Bardia, known as M2, was the second leopard equipped with a satellite collar in early October 2014 in Tandoureh National Park. We are sad to let you know that he was found dead a few days ago. In early September he was last spotted alive, albeit in a different area that he did not use to hang out, just outside the national park after killing a herd dog.
As a resident male, Bardia exclusively lived inside the park, until the end of 2015 when his collar was dropped-off based on a pre-defined automatic setup. He was a fan of bezoar goat and urial sheep, and killed tens of them in a year. He was the only leopard, out of the group of six with satellite collars, who never left the national park boundaries to patrol amidst communities living alongside the park.
It seems that he died as an old leopard. Bardia was first spotted by a photographer inside Tandoureh in winter 2010, as an adult leopard. Thus, he should be older than 10 now, approaching an age when leopards are less likely to be enough strong for defending their territories against other conspecifics. This is why we were not surprised to see him after killing a dog, an animal which mostly happens to become a prey at older ages.
Bardia was a prime male for years in Tandoureh. A few months ago, a new male was spotted in the area where Bardia used to patrol, maybe Bardia has to find a new home. Bardia was a successful and amazing leopard in Tandoureh, and was the model for many photographers during a decade.