According to a reporter in Africa, a new study recently published has shed light on the evolutionary history of the African leopard (Panthera pardus pardus).
There are currently two genetically distinct populations of leopards on the African continent, one of which is found across most of Africa, while the other primarily inhabits the regions of Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Mpumalanga in South Africa.
Leopard at Maasai Mara National Reserve, Kenya. (Photo: AFP/TTXVN).
The study conducted by Australian researchers suggests that these leopard populations were separated approximately 960,000 to 440,000 years ago.
Declan Morris, who has studied leopards in South Africa during his doctoral thesis at the University of Adelaide, stated that they compiled the most comprehensive mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) dataset of leopards to date.
Mitochondrial DNA is inherited only from the mother. By mapping the distribution of the two species across Africa today and modeling the known mutation rates of the NADH-5 gene, scientists have indicated that the timing of the genetic divergence coincided with the arid cycles of the Limpopo Basin.
From 1 million to 600,000 years ago, the Limpopo Basin, located at the intersection of South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique, became a dry desert that separated the two leopard populations.
To this day, these two populations remain separated by the Namib and Kalahari deserts, just as they have for millions of years, although the Limpopo Basin has changed over time.
Currently, this basin has transformed into a subtropical area where the two populations have merged and re-integrated, leading to a high level of genetic diversity.
These new insights may further support the conservation efforts for the African leopard today.
Mr. Morris mentioned that this information could be used to make informed decisions regarding wildlife management.
