The Zanzibar leopard is an African leopard population on Unguja Island in the Zanzibar archipelago, Tanzania, that is considered extirpated due to persecution by local hunters and loss of habitat. It was the island's largest terrestrial carnivore and apex predator. Increasing conflict between people and leopards in the 20th century led to the demonization of the Zanzibar leopard and determined attempts to exterminate it. Efforts to develop a leopard conservation program in the mid-1990s were shelved when wildlife researchers concluded that there was little prospect for the population's long-term survival.
In 2018, a leopard was recorded by a camera trap, thus renewing hopes for the population's survival, although some experts remain skeptical.
Zanzibar leopard
The African leopard is the nominate subspecies of the leopard, native to many countries in Africa. It is widely distributed in most of sub-Saharan Africa, but the historical range has been fragmented in the course of habitat conversion. Leopards have also been recorded in North Africa as well.
African leopard
A taxidermied specimen at the Scientific Institute of Rabat, Morocco. The Barbary leopard of Northwest Africa used to be classified under Panthera pardus panthera, before being subsumed to P. p. pardus.
A dark-coloured leopard skin from Central Africa (Kongo)
A leopard in the Serengeti