The Zanzibar Leopard
Zanzibar's own leopard was hunted to the edge of extinction and thought lost, then caught on camera in 2018.
What was reported
The Zanzibar leopard, a population found only on Unguja, the main island of Zanzibar, was long persecuted, partly because of local beliefs linking some leopards to sorcery. By the 1990s it was widely thought to be extinct, with no confirmed photographs.
In 2018 a camera trap set by a team making a wildlife documentary recorded a leopard in the island's forests.
Explanations offered
Some scientists question whether the animals photographed belong to a distinct island population, and whether enough survive to breed. Its status remains uncertain, and conservationists are working to protect the remaining forest.
- When
- Filmed in 2018
- Where
- Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania
- Witnesses
- Villagers, and a wildlife film crew
- Status
- Disputed
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