Trail cameras reveal rare creature’s presence in Kazakhstan. Watch the predator prowl
On the sandy and rocky ground of central Asia, large footprints indicate the presence of a prowling predator.
The paw-shaped imprints belong to Persian leopards, a rare species facing extinction across Turkey, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan and Russia, according to the IUCN Red List.
Now, they’ve been spotted in new territory.
Wildlife officials with the Ustyurt State Nature Reserve in Kazakhstan were checking camera traps installed throughout the protected area when they found videos of Persian leopards walking past the cameras, according to a Jan. 13 Instagram post from the reserve and the Kazakhstan Forestry and Wildlife Committee.
One video showed a leopard walking toward the camera at night, passing by closely, while another showed a leopard walking away from the camera and into the rocky landscape.
Officials said between October and December, leopards were spotted in the reserve by camera traps four times, a landmark for the species in Kazakhstan.
Previous reports suspected the Persian leopards may be settling into Kazakhstan with both extant, or full-time, and vagrant, or transient, populations, according to the IUCN Red List.
The sightings help to confirm the predator’s presence in the country and marks progress for the environmental restoration of the region.
Wildlife officials said the return of the leopards to the plateau validates conservation efforts made in the region.
Persian leopards, or Caucasian leopards, are one of eight subspecies of leopard and are one of the largest, according to World Land Trust.
The leopards use their rocky environment to their advantage when hunting animals like wild goats and boar, the organization said, and have been known to find high vantage points to locate animals and then stalk them before they attack.
Some Persian leopards are nocturnal, while others that don’t live near any other large predators like lions and tigers will be more active during the day, the organization said.
The IUCN Red List estimates there are fewer than 700 mature Persian leopards living in the wild.
Google Translate was used to translate the joint Instagram post from the Ustyurt State Nature Reserve and the Kazakhstan Forestry and Wildlife Committee.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 12:30 PM with the headline "Trail cameras reveal rare creature’s presence in Kazakhstan. Watch the predator prowl."
