The Struggle to Save Iraq's Last Persian Leopards

On a recent day, Bahez and Nabaz Farooq Ali were on Bamo Mountain in Iraq's Kurdistan area. The brothers hoped to make video recordings¹ of a Persian leopard². It is believed there are only about 1,000 of the animals left in the wild.

"Our grandparents saw some even during the day," Nabaz said. Since then, the animals have almost all disappeared.

Most Persian leopards³ are in Iran and Afghanistan. Iraqi Kurdish conservationist Hana Raza estimates there may be 25 left in Iraq. The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the animal as endangered.

Conservationists in Iraqi Kurdistan support increased efforts to protect the leopard. The animals are threatened by a severe loss of habitat, human interference, hunting and the effects of war.

Soran Ahmed is a biologist at the University of Sulaimaniya. He said about 10 different Persian leopards had been recorded. But he added that 10 others have been found dead in the last 10 years, two of them shot by bullets.

The Ali brothers had left their village of Horen to escape former president Saddam Hussein's violent campaign against the Kurds. When they returned in 1991, they found the village empty and partly destroyed.

"When people returned to...their villages, they also started to hunt randomly⁴," Nabaz said. Hunting of the leopards' prey⁵, such as wild goats, helped lead to a decrease in their numbers.

Hunting of endangered animals is not permitted in Iraq's Kurdish area. Anyone caught illegally hunting can be fined. But forest police official Akram Saleh said the laws can be difficult to enforce.

"The area is very large and we don't have the necessary resources to cover it," he said. "Hunters have better weapons, better cars than us."

In parts of Bamo Mountain, land mines have kept humans and cows away from some areas where leopards live, Nabaz said. The mines make researchers' work more dangerous. Animals in the area are also affected⁶.

Data from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) show that the Kurdish area lost almost half of its forest between 1999 and 2018. That caused a severe loss in the leopard's habitat.

Razzaq al-Khaylani is a spokesperson for the KRG board of environment. He said a lack of public money for conservation and conflicts in the area have stopped some efforts.

Soran Ahmed said, "Places like Bamo mountain, if effectively protected, could become a breeding site [for the leopards]."

He added, "We have to save them, they are part of our culture and identity."

Words in This Story

conservationist –n. someone who works to protect animals, plants, and natural resources or to prevent the loss or waste of natural resources

habitat –n. the place or type of place where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives or grows

randomly –adv. in a way that is not regular or that does not follow a plan

prey –n. an animal that is hunted or killed by another animal for food

breeding –adj. the process by which young animals are produced by their parents

1 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

2 leopard   

n.豹

参考例句：

• I saw a man in a leopard skin yesterday.我昨天看见一个穿着豹皮的男人。
• The leopard's skin is marked with black spots.豹皮上有黑色斑点。

3 leopards   

n.豹( leopard的名词复数 )；本性难移

参考例句：

• Lions, tigers and leopards are all cats. 狮、虎和豹都是猫科动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• For example, airlines never ship leopards and canaries on the same flight. 例如，飞机上从来不会同时运送豹和金丝雀。 来自英语晨读30分（初三）

4 randomly   

adv.随便地，未加计划地

参考例句：

• Within the hot gas chamber, molecules are moving randomly in all directions. 在灼热的气体燃烧室内，分子在各个方向上作无规运动。 来自辞典例句
• Transformed cells are loosely attached, rounded and randomly oriented. 转化细胞则不大贴壁、圆缩并呈杂乱分布。 来自辞典例句

5 prey   

n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨

参考例句：

• Stronger animals prey on weaker ones.弱肉强食。
• The lion was hunting for its prey.狮子在寻找猎物。

6 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。