The third leopard to have been collared in Tandoureh National Park, Borzou is an old male who carried a GPS collar for one year. The collar dropped off automatically in early February 2016 – luckily several hundred meters from the border with Turkmenistan and within Iranian territory some 20 km outside Tandoureh. Surprisingly, in early June 2016 he was spotted again inside the National Park, seemingly a bit thinner than before.

Borzou was well known to the Project as a dog killer, having hunted down at least 15 domestic dogs in about six months, during which time he raised huge concern among communities living around the park. Because we were no longer able to track him after his collar came off, there were serious concerns about Borzou’s whereabouts – and even his life. So when he eventually returned to the park it was wonderful news for us.