Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin (ISSN 0178 – 6288) . Number 121, January 2015, pp. 1-20. | Page 5

5 During surveys carried out between 1993 and 2002, zoologists found evidence of leopards in the upper forest and alpine zones of the Pontic Mountains in northern Anatolia. In this area, possible prey species include wild ungulates such as deer, chamois, wild goat, wild pig but also mountain hare and Caucasian grouse. It is unknown whether a significant number of leopards still exist in Anatolia. Extensive trophy hunting is thought to be the prime factor for the decline and possible extinction of the Anatolian leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana Valenciennes, 1856). One hunter named Mantolu Hasan killed at least fifteen leopards between 1930 and 1950 (Wikipedia). In eastern Turkey, the range of Anatolian leopards converges with the range of Caucasian leopards. A male leopard camera trapped in the Georgian Vashlovani National Park in 2003 was considered a Caucasian leopard (Wikipedia). The habitat of the Anatolian Leopard (Panthera pardus tulliana Valenciennes, 1856) which was killed in the Turkish Diyarbakir Çınar District on 03.11.2013. http://fotogaleri.hurriyet.com.tr/galeridetay/75095/2/1/leopari-oldurmenin-cezasi-bellioldu Gazelle : The Palestinian Biological Bulletin – Number 121 – January 2015