An adult female leopard has been observed in Hirkan National Park.

On January 30, 2018, an incident occurred in the Almabadi Valley, located between the villages of Armudu and Onuz in the Astara district, near the border area of the Shindan forestry of Hirkan National Park, where a bull owned by resident Talib Ahmadov was torn apart by a wild animal.

Shortly after the incident, a mature female leopard was observed in the area by the park rangers. It should be noted that a week before the incident, episodes of this leopard were captured by camera traps installed in the Shindan forestry of Hirkan National Park.

Regarding the incident, employees of the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and representatives of the IDEA Public Union visited the area and held discussions with the local population about the protection of the leopard, considered a gem of Azerbaijani forests and a rare species.

It should be noted that for many years, activists of the IDEA Public Union, together with the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources, have been implementing a project for the protection of leopards across the country. Within the framework of the project, meetings are held with local community representatives in the habitats of leopards, awareness-raising work is conducted among the population, and sustainable conservation measures are developed.

It is encouraging that although the leopard attacked the farmer's livestock and caused damage during the incident, the farmer demonstrated a civic-minded approach and did not harm the leopard, which was presumably with its cubs. Following the recommendation of Leyla Aliyeva, head of the IDEA Public Union, the organizations implementing the project are taking necessary measures to compensate the affected farmer.

It should be recalled that the leopard belongs to the order of predators and is included in the IUCN Red List and the Red Book of the Republic of Azerbaijan. Although the leopard’s former range was very extensive, until the 1960s, there were no serious facts proving the presence of leopards in the country. Currently, this species is only observed in the Talysh Mountains, Zangezur, Karabakh, and the mountainous areas of Nakhchivan.

The IDEA Public Union and the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources express their gratitude to the resident of Astara district affected by the incident for their responsible approach and call on our citizens to demonstrate civic-mindedness in the protection of the Caucasian leopard and other rare, endangered animals.