Rare Anatolian leopard caught on camera in Türkiye

The Anatolian leopard, whose presence has already been confirmed in four regions of Türkiye, was photographed this time by a camera trap set up by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

The ministry on Monday shared the images of the big cat on Twitter.

Ülkemizde varlığı kanıtlanan Anadolu Leoparı’nı bir kez daha görüntüledik

Neslin artsın çoğalsın, bu topraklarda hep var olasın

Anadolu Leoparı’nı izlemeye devam edeceğiz. pic.twitter.com/wQkh8gdMeB

— T.C. Tarım ve Orman Bakanlığı (@TCTarim) October 10, 2022

Despite having the broadest distribution and dietary range of the 36 cat species, the leopard is listed as endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list.

In Türkiye, the Anatolian leopard was assumed to be extinct due to large-scale poaching in 1974 in Ankara's Beypazar district.

However, a campaign was launched to protect and save the leopards in the country.

As a result, traces left behind by the leopards were followed and some of them were spotted in the region. (VK)