Endangered leopards prey on livestock in Central Java

A Javan leopard walks on a branch of a tree in this file photo from the Tasikmalaya Natural Resources Conservation Agency in West Java. - Tribunnews.com/File

JAKARTA (The Jakarta Post/Asia News Network): Residents of Tempur village in Jepara, Central Java, have reported that Javan leopards, a critically endangered species, have been preying on their livestock in recent weeks.

“Four goats have been killed in the past month,” Tempur resident Junaedi told Detik on Thursday (Oct 27). The Javan leopard is a subspecies confined to island of Java and is the official provincial animal of West Java. They have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, with a population estimated to be less than 250.