The last hard evidence of leopard in Turkey dates back to 1974. The fate of the species has been a much debated enigma and the topic of several non-conclusive excursions until a solid evidence was discovered in 2012 at Küpeli (Gabar) Mountain located between ??rnak and Siirt provinces.
During our preliminary survey at ??rnak and Siirt in January-May 2012, we have identified the main threats against the leopard as direct persecution of leopard and loss of prey base, lack of protected areas and the lack of a communication network that would ease the transfer the information (i.e. leopard sightings) between local people and interested persons, such as biologists.
This project aims to protect the leopard and its habitats with local people by means of clarifying the status of leopard, identifying and finding solutions to the possible problems/conflicts, and also achieve the active involvement of people in the protection of the species.