A leopard does not change its spots! | 5% to sl-charity

Leopards are the pinnacle of animals in Sri Lankan jungles as they are at the top of food chain- the biggest carnivores. I've been writing several times about leopards and today is also an extension of them since it is dedicated as the international leopard day today(May 03) !

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I've talked about some general facts and identification methods in previous articles and this time it is something further than that. Within last 100 years, world leopard population has been decreased 95% and the hunting has been continuously happening as the coat, teeth and nails are highly demanded at particular markets and in Sri Lankan context, most of the time the deaths are caused by illegal straps placed for other animals like deers and boars, specially in central highlands.

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13 leopards have been recorded dead in last year due to human-interferences caused and considering the amount of leopards left in the island, it's a concerning number. Hence the theme of this years international leopard day is the importance of conserving this big member of the cat family.

Tiger and leopard-are they same? It's a common question that has been in mind of people regularly but they are two different species even though in general we call the leopard as tiger( kotiya) here in Sri Lanka. Tigers have much bigger bodies, orangish in colour and long black strips and the specific name for them in sinhalese is "wyagraya". They do not found in Sri Lanka but specially populated in India and Bangladesh.

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As we clear out the leopard tiger saga, you might have heard that there are leopards in rainforests and estates in highlands as well as in dry zone. Are they same specie? Indeed yes, the sri lankan sub specie called Panthera pardus kotiya is the only species living in Sri Lanka but their bodies may be different in appearance due to adaptation to weather. It is clearly seen in the below picture.

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The cub in left is from Wilpattu and the right is from Horton plains national park. Both of them are about 4/5 months old and the cub in the right has a puffy coat with a bigger body, the cold weather and foods might be the reason for that, as Horton plains having a colder climate and excessive amount of samba deers to become preys.

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The next thing I want to talk about is how humans' irregular garbage disposal can be harmful for the animals. You might have already seen wild elephants eating garbage in garbage dumps near forests and how badly it can affect them. The following picture is also due to similar scenario and the incident was recorded in Pune, India.

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The female leopard was searching for a prey and has fallen into the open-well, and while struggling to go up, she's been strangled with that polythene bag and has faced a dreadful death by drowning.Irregular garbage disposal has been a massive problem to the wildlife that makes imbalance of nature and can cause huge disasters including more animal-human conflicts.

The last thing I'm going to discuss is another bad manner that humans have practiced over the years, now getting worse. Feeding for wild animals. There are many animals by the roads that goes along forests, who are seeking for food from humans, not only once or twice but sadly become a habit. The good examples for that are Rambo elephant in Udawalawa reserviour and the elephants in Buttala-Kataragama road that goes along Yala and Lunugamwehera National Parks .

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So this disturbing scene was recorded in Yala national park. Sometimes safari jeep drivers feed animals like wild boars and deers or even tusker called "Gamunu" in the park but hard to imagine, the latest culprits have been leopards!

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The male leopard is called "Lucas", one of the most fearsome in the whole park, called as the King in Yala by many trackers, drivers and photographers. Even a mighty one like him has been offended by human- feeding and footage was shared how he was waiting for food in front of jeeps and even go closer to the door and looking at the driver like a cat. It is true that leopards are used to the vehicles at park but they try to leave them as soon as possible when they see or at least never try to get closer. This was very disturbing and frustration scene, showing a signs of something terrible in near future!

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You might have been wondering what's the big deal of feeding them, they'll get food we are happy-they are happy so all is good. Well it's not so good as it seems especially in bigger picture. Imagine someday they could jump inside the jeep and attack the people looking for food. Besides, due to this cause, animals can deviate from their natural habitats and habits of hunting, unable to hunt and become an animal who is dependent on humans? In long term, they will lose the ability of hunting in their genes and in few generations they will lose the top level of food chains and in simple words, the fearsome leopard would become a mere cat with a bulky body.

So even though the African proverb says "A leopard does not change its spots", seems like they can be changing spots which means their lifestyle, habitats and attitudes are changing. Let's be more concerned t towards the wildlife on this day dedicated to the leopards and share the awareness, get educated and work towards conservation of this beauty of mother nature for the future generations.

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Stay safe!

-Ceylonese Eye-