUR

T1 - Elusive cats in our backyards

T2 - persistence of the North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis) in a human-dominated landscape in central China

AU - Yang, Haitao

AU - Xie, Bing

AU - Zhao, Guojing

AU - Gong, Yinan

AU - Mou, Pu

AU - Ge, Jianping

AU - Feng, Limin

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - The North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), the least-known big cat, disappeared in most historical range for decades, following the development of modern civilization. Unfortunately, we have scarce knowledge about the status of this big cat so far, apart from anecdotal reports. In this study, we investigated density, distribution, and habitat use of the leopard, the apex predator, in a complex forest landscape in the Loess Plateau. We used a camera-trapping network to obtain population estimates for leopards over 2 years through spatially explicit capture-recapture models. Our results, based on maximum likelihood and Bayesian/MCMC methods, reveal that the largest wild population of the leopard was found widely distributed in remnant forests in central Loess plateau. The population is increasing in our study area, and the density of leopards (1.70 (SE = 0.48) - 2.40 (SE = 0.67)/100 km(2)) is higher than other areas of China. According to the analysis of 2 seasonal occupancy models, prey species drive partially the leopard habitat use, predicting that the big cat thrives from the recovery of prey community. However, human disturbances, especially oil wells, seem to have negative impacts on the habitat use of leopards. Specifically, it is necessary to have joint efforts by the government and researchers to improve human disturbances management and prey species population density, as well as strengthen the investment in research on the North Chinese leopard, which could all further strengthen protection ability and ensure the long-term survival of this species.

AB - The North Chinese leopard (Panthera pardus japonensis), the least-known big cat, disappeared in most historical range for decades, following the development of modern civilization. Unfortunately, we have scarce knowledge about the status of this big cat so far, apart from anecdotal reports. In this study, we investigated density, distribution, and habitat use of the leopard, the apex predator, in a complex forest landscape in the Loess Plateau. We used a camera-trapping network to obtain population estimates for leopards over 2 years through spatially explicit capture-recapture models. Our results, based on maximum likelihood and Bayesian/MCMC methods, reveal that the largest wild population of the leopard was found widely distributed in remnant forests in central Loess plateau. The population is increasing in our study area, and the density of leopards (1.70 (SE = 0.48) - 2.40 (SE = 0.67)/100 km(2)) is higher than other areas of China. According to the analysis of 2 seasonal occupancy models, prey species drive partially the leopard habitat use, predicting that the big cat thrives from the recovery of prey community. However, human disturbances, especially oil wells, seem to have negative impacts on the habitat use of leopards. Specifically, it is necessary to have joint efforts by the government and researchers to improve human disturbances management and prey species population density, as well as strengthen the investment in research on the North Chinese leopard, which could all further strengthen protection ability and ensure the long-term survival of this species.

KW - habitat use

KW - North Chinese leopard

KW - occupancy

KW - population size

KW - spatially explicit capture-recapture

KW - FAR-EASTERN LEOPARDS

KW - AMUR TIGERS

KW - HABITAT SELECTION

KW - ACTIVITY PATTERNS

KW - HUMAN DISTURBANCE

KW - POPULATION-SIZE

KW - HOME-RANGE

KW - PREY

KW - CARNIVORES

KW - DENSITY

U2 - 10.1111/1749-4877.12482

DO - 10.1111/1749-4877.12482

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 32822100

VL - 16

SP - 67

EP - 83

JO - Integrative Zoology (Online)

JF - Integrative Zoology (Online)

SN - 1749-4877

IS - 1

ER -