Javan leopard

Characteristics

The Javan leopard was initially described as being black with dark black spots and silver-grey eyes. Javan leopards have either a normal spotted coat, or a recessive phenotype resulting in an all black coat.

Distribution and habitat

The Javan leopard is confined to the Indonesian island of Java. It is known to occur in Gunung Halimun National Park, Ujung Kulon National Park, Gunung Gede Pangrango National Park, Ceremai National Park, Merbabu National Park, Merapi National Park, Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park, Meru Betiri National Park, Ijen Mountain, Baluran National Park and Alas Purwo National Park. It inhabits a variety of habitats ranging from patches of dense tropical rainforest in the south-western part of the island, to the mountains, and to dry deciduous forests and scrub in the east. In the 1990s, it survived in the seral stages of successional vegetation patterns, which made it less susceptible to human's disruptive activities than many other mammals.

From 2001 to 2004, monitoring research has been conducted in a 20 km² (7.7 sq mi) area of Gunung Halimun National Park using camera traps and radio-tracking. Seven leopards were identified in the study area. The total population was estimated at 42 to 58 individuals. Home range of an adult female was 9.82 km² (3.79 sq mi).

Ecology and behavior

Two leopards were radio-collared in the Gunung Halimun National Park. Their daily activity pattern showed peaks in the early mornings between 6:00 and 9:00, and late afternoons between 15:00 and 18:00.

Their prey comprises barking deer, wild pig, Java mouse-deer and monkeys such as crab-eating macaque, silvery lutung, and Javan gibbon. Javan leopards will also look for food in close by villages and have been known to prey on domestic dogs, chickens, and goats.

Threats

The Javan leopard is threatened by loss of habitat, prey base depletion and poaching due to human population growth and agricultural expansion. Conflict between local people and leopards is also considered to be a main threat to the Javan leopard. Java has lost more than 90% of its natural vegetation and is one of the most densely populated islands in the world. Primary forests remain only in the mountainous regions at elevations above 1,400 m (4,600 ft).

With 118.3 million people Java holds 59% of Indonesia’s total population living in 2,286 sq mi (5,920 km²). The human population density far exceeds most other island nation population densities.

Conservation

Panthera pardus melas is listed in the CITES Appendix I.

Efforts are being made to restore the Javan leopard population and prevent its extinction. Hunting laws are strictly enforced. In 2005, Gunung Halimun National Park was enlarged to three times its original size for protection of the Javan leopard, the Javan gibbon, and the Javan hawk-eagle.

To address the issue of Java’s over-population, and encroachment on habitat of protected species, the Indonesian government has formed a nationwide family planning program. This program makes contraceptive devices like condoms and several different forms of birth control pills more readily available to the public.

In captivity

In 1997, there were 14 Javan leopards in European zoos. The Javan leopard is not specifically managed in captive breeding programs in Europe and America. As of 2007, the Taman Safari zoo in Bogor, Indonesia, kept 17 Javan leopards — seven males and 10 females, of which four were breeding pairs. The Indonesian zoos of Ragunan and Surabaya also keep Javan leopards.

As of December 2011, there are two male and one female Javan leopard in the German Tierpark Berlin, and one male and one female in the Jakarta zoo.

In 2013, one male Javan leopard was transferred from Tierpark Berlin to Prague Zoo.

Taxonomy

Results of molecular research indicate that the Javan leopard is craniometrically distinct from other Asian leopard subspecies, and is a distinct taxon that split off from other Asian leopards hundreds of thousands of years ago. In the Middle Pleistocene, it may have migrated to Java from South Asia across a land bridge that bypassed Sumatra and Borneo.