Javan leopard

The Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas) is a leopard subspecies confined to the Indonesian island of Java. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2021. The population is estimated at 188–571 mature individuals in 22 fragmented subpopulations and a declining population trend. The total remaining habitat is estimated at only 2267.9 to 3277.3 km2.

Characteristics
The Javan leopard was initially described as a black panther with dark black spots and silver-gray eyes. It has either a normal spotted coat with rosettes or a recessive phenotype resulting in a black coat.

Distribution and habitat
The Javan leopard is confined to the Indonesian island of Java. It is known to inhabit 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 elevations from sea level to 2540 m ranging from dense tropical rainforest to dry deciduous forests. Outside protected areas, it was recorded in secondary forest, mixed agriculture and production forest between 2008 and 2014.

In the 1990s, it survived in the seral stages of successional vegetation patterns, which made it less susceptible to humans' disruptive activities than many other mammals.

From 2001 to 2004, monitoring research was conducted in a 20 km2 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. The home range of an adult female averaged 9.82 km2.

Ecology and behavior
The Javan leopard's prey comprises barking deer, wild boar, Java mouse-deer, and primates such as crab-eating macaque, silvery lutung and Javan gibbon. Javan leopards also look for food in close by villages and have been known to prey on domestic dogs, chickens and goats. 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.

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 1400 m.

Conservation
The Javan leopard 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 the protection of the Javan leopard, silvery gibbon (Hylobates moloch) and Javan hawk-eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi).

In captivity
In 1997, 14 Javan leopards were kept 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, Taman Safari, and Surabaya Zoo also keep Javan leopards. As of December 2011, two male and one female Javan leopard were kept in Tierpark Berlin, Germany; and one male and one female in Ragunan Zoo. In 2013, one male Javan leopard was transferred from Tierpark Berlin to the Prague Zoo.

Javan leopards are also kept at the Cikananga Wildlife Rescue Center in a special enclosure until they can be released back into the wild. In May 2023, Javan Leopard Wayhu was released at Mount Halimun-Salak National Park under the coordination of MoeF (KKHSG), BBKSDA West Java, and Mount Halimun-Salak National Park. As a young male, Wahyu arrived at the Cikananga Wildlife Center in 2017, being a victim of animal-human conflict. Even though at the time of Wahyu’s arrival he was in a very poor condition and required intensive medical care, he recovered well. In recent years, he has become a strong adult male, ready to return to his natural habitat to live freely in the wild. He benefited tremendously from the great care of the keepers of Cikananga, the Javan Leopard’s dedicated rehabilitation enclosure, and was given an additional focus on rehabilitation in the process of release.

Evolution
Morphological research indicates that the Javan leopard is craniometrically distinct from other Asian leopard subspecies, and is a distinct taxon that split off from other Asian leopard subspecies in the Middle Pleistocene about 800,000 years ago. In the Middle Pleistocene, it may have migrated to Java from South Asia across a land bridge that bypassed Sumatra and Borneo.