The leopard in Vashlovani National Park

Donor: Alertis Foundation (Netherlands)
Results of one-year monitoring - 2005

In 2005, supported by Dutch foundation Alertis, we implemented a leopard monitoring that was backed up with photo-traps and tracking.

Throughout the year, our photo-traps took four photos of the leopard. Three of these were taken in spring, and the fourth at the onset of winter. It is well known that a leopard’s spots are unique in form, number and distribution; they remain unchanged for the entire life of the animal. These spots can readily distinguish individual animals upon close examination of the photo. As it turned out, all four photos taken by the photo-trap depicted the same leopard. It was Noah. We gave this name to the male leopard whose tracks were discovered on the territory of Vashlovani National Park in 2003.

Fortunately, Noah still inhabits the territory of Vashlovani National Park. By observing the animal’s general physical state, we can conclude that Noah is in good form, well feed and healthy. The photos of this leopard were taken chiefly during the night, thus it is active during the night. The fact that Noah was photographed only in spring and winter (i.e. for nearly 7 months the traps took no photos), might indicate that in summer-autumn the leopard leaves the territory of the National Park to find a shelter elsewhere.

The key priority for our further research is to study this phenomenon, as well as other aspects of leopard ecology. One methods of the leopard monitoring was to identify the location of the animal’s tracks and map them for future study. This served to supplement data collected from photo-traps and gave insight into Noah’s movement and preferred routes.

We found the traces of the leopard throughout almost the entire territory of Vashlovani National Park, with the exception of its Northeastern area, where anthropogenic pressure is much higher. The tracks prove that the leopard moves along the peaks of the chain, as well as along wide-open ravines. Walking on the peaks enables the animal to visually control the environment, while staying in the ravines enables him to move unnoticed along the large territory of the National Park.  

The monitoring of the leopard in Vashlovani National Park continues. 

For detailed information please contact Irakli Shavgulidze, Conservation Program Coordinator: irakli.shavgulidze@nacres.org