Summer and Autumn diet composition of the Persian Leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor) in Tandooreh National Park of Iran

Leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the most widely distributed of all big cats, with Persian leopard (Panthera pardus saxicolor), ranked as an endangered taxon, as an invaluable subspecies (IUCN red list). The underlying causes of leopard population perish are the degradation of their natural habitats, a significant reduction in the population of prey, and hunting. The purpose of this study was to determine the composition of the Persian Leopard diet in the Tandoreh National Park (TNP) of Iran. We collected 51 scats between June and December 2012 in the study area (TNP). Six wild species, two domestic mammals and one unidentified bird were identified. Pika (Ochotona rufescens) were determined as the most prevalent (25.8%) prey. Further, Urial (Ovis orientalis arkali) was also an important prey for its high frequency of occurrence in the scat analysis (22.6%). Moreover, Sheep (Ovis aries) (3.2%), domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) (3.2%), and birds (1.6%) were least frequently observed in the collected materials.