{"id":4635,"date":"2025-11-06T05:52:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-06T05:52:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/?p=4635"},"modified":"2025-11-06T05:52:46","modified_gmt":"2025-11-06T05:52:46","slug":"occupancy-population-density-and-activity-patterns-of-endangered-sri-lankan-leopard-panthera-pardus-kotiya-in-kumana-national-park-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/2025\/11\/06\/occupancy-population-density-and-activity-patterns-of-endangered-sri-lankan-leopard-panthera-pardus-kotiya-in-kumana-national-park-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"Occupancy, population density, and activity patterns of endangered Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) in Kumana National Park, Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Being the apex predator of Sri Lanka\u2019s forests, the endangered Sri Lankan leopard (<em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/agricultural-and-biological-sciences\/panthera-pardus\">Panthera pardus<\/a>&nbsp;kotiya<\/em>) plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of natural ecosystems. In this study, we aimed to address the paucity of data related to one of the major leopard habitats of the country, Kumana National Park (KNP). This study investigates the spatial occupancy, population density, and activity patterns of the Sri Lankan leopard in KNP, Sri Lanka. Our findings reveal a higher concentration of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/agricultural-and-biological-sciences\/panthera\">leopards<\/a>&nbsp;around&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/agricultural-and-biological-sciences\/body-water\">water bodies<\/a>&nbsp;and rocky areas, which provide shelter and support prey species such as wild buffalo and spotted&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/topics\/agricultural-and-biological-sciences\/cervidae\">deer<\/a>. Using random encounter models (REM) and spatially explicit capture\u2013recapture (SECR) analyses the population density of leopards was estimated. The study identified the eastern region of KNP as having one of the highest recorded leopard densities globally, with REM and SECR estimates showing statistically similar results of approximately 41 leopards per 100 km<sup>2<\/sup>. This high density is attributed to the availability of prey and habitat variability that supports the ecological needs of leopards. The study underscores the importance of KNP as a stronghold of leopards in southern Sri Lanka and the necessity of preserving its natural habitats.<\/p>\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-post-featured-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" width=\"974\" height=\"825\" src=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/Dr-Dulan-1.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"object-fit:cover;\" srcset=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/Dr-Dulan-1.jpg 974w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/Dr-Dulan-1-300x254.jpg 300w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/Dr-Dulan-1-40x34.jpg 40w, https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2025\/11\/Dr-Dulan-1-768x651.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px\" data-id=\"4637\" \/><\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Being the apex predator of Sri Lanka\u2019s forests, the endangered Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus&nbsp;kotiya) plays a crucial role in maintaining the balance of natural ecosystems. In this study, we &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/2025\/11\/06\/occupancy-population-density-and-activity-patterns-of-endangered-sri-lankan-leopard-panthera-pardus-kotiya-in-kumana-national-park-sri-lanka\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Occupancy, population density, and activity patterns of endangered Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) in Kumana National Park, Sri Lanka<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":4637,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_ti_tpc_template_sync":false,"_ti_tpc_template_id":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4635"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/136"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4635"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4635\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4638,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4635\/revisions\/4638"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4635"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4635"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/science.sjp.ac.lk\/zoo\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4635"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}