Persian leopard Panthera pardus ciscaucasica, or Panthera pardus saxicolor
The Caucasian, or persian leopard is one of the largest leopard subspecies: its body length ranges from 126 to 183 cm, with the length of the tail of 94 to 116 cm, the height at the shoulders may reach 76 cm, and weight is up to 70 kg. Winter fur in the Caucasian leopards is very pale; the background color of their coat ranges from pale yellow-grayish to deep gold, with sand-colored or reddish tint of different intensities that is most developed on the back. Its coat is patterned with widely spread spots of black and brownish color. Most of the spots look like small (about 2 cm in diameter) black spots or blotches while others are rosettes consisting of 3 to 5 small spots. This subspecies is found in Iran, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, North and South Ossetia, and Dagestan. The Caucasian leopards occur in subalpine meadows, bushy thickets, and broad-leaved forests. Persian leopards predominantly prey on medium-sized ungulates: deer, goitered gazelles, mouflons, bezoar ibexes, East Caucasian turs, and wild bores. They may also take smaller animals, such as rodents, hares, porcupines, jackals, various mustelids, birds and reptiles.
The total size of the wild population of this leopard subspecies is estimated at 870-1300 specimens. From 550 to 850 leopards are found in Iran, 200 to 300 in Afghanistan, from 90 to 100 in Turkmenistan, 10-13 in Azerbaijan, 10-13 in Armenia, and less than 5 specimens in Georgia and Turkey. The subspecies is included in the Appendix I of CITES. The Caucasian leopard is protected in all of its range countries. The Caucasian leopard is classified as endangered and listed in Category I of the Red Book of Russia.
