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Leopard Surprise
Photograph courtesy WCS Afghanistan Program
This cat's out of the bag—a camera trap recently captured a Persian leopard in Afghanistan's central highlands, where the big cat had been thought locally extinct.
The newly released photographs, taken in the fall, include this September shot of an adult leopard investigating the camera, "appearing to threaten it with canines exposed," according to the Wildlife Conservation Society, which helped set up the camera traps. The images are "indisputable proof" that the big cat is hanging on in the region, the group said.
The camera traps also captured dozens of pictures of other wildlife species, including lynx, wild cats, wolves, red foxes, and stone martens.
(Related: "Afghanistan Bright Spot: Wildlife Surviving in War Zones.")
"To see such a varied array of wildlife after we have endured so much conflict gives us hope for Afghanistan's future," Mostapha Zaher, director general of Afghanistan's National Environmental Protection Agency, said in a statement.
"Intact ecosystems represent a foundation for our country's reconstruction and development. This is also our heritage, our natural resources, our fauna and flora. It is incumbent upon all of us to conserve and protect our environment and hand it over to the next generation of the citizens of Afghanistan."
Published December 6, 2011
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Sly as a Fox
Photograph courtesy WCS Afghanistan Program
A red fox—a species common to North America—walks in front of a camera trap in Afghanistan in September.
Seeing top predators such as leopards and foxes tells conservationists that the animals are finding enough prey to survive, Ghani Ghuriani, deputy minister of Afghanistan's Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock department, said in a statement.
"This means that the rangelands can still support ibex, urial [wild sheep], and other species, which is a good sign for both wildlife and the people of this region, who also depend on these grasslands for grazing" their livestock.
(Also see "First Pictures: Snow Leopards Rebounding in Afghanistan.")
Published December 6, 2011
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Curious Cat
Photograph courtesy WCS Afghanistan Program
A wildcat, a distant relative of the domestic cat, peers inquisitively into the camera in August.
In recent years Afghanistan has launched several initiatives to protect wildlife, including the country's first and only national park, Band-e-Amir, which was designated in 2009.
Summer tourism to the park, co-managed by local villagers and the government, provides jobs and revenue for local communities.
(See "House Cat Origin Traced to Middle Eastern Wildcat Ancestor.")
Published December 6, 2011
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Meandering Marten
Photograph courtesy WCS Afghanistan Program
A stone marten—a member of the weasel family—checks out a camera trap in September.
Camera traps can be valuable research tools in remote areas, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society. For example, the devices record data that can help piece together population estimates for elusive species, the group says.
(See pictures: "'Lost' Deer, Rare Cuckoo Caught in Camera Traps.")
Published December 6, 2011
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Caught in the Act
Photograph courtesy WCS Afghanistan Program
Poachers pursue an ibex, which triggered the camera trap not long before this photo was taken in October.
Illegal poaching is still a "very real threat," Peter Zahler, deputy director of the Wildlife Conservation Society's Asia Program, said in a statement.
"We are thrilled by these images and the story of survival that they tell, but we were sobered by the fact that the cameras also took photographs of local people walking past with guns," Zahler said.
(See "Camera-Trap Pictures: Mammals—And a Poacher—Exposed.")
Published December 6, 2011
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