Data from: From snared to swimming – Some observations on the rescue, treatment, release and monitoring of an injured Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya)
Data files
Mar 18, 2025 version files 58.84 KB
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README.md
4.41 KB
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VRR_archive_revised.xlsx
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Abstract
The Sri Lankan leopard (Panthera pardus kotiya) is a threatened endemic sub-species and the island’s apex predator. Wire snares represent a substantial threat to leopards here with conservation officials routinely working to rescue snared leopards. This process can lead to injury treatment, rehabilitation, and translocation, the outcomes of which are poorly understood. Here we report on the rescue and ex-situ treatment and recovery of a snared young adult male leopard, as well as its post-recovery release and monitoring. This was the first GPS radio-collared translocated leopard in Sri Lanka. The leopard was snared in a human-dominated, unprotected region of the Central Highlands and underwent surgery and 4 months of treatment before being released within a lower elevation protected area ~20 km from the capture site. The leopard made immediate, clear and rapid directional movements towards its original range, island-hopping by swimming across open water on three occasions (distance range: 90 - 650m) to return, within 3 weeks, to a human-dominated, agricultural landscape ~10 km from its original capture site. Practical Implication: Although the leopard’s age and sex, and characteristics of the release suggest a reasonable probability of success, longer monitoring was required to determine the ultimate success of the release. The leopard’s immediate attempt to return towards its capture location supports previous research indicating that translocation should be avoided unless circumstances allow little other choice.
https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.qrfj6q5sn
Description of the data and file structure
The data is comprised of:
- GPS telemetry data collected from a radio-collared Sri Lankan leopard that was rescued, treated, collared and released after being caught in a snare in the Central Highlands of Sri Lanka. The collar was programmed to get re-locations every 2 hours.
- VHF tracking data collected using standard triangulation techniques after the GPS relocations were no longer being taken.
- The GPS location where the leopard was snared taken using a hand-held Garmin GPS unit.
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The GPS locations where previously treated and released leopards were released with Victoria-Randenigala-Rantambe Sanctuary taken using hand-held Garmin GPS unit
*NOTE: All coordinates are in decimal degrees and have been revised to 3 decimal places. This provides an accuracy of ~110m. This was done because the Sri Lankan leopard is a Threatened species so highly accurate locations have the potential to compromise conservation.
Files and variables
File: VRR_archive.xlsx
Description: Excel file consisting of 7 spreadsheets: 1) VRR leopard GPS all raw (raw version of all GPS relocations from when collar fitted to leopard on 20/04/2023 while still in holding cage), 2) VRR leopard GPS all (same as previous but formatted for excel), 3) VRR leopard GPS post-release (same as 2) but starting from release of the leopard (24/04/2023 14:00:00 GMT +5 1/2 hrs), 4) VRR leopard GPS DOP <2 (same as 3) but using only those relocations with DOP values = or < 2.0), 5) VRR leopard VHF estimates (Estimated coordinates of leopard location based on physical tracking of VHF signal using triangulation with a Yagi antenna), 6) Snared leopard location (hand-held GPS location of where leopard was found caught in snare), 7) VRR previous leopard releases (hand-held GPS locations of where previously rescued and translocated leopards were released within VRR. All coordinates are in WGN 84 decimal degrees.
Variables
Spreadsheet 1) VRR leopard GPS all raw: Frequency = GPS collar frequency; ID = GPS collar ID; Date/Time [GMT] = date and time of GPS relocation attempt in Greenwich Mean Time; Date/Time [Local] - date and time of GPS relocation attempt in Local Time (GMT+5 1/2 hrs); Lattitude = Latitude of GPS relocation in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees; Longitude = Longitude of GPS relocation in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees; Altitude [m] = the elevation above sea level in meters of the GPS relocation; FixStatus = the quality of the GPS relocation based on satellites (2D, 3D etc.); DOP = Dilution of Precision measures the potential error in fix locations with DOP < or = 2.0 considered highly accurate; Temp [C] = Temperature of collar at relocation time in degrees Celsius; Main [V] = voltage of the main battery; Back [V] = voltage of the backup battery.
Spreadsheet 2) VRR leopard GPS all: the same as above except as an excel file
Spreadsheet 3) VRR leopard GPS post-release: Same as above but only those positions taken after the leopard was released (starting 24/04/2023 14:00:00 Local Time (GMT +5 1/2 hrs))
Spreadsheet 4) VRR leopard GPS DOP < 2: Same as above but only those positions taken after the leopard was released and with DOP values = or < 2.0.
Spreadsheet 5) VRR leopard VHF estimates: Date = date of VHF tracking attempt; Lat = Latitude of estimated VHF location in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees; Long = Longitude of estimated VHF location in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees; Note = whether the attempt was successful (“estimated location - triangulation”) or not (“no signal detected”); Features = anything interesting about the estimated location.
Spreadsheet 6) Snared leopard location: ID = number of snared leopard; Event = what was being recorded;* X = Latitude of snaring location in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees; *Y = Longitude of snaring location in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees.
Spreadsheet 7) VRR previous leopard releases: Date = date of release; N = Latitude of release site in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees; Longitude = Longitude of release site in WGN 84 Decimal Degrees; Sex = sex of the animal being released.
This dataset is comprised of GPS telemetry re-locations from a monitored Sri Lankan leopard. Locations were uploaded remotely to a dedicated website. Data processing included removing all re-locations with DOP < 2.0 to ensure accuracy. The dataset also includes estimated locations based on VHF tracking using triangulation. This was conducted after the battery powering the GPS relocations died. Finally the dataset also includes the GPS location where the leopard was originally snared, taken using a handheld Garmin GPS unit and the dates and locations within the Victoria-Randenigala-Rantambe Sanctuary where previous leopards were released.