Critically endangered Indochinese leopard now functionally extinct in Cambodia

The critically endangered Indochinese leopard is now functionally extinct in Cambodia according to a study conducted by Panthera a global organisation dedicated to wild cat conservation in partnership with WildCRU at Oxford University This is shocking and devastating news for the leopardThe studys findings which were published by Biological Conservation also point to the subspecies extinction from all of eastern Indochina including Cambodia Laos and Vietnam The leopard was last seen in Vietnam in the early 2000s and in Laos in 2004According to a press release scientists are now issuing a grave warning of the Indochinese leopardrsquos impending extinction from the planet without immediate conservation funding and action in its remaining two strongholds in peninsular Malaysia and the Northern Tenasserim Forest Complex on the ThailandMyanmar border A lack of funding and competing species conservation priorities have largely prevented the implementation of initiatives specifically targeting the recovery and growth of the last Indochinese leopardsThe study involved a survey of two protected areas within Cambodiarsquos Eastern Plains Landscape and an aggregation of data from seven camera trap surveys conducted from 20092019Alarmingly scientists found the leopard population declined by 8237 over 11 years with data suggesting 4237 of the population was lost each year An additional survey in 2021 failed to detect leopard suggesting the species now is functionally extinct the population is no longer viable if not fully extirpated from the landscape Over the study period a drastic increase in human activity was also found with a 20fold increase in human activity and a 1000fold increase in the encounter rate of lethal traps eg wildlife snare metal traps despite increases in law enforcement effortsPanthera Leopard Conservation Scientist and lead author Dr Susana RostroGarciacutea stated ldquoWhile law enforcement momentum increased over the last decade it was insufficient to prevent the leopard from vanishing from this priority site Now is the time to band together in effectively protecting remaining Indochinese leopard populations and forging longterm proactive efforts that address the drivers of snaring including invaluable community partnerships education campaigns and programs that reduce consumption of wildlife meat and products by the general publicrdquoRostroGarciacutea continued ldquoWithout the global communityrsquos injection of expeditious resources to prevent the Indochinese leopard from disappearing in the last two remaining strongholds we will lose this unique subspecies from the planet foreverrdquoScientists were alarmed to discover such a precipitous decline in Cambodiarsquos leopard densities which occurred in spite of increased law enforcement efforts including upticks in ranger numbers patrol distances and snare removals An absolutely unprecedented level of poaching is to blame with an almost inconceivable 12 million snares estimated to be present in eastern Indochina Snaring levels in the study area in Cambodia were estimated to have increased by at least two levels of magnitude during the 13year period driven by increases in wild meat demand and illegal logging an insatiable illegal wildlife trade rapid economic growth and infrastructure developmentUnlike other regions of the world law enforcement advances alone are unlikely to prevent the proliferation of snaring and further wildlife losses in Cambodia Laos and Vietnam Additional strategies at the provincial regional and national levels are desperately needed to address the regionrsquos snaring crisis including longterm proactive conservation education and behavior change campaigns to reduce consumption of wildlife meat and products and systemic judicial reforms including implementation of wildlife crime prosecutions and convictionsPanthera Leopard Program Director Dr Gareth Mann stated ldquoIt is disheartening to see the longoverlooked leopard follow the same fate as the tiger in Cambodia Laos and Vietnam Just as Indochina now serves as ground zero for tiger poaching and conservation it is also where the global and conservation community must fully invest our efforts to save the leopard handinhand with the governments of Thailand Malaysia and MyanmarrdquoCambodiarsquos loss of leopards is attributed to widespread poaching for the illegal wildlife trade and bushmeat hunting involving the setting of thousands of wire snares in wild landscapes Poaching in the region is particularly driven by a high demand for wild meat which is considered to be a delicacy or status symbol of middle and upperclass urban consumers Surveys found an estimated 8337 of rural Cambodians harvest wild meat at least once a yearMoving forward Panthera the government of Thailand and other partners will initiate a study of the status of leopards and clouded leopards in Thailand that will outline what conservation actions are required for the speciesrsquo recoveryThe Indochinese leopard is one of seven subspecies found in Asia while one subspecies is found in Africa In contrast to all other mainland leopard subspecies throughout the world the Indochinese leopard is unique in that a large percentage of remaining individuals are melanistic including nearly all individuals in the Malay PeninsulaHistorically found throughout all of Indochina the Indochinese leopard has lost 9537 of its range Along with bushmeat hunting and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade habitat loss prey decline and conflict with people are to blame for this loss creating a deadly cocktail of threats facing leopards in Asia and around the globe Although considered the most persecuted wild cat in the world the leopard species as a whole is listed as lsquoVulnerablersquo on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species while the Indochinese leopard subspecies is classified as lsquoCritically EndangeredrsquoThe loss of Indochinese leopards in Cambodia comes just after the publication of a grim report on the planetrsquos wildlife which claims that almost half the planetrsquos species are experiencing rapid population declines due to habitat loss and climate change