After a series of alleged leopard poaching incidents in Sri Lanka, conservationists warn that the big cats are likely being deliberately targeted for their skin, teeth, claws and meat at a higher rate than previously believed, reports contributor Malaka Rodrigo for Mongabay.
“Sri Lanka may not be part of an international trafficking chain for leopard bone or skin like some parts of India or Africa, but the possibility of small-scale trade or even ritual use of leopard parts cannot be ruled out,” Sethil Muhandiram, a conservation activist from the leopard conservation nonprofit LEOPOCON, told Mongabay.
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is considered endangered as per its IUCN assessment in 2008, with fewer than 1,000 mature wild individuals remaining. Muhandiram said it’s commonly believed that leopards in Sri Lanka aren’t typically targeted by hunters, but get caught in traps meant for other wildlife or are killed in retaliation for preying on livestock. Deliberate targeting hasn’t been a big concern, he said.
However, the recent arrest of suspected poachers with a skinned leopard carcass inside Maduru Oya National Park in early August suggests more targeted hunting, he added. “There is no reason for poachers to skin and carry an entire carcass unless they see value in it. This incident points to some other intent, either to extract meat, sell the pelt, or harvest body parts.”
Leopard expert Rukshan Jayewardene told Mongabay that some leopard carcasses found caught in snares were missing specific body parts like front legs and shoulder muscles, indicating the leopards were specifically targeted for their body parts rather than being opportunistically caught.
However, Andrew Kittle, lead scientist with the Wilderness & Wildlife Conservation Trust (WWCT), a local research and conservation organization, said “there is currently no available evidence of targeted poaching at scale.” But he echoed the likelihood that hunters who find dead leopards in their snares set for other animals are opportunistically harvesting the cats’ meat, skin, teeth and claws.
Seizures of leopard skins at airports or from private homes do indicate signs of targeted killing, Kittle said, adding “this is definitely something that we need to be alert to.”
An analysis of leopard deaths reported to the Department of Wildlife Conservation from 2001-2023 found that snares were the leading cause of mortality, followed by poisoning. Nearly three out of four deaths took place outside protected areas. While leopards are more at risk outside conservation zones, zoologist Hasitha Karavita said “it is also worrying that 24% of leopard deaths occurred in protected regions where some of these deaths are not due to natural causes.”
Rajika Gamage, an independent researcher, added that “racketeers may be using research data to target areas where leopards are known to roam frequently.”
Read the full story by Malaka Rodrigo here.
Banner image: A leopard in a forest in Sri Lanka. Image by Udayan Dasgupta/Mongabay.
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