ARMENIAN LEOPARDS ALMOST COMPLETELY EXTINCT IN WILD

RIA Novosti
Nov 16, 2009

YEREVAN, November 16 (RIA Novosti) – Only five to seven leopards
remain in the wild in Armenia, Novosti-Armenia news agency reported,
citing the Armenian director of the World Wildlife Fund.

"These noble animals are under the threat of extinction," Karen
Manvelyan said.

According to him, the main reason leading to the leopards’ extinction
is poaching.

"Illegal hunting of rare species registered in the Armenian Red Book,
including Bezoar ibex, Armenian mouflon sheep, and leopard, has not
ceased," Manvelyan said. He added that even the brown bear is hunted
out of season.

Manvelyan believes poaching can be solved by creating nature
conservation areas.

The conservationist said that Armenia had recently made a historical
decision by creating two conservation areas in southern Armenia.

Arevik National Park and Zangezur Sanctuary might solve the problem
of rare species extinction, he said.

He said that more than 1,500 types of plants, including 24 registered
in the Red Data Book of Armenia and 19 endemics, around 245 species
of vertebrates, including 49 registered in the RDBA and 12 in the
IUCN Red Data List are located in the Arevik National Park.

Zangezur Sanctuary has also become an important conservation park
for rare and threatened flora and fauna.