TEMPO.CO, Bogor - Like a common cat, leopard likes to play around, especially in its wild jungle homeland, as photographed at Halimun Salak national park in Bogor, West Java.
The photographs were taken by Age Kridalaksana, an ecologist working with Center for International Forestry Research (Cifor), showing a male adult leopard lying around in the rainforest.
The leopard seemed to express himself freely, rolling out on dried leaves under the thick jungle canopy.
Using a trap camera, Kridalaksana and his colleagues hope to get some findings to learn about the leopard’s activities in its habitat.
"It (the leopard) doesn't show any obvious stress sign although leopard was recently added to the Red List of endangered species," said Kridalaksana, as quoted by Newscientist.
The leopard caught-on-tape in a broad daylight is good news. The top predator is known to be a shy animal that goes hunting during night time and is sensitive to any disturbance.
Javanese leopard (Panthera pardus melas) population is shrinking. It is estimated to be only 250 to 700 left. A leopard needs about 1000 hectares to prowl. The problem is Java is losing 2000 hectares of rainforest each year due to illegal logging. Halimun Salak national park itself has already lost a quarter of its original area, remaining only 113,000 hectares now.
"If their habitat continues to shrink, they could face an increasing competition for food and shelter," said Ken Sugimura, head of the project.
NEWSCIENTIST | MAHARDIKA SATRIA HADI
